Rockapella West Coast Road Trip
Days 3 & 4 -- August 30-31, 2015
City Winery
Napa, CA
I woke up early to meet up with Cindy and walk a 5K. We had originally intended on walking a 10K, but reality set in, and we figured that would take too long, so we did a 5. We didn't really have anything mapped out, just walked around the nearby parking lots, and around a duck pond and over a bridge, and then we couldn't find the bridge that we thought we saw before.
Well, at least we didn't get lost. We did see the end of a sidewalk and wondered if anyone would just stop there and not know what to do. Not us, though. We're rebels. We saw a Sweet Frog yogurt shop and decided to freak out Linda and send her a picture.
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| That there in the distance was not a footbridge |
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| Never closed. Or Open. |
FFE had uploaded on instagram the video that he was showing us last night. Last night, I didn't notice that YOU CAN SEE US in the audience, waving at the camera! OMG, that was awesome! https://instagram.com/p/7AJa-5PXNM/ We are in the lower left corner as Calvin takes the stage. You can see me leaning over to KP to tell her about the video, and then we wave to the iPhone. We're famous in our own minds.
Once everyone was showered and ready to go, we met downstairs in the lobby, where they had free Starbucks available. Well, OK, then! I wanted the flavor that had run out, so while we were waiting, we asked Ron the hotel desk manager to take a picture of us. I also took a picture of the coffee because there were choices, and there were 4....wait, there are 5 Pella. I don't know, I was delirious. Not too delirious to drive, though! But first: Target, of course! Cindy wanted to see if they had the new Pumpkin Spice Latte m&ms, and they did. I enjoyed them. KP doesn't like pumpkin, so she bought granola bars or whatevs. Cindy liked the m&ms, too, then later made me take all of the rest. Yes, she made me do it.
Once everyone was showered and ready to go, we met downstairs in the lobby, where they had free Starbucks available. Well, OK, then! I wanted the flavor that had run out, so while we were waiting, we asked Ron the hotel desk manager to take a picture of us. I also took a picture of the coffee because there were choices, and there were 4....wait, there are 5 Pella. I don't know, I was delirious. Not too delirious to drive, though! But first: Target, of course! Cindy wanted to see if they had the new Pumpkin Spice Latte m&ms, and they did. I enjoyed them. KP doesn't like pumpkin, so she bought granola bars or whatevs. Cindy liked the m&ms, too, then later made me take all of the rest. Yes, she made me do it.
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| Coffee Choices |
Our drive to Sacramento was filled with more haiku and giggling. KP had to go home, so we dropped her off at SMF, then I took Cindy took the rental car building. She had an early flight in the morning and decided to drive herself to the airport. I headed on over to Napa. There was lots of traffic. I imagined the guys sitting in the same traffic. They probably weren't listening to the same music as me, though. I don't know how I'd react if I saw them in the next car, but I looked for them. Because I can't be mortified enough by what I look like sitting in a car in traffic in the heat.
When I arrived in Napa, it felt like home. I love Napa. When I arrived at the hotel, Weff was out having lunch, so I decided to wait for Cindy. She had already eaten when she arrived, but she was kind enough to drive me wherever so that I could get some food and some wine, preferably in the same place. We went to a fancy winery that only gave tastings by appointment, and they pretty much ignored us, so we decided to leave instead of ask any questions.
I was trying to find the former Rubicon winery (they keep changing the name), but we couldn't find it because my phone kept freezing. We ended up at V Sattui winery, because they had a deli. I made Cindy wait a couple of minutes so that I could check into the next day's flight, and then we walked to the deli.
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| Fancy Grapes |
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| Fancy Winery |
Well, that was not just some ordinary deli! It was full of wonderful cheeses and food and olive oils and bread and just too much yumminess for us. I ordered an Arancini (risotto ball) and brussels sprouts sauteed with balsamic vinegar and bacon. Cindy got some olives stuffed with almond. We sat down in the shade on a bench outside in the picnic area. It was quite relaxing. I wanted Rockapella to just come over and sing for us there. But first, wine!
