I had the chance to sneak in a couple days in Napa before doing some work in San Fran and took full advantage. As you know, I’ve been to Napa several times, so I wanted to do some stuff I hadn’t done before, and, of course, share it with you!
We were starving for some lunch after our long flight and decided to stop in the lovely little bayside town of Sausalito just over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Found the perfect burger joint, Napa Valley Burger Company on the water in Sausalito.
I decided on a lighter beer, a delicious Kolsch by Fort Point brewery.
The burger menu was great and the truffle fries were a perfect way to satisfy our hunger!!
We went with the whiskey bacon burger. Mmmmmm bacon!! And the whiskey gave a sweet little kick to it. A fabulous lunch!! And they also have wine on tap! So cool!
I definitely recommend stopping by here for lunch on the way from SFO to wine country. We wanted to walk off lunch a bit and continue to stretch our legs. We tooled around Sausalito for a little bit to breathe in the bay air. 
The we hopped back into the convertible (splurged a little on the luxury car, but actually not all that expensive and it’s definitely the right climate for a convertible out here) and headed to the Marin Headlands just on the other side of the highway from Sausalito for some more pretty views and more leg stretching.
We didn’t know quite where we were going, so we followed some signs and ended up at Rodeo Beach.
Great little beach!! Gorgeous views. That big rock in the back is covered in sea birds, it’s called Bird Island, of course! 
I highly recommend making a stop here, it’s a short hike down to the beach, not too strenuous (there are steps), and it’s beautiful. It was a little odiferous due to it being a major bird hang out, but not too bad. We made a quick stop on the way out of Marin Headlands to snap a couple gratuitous Golden Gate Bridge pics.
Back on the road to Napa!!
We decided to stay downtown this time due to some time constraints, and the Andaz (by Hyatt) was a great location on First Street in Napa. Nice hotel, cozy lobby and bar area and very friendly staff. The room was a little small, but the bathroom was a good size and had a great rainfall shower.
We spent some time walking around downtown Napa, hit up the Napa General Store, walked along the Napa River, and made our way over to the Oxbow Market (one of my favorite hang outs!).
The Oxbow Market has lots of little foodie-type shops, including a fresh market, artisan oils and vinegars, cheese shops, restaurants, and more.
I stopped at one of my favorites in Oxbow Market, Whole Spice, to stock up on some awesome spices and sugars.
Their mole rub is fantastic. And I plan to try out these sugars to rim glasses for cocktails!
We also went over to the C.I.A. (Culinary Institute of America) at their newest location just across from Oxbow Market and walked through their produce gardens. How can I get my basil to grow this well???
I swear I can smell the basil just looking at this pic!! We went back over to Oxbow for oysters at Hog Island Oyster Company, a must if you’re here (and like oysters). They always have a great variety of fresh oysters on the half shell and shuck em right in front of you.
We went with a sampler of all six varieties and they were soooo good!!
Look at that briney bite of ocean goodness!
After oysters and some bread, we didn’t really feel the need for more for dinner, but maybe just one little after dinner beer at Fieldwork Brewery in the Oxbow Market.
We went with the Mocha Choco Latte Porter, which was heavenly! It truly tasted like a mocha latte and a dark beer had a baby. Yumm!!! And cheap – you can take the beer out to the patio and just enjoy that clean riverside air. Ahhh.
We turned in early to get a jump start on a day of exploring back west at the coastline in the Point Reyes National Seashore area. And of course, the wine!! Stay tuned for more in Part 2 of my trip write up!!
Eat, Drink, and Go! 