Journeys›Photograph

A Few Days Away in Calistoga

·Napa County, California·#travel#summer#napa-valley#calistoga#wine country
A mixed floral bouquet with peach roses, white dahlias, green Bells of Ireland, and light green hydrangeas in a vase.

A few days away in Calistoga, up at the top end of Napa Valley — a town of about five thousand that Sam Brannan founded as a health spa in 1859, and it still trades on hot springs and mud baths. The hotel had a small round soaking pool behind an iron fence, and we sat out on the patio with a glass of wine before going anywhere, a vase of dahlias and peach roses back in the room.

In town that evening, Lovina had a CLOSED placard hanging right under its GREAT FOOD marquee while the patio behind it was full of people eating dinner under umbrellas. We walked on past Pacifico with its string lights and flags, and past a big heart made of red bulbs strung up against the sky, which demanded a stop.

Also out to a winery among the vines — vineyard rows fenced in white boards along the road on the drive in, and at the tasting spot itself, potted roses and geraniums capping the end of every row, a stone fountain running in the middle of the dirt.

A person sits on an outdoor sofa holding a phone, with a wicker chair and hot tub visible in the background.Green grapevines in a vineyard with a weathered white fence, surrounded by trees and distant hills under a blue sky.Two smiling people in front of an outdoor restaurant with string lights and a "CLOSED" sign at night.Two smiling people stand in front of an outdoor restaurant patio with an illuminated "GREAT FOOD" sign and "CLOSED" sign.A warmly lit restaurant building with a "PACIFICO" sign on a street with parked cars and outdoor dining at dusk.Two people smile in front of a large, glowing red heart sculpture against a dark blue sky.Two smiling people take a selfie at a sunny vineyard with grapevines, potted flowers, a fountain, and hills.Two smiling people pose in front of a vineyard, rolling hills, and a water fountain on a sunny day.

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