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| Cheers! |
Yes, Sherry did some wine tasting. It was a great deal at 6 tastes for $15.00. It was an even better deal when I actually had 10 tastes because Dulce could tell that we had similar tastes and kept recommending stuff that wasn't on the tasting list. Thank you, Dulce, my Sweet!
Wines marked with an asterisk are my favorites of the day.
Somehow, I tore myself away from watching the video 4000 more times. The four of us went to City Winery together, which is good because I was included on Weff's ticket. I was feeling weird because I didn't have my own individual ticket, but at least I got inside. The old lobby downstairs is now a restaurant. I miss our old meet and greet area. I saw a guy that looked really familiar to me, and he saw me staring at him. I told him he looked familiar, and he gave me a resume of shows that he's been in, but I hadn't seen any of them. We went upstairs and were seated at our table, which was right next to the stage. RIGHT NEXT to it. Like, I was touching the stage. Cindy ordered food, and I decided not to get more alcohol, so I ordered coffee. It came with a cute little milk bottle! Jeff reminded me that I would not have received such on the cruise. The server looked like someone I sang with in choir, and when I said his name, Wendy said that she knew somebody with the same name. The server wasn't the guy I know, though. Neither is Wendy's friend. Our table numbers were marked with wine bottles, and Jeff looked for number 18 so that he could take a picture with it for "Edge of 18", but the one bottle without a number was at table 18. That's just crazy. There weren't many people in the house. It was weird. But hey, at least Rockapella was there.
Meet and Greet
Calvin said that when asked if he knew "Zombie", he said, "No." He was outvoted, though. I said that I noticed that he couldn't do the choreography, and he said that he was too busy trying to remember the words. I told him he needs to watch me next time for the choreography. Maybe I should just go up there next time. Not. He said that he'd only done the song once before, and it was on Hallowe'en. He asked me what I made for them, and I said that the cake was called "Blueberry Boy Bait". He said, "Blueberry Boy Bake? Oh, yeah, that was a good bake!" I said, "No, I said, 'bait'. As in fishing and you put it on a hook." He figured it out and said, "Oh, then you really reeled me in! I was there!" and gave me a huge hug. So cute. He said that he'd like to order some. "I'll fly out. I have a birthday coming up." When we asked when, he said, "Next year. March 16." Maybe I'll have him do a house concert and I'll bake him anything he wants. He's excited because he'll be going to Vegas for the first time when they have their show there in December. Ryan told him that he would be overwhelmed and would need to have a plan. Calvin told Ryan that he knew Ryan would have a plan, and he was going to follow him around.
Ryan said that they had fun at Hussong's the previous night in Reno. They used to hang out there a lot because of the margaritas, which, apparently, the owner invented while back in Mexico. He and Steve would be there at noon and stay all day. Calvin said that he didn't go to Hussong's because of the line dancing. Ryan said that Calvin didn't go because he'd have one margarita and go to bed. Weff showed him a picture of their dog, Barney.
Em's friend notAmethyst told Scott that he was her favorite. His response, "Oh, finally!" Yeah, right! I told him that he was wearing my favorite tie tonight, and he said, "It's my favorite, too." Wendy asked how he liked the renovated venue. He said that he liked that without the carpet, the sound isn't so muffled. But Fred doesn't like it. He likes the equipment, but not the sound, as it's not as consistent as it used to be. Wendy mentioned that they weren't staying in one place for very long during this trip. He said they were on a "surgical strike...we go in, sing, and leave." Robin said that the small crowds were due to the fact that there was no advertising for their show. In fact, if you look at the list of shows that they posted in the restrooms, Rockapella is not listed. I don't know what's up with that. Maybe they finalized the booking late? Scott didn't understand that. I remember that Wendy and I weren't even sure that they were going to play Napa because it wasn't listed at first, but we held tight, and there they were. I really wasn't crazy about the new set-up. I miss the old theater-style seating, and the non-interruption of servers. They weren't distracting us that much, but I really just want to sit and watch a show without all of that other stuff going on. Wendy received an email after we got home that said that City Winery Napa will be closing its doors for good due to low attendance. Well, maybe you should have ADVERTISED correctly! Sigh. I would like to think that they would just sell it to the city so that they can return it to its former glory, but that would take money. I hope that wasn't the last time we see Rockapella there, because I do love that building, and they're my favorite excuse to go to Napa. We have many, many great memories in the Napa Valley Opera House.
