day nine

We walked around Sonoma for a little bit, but as nothing opens before 10 am, we didn’t get to do much (which was too bad because we had hoped to pick something up for Henry from the Three Dog Bakery). We headed for Napa, where we walked around their town center in search of a charm for Emily’s charm bracelet. We found one of a bunch of grapes. We didn’t have anything else to do, so we stopped in at the yarn shop, Emily picked up a book, and then it was late enough for us to go to lunch.
Lunch at Mustard’s Grill… amazing. So many things looked great on the menu, so we started out just ordering appetizers. Urban Spoon reviews had strongly encouraged the ahi crackers, which were thin tostada crackers with seared ahi rolled in black sesame seeds on top, sprinkled with thinly sliced scallions and red bell peppers and drizzled with wasabi crème fraiche.

Another table had ordered the onion rings, which came out looking much like those from the Pine Club, except less greasy and with some extra spices in the coating.

They were served with apple ketchup, which was a little difficult to eat (we ended up mixing the two on a plate and using a fork rather than dipping) but was also delicious. We had asked for a bottle of Qupe cuvee; we enjoy the Qupe line and thought we’d keep in the California theme, but they were out of it, so we ended up with a bottle of Goat-Roti from South Africa that was a similar blend. After the appetizers, we were both still really hungry and excited to check out the other dishes. Ryan order quail that had been roasted and rubbed in flavorful Cajun seasoning with mushrooms and a mushroom wine sauce drizzled on top sprinkled with raisins. He thought it was like the best chicken he had ever eaten.

Emily ordered ravioli with a citrus mint butter sauce and asparagus, along with some pickled onions.

We were still not stuffed to the gills, so we were handed dessert menus. The waitress began to walk away, then came back, suggesting that we get the lemon lime tart with “that ridiculously tall brown sugar meringue”, because, as she put it, we are “kinda foodies”, and that is their house dessert.

This was probably our favorite meal of the trip. Fortunately, they have a cookbook; although the onion rings aren't in it,they are in a newer book, Appetizers.
Lunch had taken 3 hours, so we decided to go ahead and try to check in at the Meritage Resort, even though we were an hour early. They let us in, and we changed into our swimsuits and headed for the spa.
Like Mission Inn, Spa Terra had a bit of a bathing ritual, but this was not co-ed, and not quite as nice.

There were showers and then a Jacuzzi, which neither of us could figure out how to turn the jets on in, followed by a wet steam room, which was much easier to breathe without the eucalyptus of the first. We met back up in the reception room and lounged in bathrobes while sipping on lemon water. At 5:00, it was time for our tension tamer massages, which focus on the neck-shoulder area for 45 minutes. At the conclusion, it was suggested that Ryan spend 20 minutes in the Jacuzzi if he didn’t want to be sore tomorrow because he had needed so much work, so we headed to the pools.
We went swimming for a little bit, then headed inside to grab dinner. We were so ready to be home that we chose to get burgers. That, combined with Ryan’s Dayton tee led to the couple sitting next to us to ask if we were from Ohio and what brought us out. The man, a Nebraska native, paid for our salad and burgers to celebrate our honeymoon. The only thing we had to pay for was our dessert, which was a Valhrona chocolate flourless lava cake.

We finished packing and headed to bed.

Wines for 3 June 2009:
Goat-Roti, Rhone Blend, South Africa, 2005 – We tried to order a Qupe Rhone Blend but they were out and gave us this bottle as a substitute. It was very good and we would both drink it again.