Headlines from Here to There:  Napa Valley in November–Best Time for Families

Napa Valley, the very name conveys images to the mind.

Images like this  (photo credit here)

And where every house looks like a Pottery Barn catalog add. (Frog’s Leap Winery)

(photo by Jackie)

Can you bring kids?

And a dog?

How will this work?

We don’t travel light.

(photo by Jackie)

We don’t travel without a little messiness.

Thankfully we were in good hands.

Not only is Jackie an expert hostess, she is also a mom three times over with both a little guy and 20-somethings, so she knew where to take us.

When Jackie booked us a tasting at Frog’s Leap Winery, I recognized the name.  I wondered why, and then as I looked over the articles I had saved in our Pacific Coast Road Trip file, I came across the name again.

It is listed as a very family friendly stop by San Francisco magazine.

And one reason is the gardens and the farm animals.

Even in November the colors were still bright.

And coming from Florida where we don’t have a Fall. . .

we loved seeing the autumn colors and walking around breathing the crisp air.

We could have spent all day in the gardens,. . .

. . .but a soda and wine tasting was scheduled, so we headed back into the “old” farmhouse to an open fire, and a beautifully set tasting.

Another reason Frog’s Leap Winery is listed as very family friendly is their soda water tasting.

While the adults had a fabulous time wine tasting,. . .

 

(photo by Jackie)

the kiddos got to join in the fun with flavored soda water samples. . .

or “a flight of four soda samples”

The kiddos were given four samples with a card that listed all the possible flavors.  They were also given the correct answers on the back of the card. They sipped their samples and tried to guess.  The possibilities included lime, raspberry, cucumber, juniper berry, watermelon, vanilla, Rosemary, etc. . .

Frog’s Leap Winery also makes the list as dog friendly on Dog Trekker.  Banjo loved being out in the open–especially after being in his dog carrier for the previous day.  The temperatures were cool enough (but not too cold) to leave him in the car when we needed to.  Being “out of season” tourists we found the atmosphere very relaxed about both kiddos and fidos.

One of the common themes I found when researching Napa Valley is “the crowds”.  Now kiddos and fidos don’t usually do well in crowds.

But being November all we saw was beautiful landscapes. . .

and empty roads.  Several blogs mentioned not being able to make a left turn on Highway 29. . . .

or the lack of parking at the Oakville Grocery store, but being a Wednesday in the middle of November, we didn’t encounter any traffic or long restaurant waits or rushed wine tastings.

(photo by Jackie)

All told, we loved Napa in November.  For us Floridians the cool weather allowed us to wear our boots and sweaters.  We also thought the Fall colors vibrant.  Several people mentioned we had missed “the peak colors”, but we had also missed the traffic and the rush and the bustle of busier times.  The lack of people, I think, also contributed to the warm welcomes we received despite traveling with kids and a dog.

Napa in November is for Families.

–Your Newsy Reporter

(photo by Jackie)