Steve got the guys together so that we could finally get a group picture. I can't believe that this was the first one all weekend where we could include all of the guys.
Steve: I heard you had a little glass of wine today. (I tagged him in the haiku. APPARENTLY, he noticed).
Sher: Six. I paid $15.00 for six, and I ended up getting ten.
Steve: I should have gone with you!
Sher: Yeah, you really need to listen to me.
I mean, really, he does. All they did was hang out at the hotel, when they could have been partying with us. Note to FFE: get a hold of Sherry whenever you know she's in the same town. She knows how to have a good time without getting into too much trouble.
Cindy asked him if he knew that Venus is Cupid's mom.
Steve: Oh, the mother and the daughter.
Sher: Actually, Cupid's a boy.
Steve: Oh (laughs). OK, mother and son.
He told me to email him a reminder for the song that I requested, and I told him we'd see him in November, when I bring him his surprise. His eyes got all wide and he said, "Surprise?!"
We talked to Jeff briefly as we were leaving. He was closing up the merchandise bag. We told him that we loved seeing Zombie again, and he said that the guys said, "We need to learn Zombie" after that performance.
JT: Zombie is like a venereal disease. It just keeps popping back up. Not that I would know anything about that.
I laughed and laughed. I don't know how, but JT never ceases to surprise me with that mouth of his (drumming and otherwise).
We walked back to the parking structure and talked to Robin for awhile before we went to Applebee's. I saw the ad for Angry Orchard and ordered a bottle because I lied before and wasn't actually done drinking. We then went back to the hotel and said goodbye to Cindy because she was going to leave really early in the morning, and I needed to sleep.
The next morning, Weff and I went to Yountville for yumminess at Bouchon Bakery.
Someone in line had a dog, and she tied him to a bench outside while she went inside. He started whining, so Wendy walked over to him to comfort him. He seemed to like that. After we ate our goodies, we took a walk so that Wendy could get a picture in front of The French Laundry. We saw their garden across the street and realized that we walk through it, so we perused the vegetation.
They also had chickens! The sunflowers were gorgeous, the bees were buzzing, the heat was blazing, and we had a nice, relaxing time. After a little pit stop near where our car was parked, we went back to the hotel so that I could get my car.
I drove to the airport, got gas for the car, and parked at the rental car return. OMG, it took me at least 15 tries before I could get that stupid trunk open! It was embarrassing. I finally got out of there and made my way to the airport. I was able to see Weff for a few minutes before they boarded their flight, then I waited for my own. My flight was relaxing, and I got a few nice pictures of LA from my window seat.
Since I arrived at rush hour, I had to wait a really long time to catch the FlyAway (I had just missed one). But you know, it just gave me more time to think of haiku to end the trip. I felt beat up when I got home because of all of the waiting, but I was home and safe.
Sad, though. I always get sad when I get home from a Rockapella weekend like this, because of that withdrawal. I was actually emotional for about a week afterward. Maybe it was hormones. Maybe it was haiku withdrawal. I don't know. We've since decided that all Pella road trips together must have haiku, so that can be remedied in November. :)
Until next time, boys! Thank you for the awesome shows and the time you spent talking to us! Loving you.
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| Cute Bottle |
Wines marked with an asterisk are my favorites of the day.
- 2014 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc
- 2014 Reserve Carsi Sauvignon Blanc* -- Mmm... salad-y.
- 2014 Dancing Egg Riesling
- 2014 Dry Gewurtztraminer
- 2014 Dry Muscat
- 2014 Gamay Rouge
- 2012 Entanglement
- 2014 Moscato Frizzante* -- Cindy bought a case of this, which allowed her membership into the wine club. It's really good. I hope I get to go to the tasting room with her.
- 2014 Muscat
- Angelica* -- This was my favorite. It's made from the muscat grape (my favorite), and is enhanced with brandy. Tastes like a white port. I need to order me some of this.
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| Sweet Dulce, New Member Cindy and Tipsy Sher |
So, yeah, I was REALLY tipsy after all of that wine. Thank goodness Cindy was driving! We hit a bit of traffic, which meant that we had to make a pit stop for me because I couldn't wait any longer. So I thanked the gas station people by buying Cool Ranch Doritos, and gave them to Weff when we returned to the hotel. I ate the rest of my food before getting ready so that I wouldn't be ridiculously drunk when we got to the venue. I wasn't sure if I'd drink more there, because, well, this is Napa! I showed the video of KP and I waving to the camera in Reno, because Rockapella had posted the full video on Facebook:
Somehow, I tore myself away from watching the video 4000 more times. The four of us went to City Winery together, which is good because I was included on Weff's ticket. I was feeling weird because I didn't have my own individual ticket, but at least I got inside. The old lobby downstairs is now a restaurant. I miss our old meet and greet area. I saw a guy that looked really familiar to me, and he saw me staring at him. I told him he looked familiar, and he gave me a resume of shows that he's been in, but I hadn't seen any of them. We went upstairs and were seated at our table, which was right next to the stage. RIGHT NEXT to it. Like, I was touching the stage. Cindy ordered food, and I decided not to get more alcohol, so I ordered coffee. It came with a cute little milk bottle! Jeff reminded me that I would not have received such on the cruise. The server looked like someone I sang with in choir, and when I said his name, Wendy said that she knew somebody with the same name. The server wasn't the guy I know, though. Neither is Wendy's friend. Our table numbers were marked with wine bottles, and Jeff looked for number 18 so that he could take a picture with it for "Edge of 18", but the one bottle without a number was at table 18. That's just crazy. There weren't many people in the house. It was weird. But hey, at least Rockapella was there.
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| No, not that number is not how many glasses of wine I drank! |
SUN BROTHERS OF TAMPA BAY
L-O-V-E
CSL4: You've all got some sunshine out here, as well as some lovely traffic.
See? They could have been on that freeway with me!
Change The World
RC was acting like he was flying at the end, and almost ran into the microphone stand.
ROCKAPELLA
Rock Around The Clock
CSL4 was getting dizzy with all of the head banging.
Jailhouse Rock
CSL4 is wearing my tie!
CSL4: We drove from Reno. What a lovely drive that was. We're familiar with the ups and downs and the sitting on the highways of Northern California.
When the crowd cheered, CSL4 called us a "small but mighty crowd".
Dancing In The Streets
I felt like FFE was going to kick me in the face. RC did the Robot for his solo, and he was quite impressed with himself. FFE told him, "That was great, Bro."
Just My Imagination / Imagine
RC stopped the intro because he was out of breath. "Sorry, the dancing!"
Satisfaction / Cupid
CSL4 regarding FFE's EP: It is fantastic. He's going to be a famous country star. We're going to be looking for a job opening soon. (He said that last sentence while looking straight at me. Yes, he remembered what I asked him the night before. Yes, he loves to torture me. I just stared at him because I didn't want my tipsy mouth to say anything out loud, like, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!?").
My Cherie Amour
Sherry to Cindy: Tear!
While CSL4 was talking, FFE waved at JeffEvs. CSL4 asked what was going on. FFE said that he was just saying hi to JeffEvs. So CSL4 said "Hi, Jeff!" OMG, now the show is being stopped for the posse! Wendy said later that, at this rate, JeffEvs would be on stage before her.
CSL4 regarding RC: Sometimes my little girly head can't even hear what you're saying, but I know it feels goooood.
Regarding JT: Anything that requires math of, you know, double digits...Jeff does it.
Then instead of singing MY song in a venue that would have been perfect for an FFE sighting, CSL4 announced that they were learning a new song while in the car on the way to Napa. He asked if we would like them to share it, and warned us that it was their first time.
Little Red Corvette / Born To Be Wild
That sounded really good. I'm familiar with the arrangement because I'm a Sun Bros subscriber, and it was one of the downloads. So now Cal is Prince! I miss my FFE, though. JeffEvs later asked CSL4 if my song was being phased out, and CSL4 said "probably half of the time". Sadness. It's like when they phased out "California Sad-Eyed Girl". Excuse me while I go mourn that song again.
Blame It On The Boogie
Seriously, I want to touch their shoes every time they walk to the edge of the stage.
CSL4 felt a connection with Emerald. She's from Boston and San Francisco, and she was lively! Lively and loud. Wow, she was excited. Most likely drunk, too, which made me really glad that I had calmed down and didn't drink anymore during the show. She works for Apple. CSL4 told her that he dropped his iPhone and it broke. She asked if he wanted her to get a new one for her.
Stand By Me
Emerald: Ooh, it's like karaoke!
Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Cal was so cute, waving to her to get her attention. She really had fun out there, which was good because our crowd was so small and it energized the place.
Thrift Shop / Celebrate
Emerald's friend, Kathy, got all excited when CSL4 talked about Carmen SanDiego, because she's a huge fan of the show.
CSL4: Kathy. Shouldn't you be, like, "Amethyst" or something?
He said "amethyst" with a bit of a lisp and it was hilarious.
Carmen
JT stopped his solo. "EM!"
Encore
A*Punk
Used Ta Be My Girl
CSL4: We'll be back in your state (I told him November), flying in by helicopter.
Somebody yelled out "Zombie!"
CSL4: Somebody said Zombie, but um, no. (To Calvin): You don't know it, do you? (To RC): Do you? OK!
Zombie Jamboree
RC sounds like Bear when he does the "Manhattan!" spiel. Calvin!!! Do the moves, Calvin! FFE came in too early at one point, and CSL4 reacted by tripping. They're so damn funny and cute. It was great to hear Zombie again.
Up On The Roof / Wonderful World
Yay -- off mic again. Aaahhhh, Pella.
Robin came over and chatted with us. We still had hummus that we hadn't finished, so when FFE arrived in the audience area, I loudly said his name and offered him some, but he had already eaten his share. Just trying to keep him happy.
The guy that I recognized earlier turned out to be the guy in Reno that saw me celebrating my 100th show. See? I knew I had met him before! How dare he not remember me.
Robin came over and chatted with us. We still had hummus that we hadn't finished, so when FFE arrived in the audience area, I loudly said his name and offered him some, but he had already eaten his share. Just trying to keep him happy.
The guy that I recognized earlier turned out to be the guy in Reno that saw me celebrating my 100th show. See? I knew I had met him before! How dare he not remember me.
Meet and Greet
Calvin said that when asked if he knew "Zombie", he said, "No." He was outvoted, though. I said that I noticed that he couldn't do the choreography, and he said that he was too busy trying to remember the words. I told him he needs to watch me next time for the choreography. Maybe I should just go up there next time. Not. He said that he'd only done the song once before, and it was on Hallowe'en. He asked me what I made for them, and I said that the cake was called "Blueberry Boy Bait". He said, "Blueberry Boy Bake? Oh, yeah, that was a good bake!" I said, "No, I said, 'bait'. As in fishing and you put it on a hook." He figured it out and said, "Oh, then you really reeled me in! I was there!" and gave me a huge hug. So cute. He said that he'd like to order some. "I'll fly out. I have a birthday coming up." When we asked when, he said, "Next year. March 16." Maybe I'll have him do a house concert and I'll bake him anything he wants. He's excited because he'll be going to Vegas for the first time when they have their show there in December. Ryan told him that he would be overwhelmed and would need to have a plan. Calvin told Ryan that he knew Ryan would have a plan, and he was going to follow him around.
Ryan said that they had fun at Hussong's the previous night in Reno. They used to hang out there a lot because of the margaritas, which, apparently, the owner invented while back in Mexico. He and Steve would be there at noon and stay all day. Calvin said that he didn't go to Hussong's because of the line dancing. Ryan said that Calvin didn't go because he'd have one margarita and go to bed. Weff showed him a picture of their dog, Barney.
Em's friend notAmethyst told Scott that he was her favorite. His response, "Oh, finally!" Yeah, right! I told him that he was wearing my favorite tie tonight, and he said, "It's my favorite, too." Wendy asked how he liked the renovated venue. He said that he liked that without the carpet, the sound isn't so muffled. But Fred doesn't like it. He likes the equipment, but not the sound, as it's not as consistent as it used to be. Wendy mentioned that they weren't staying in one place for very long during this trip. He said they were on a "surgical strike...we go in, sing, and leave." Robin said that the small crowds were due to the fact that there was no advertising for their show. In fact, if you look at the list of shows that they posted in the restrooms, Rockapella is not listed. I don't know what's up with that. Maybe they finalized the booking late? Scott didn't understand that. I remember that Wendy and I weren't even sure that they were going to play Napa because it wasn't listed at first, but we held tight, and there they were. I really wasn't crazy about the new set-up. I miss the old theater-style seating, and the non-interruption of servers. They weren't distracting us that much, but I really just want to sit and watch a show without all of that other stuff going on. Wendy received an email after we got home that said that City Winery Napa will be closing its doors for good due to low attendance. Well, maybe you should have ADVERTISED correctly! Sigh. I would like to think that they would just sell it to the city so that they can return it to its former glory, but that would take money. I hope that wasn't the last time we see Rockapella there, because I do love that building, and they're my favorite excuse to go to Napa. We have many, many great memories in the Napa Valley Opera House.
Steve got the guys together so that we could finally get a group picture. I can't believe that this was the first one all weekend where we could include all of the guys.
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| All Smiles |
Steve: I heard you had a little glass of wine today. (I tagged him in the haiku. APPARENTLY, he noticed).
Sher: Six. I paid $15.00 for six, and I ended up getting ten.
Steve: I should have gone with you!
Sher: Yeah, you really need to listen to me.
I mean, really, he does. All they did was hang out at the hotel, when they could have been partying with us. Note to FFE: get a hold of Sherry whenever you know she's in the same town. She knows how to have a good time without getting into too much trouble.
Cindy asked him if he knew that Venus is Cupid's mom.
Steve: Oh, the mother and the daughter.
Sher: Actually, Cupid's a boy.
Steve: Oh (laughs). OK, mother and son.
He told me to email him a reminder for the song that I requested, and I told him we'd see him in November, when I bring him his surprise. His eyes got all wide and he said, "Surprise?!"
We talked to Jeff briefly as we were leaving. He was closing up the merchandise bag. We told him that we loved seeing Zombie again, and he said that the guys said, "We need to learn Zombie" after that performance.
JT: Zombie is like a venereal disease. It just keeps popping back up. Not that I would know anything about that.
I laughed and laughed. I don't know how, but JT never ceases to surprise me with that mouth of his (drumming and otherwise).
We walked back to the parking structure and talked to Robin for awhile before we went to Applebee's. I saw the ad for Angry Orchard and ordered a bottle because I lied before and wasn't actually done drinking. We then went back to the hotel and said goodbye to Cindy because she was going to leave really early in the morning, and I needed to sleep.
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| Angry Orchard and Sher |
The next morning, Weff and I went to Yountville for yumminess at Bouchon Bakery.
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| Mmmm....Hazelnut Macaron |
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| Little tiny eggplant in JeffEvs' man hand |
I drove to the airport, got gas for the car, and parked at the rental car return. OMG, it took me at least 15 tries before I could get that stupid trunk open! It was embarrassing. I finally got out of there and made my way to the airport. I was able to see Weff for a few minutes before they boarded their flight, then I waited for my own. My flight was relaxing, and I got a few nice pictures of LA from my window seat.
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| So Cal Coastline |
Since I arrived at rush hour, I had to wait a really long time to catch the FlyAway (I had just missed one). But you know, it just gave me more time to think of haiku to end the trip. I felt beat up when I got home because of all of the waiting, but I was home and safe.
Sad, though. I always get sad when I get home from a Rockapella weekend like this, because of that withdrawal. I was actually emotional for about a week afterward. Maybe it was hormones. Maybe it was haiku withdrawal. I don't know. We've since decided that all Pella road trips together must have haiku, so that can be remedied in November. :)
Until next time, boys! Thank you for the awesome shows and the time you spent talking to us! Loving you.
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