A brilliant plan… I think.
Inviting our adult children to join us on a vacation in Napa Valley and San Francisco takes quite a bit of planning. Four schedules to contend with and four strong opinions,(as well as enthusiasm) were all considered and a plan was created. The truth is that the kids and Craig truly just wanted to go to Outside Lands (I will explain further), but we added a visit to Napa Valley for a balance of activities and to include me!
A visit to Napa Valley is always delightful, always beautiful, always delicious, always adult. I don’t really see a reason to bring younger children to the Napa Valley unless you just wanted to hike and enjoy the countryside. A couple with young kids would almost need to take turns going to wineries and that certainly doesn’t sound like too much fun to me.
However…when those children grow up and turn 21, the family vacation in Napa Valley takes on new meaning. We finally nailed down the dates and are taking our grown kids up to Napa to share our favorite wineries and visit some new ones. We have reservations at a favorite Italian restaurant in downtown Napa, Oenotri and have some other fun plans scheduled. I can’t wait for the four of us to be together for this brand new adventure.
We will see if the siblings can get along and enjoy each other’s company. It will necessitate keeping the teasing and sarcasm to a minimum and to remind each other how much fun we are having!
A Music Adventure
After a quick 2 1/2 days in Napa Valley, we are off to Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Outside Lands is a 3-day, outdoor music festival with great food, wine, beer, art and comedy. This is my first attempt at attending an event of this magnitude… I purchased a one day ticket and the rest of the family will be attending everyday.
I really do love music and for my age I am very up to date with the latest music, however I am short, I don’t like huge crowds and I always have to go to the bathroom. Additionally, standing within a large crowd for hours at a time is my nightmare. I needed to keep my stress to a minimum, so it’s just one day for me. Alex, Nick and Craig are passionate about music and adore festivals. Luckily, in addition to the amazing music, it will be a foodie’s paradise with the best of the Bay Area restaurants and food trucks, wineries and beer companies offering incredible cuisine.
Evidently, the foodie component of the festival has grown to become quite the hip extravaganza. This aspect of the festival has my name written all over it. We are thrilled that our grown kids want to spend quality time with us and share this unique experience.
If you happen to be there, I will be the one standing on a chair in the back, holding a glass of wine, next to the food trucks and the bathroom.
Cheers,
Suzanne
Sounds absolutely wonderful!!!
Thank you Tam! I am really looking forward to it!
I love Napa Valley and hope this family trip will be such a success that there will be demand for an annual trip together! Have fun!
Thank you Kay! Its so fun now that our youngest is 21!
I’m with you about enjoying music festivals but I need to see and have access to get in and out for water, bathrooms, etc. I also like to be close to the stage so it’s a conundrum. Big screens help but then I could be watching at home! Hope you have fun.
Thanks Elaine – I will take advantage of standing close when I can and then moving away when the crowds are large.
I’ve seen this music series but have never been to it, there’s just so many things to do in San Francisco on the weekends. Napa on the other hand is slow and perfect sipping some delicious wines from the area.
So true Noel, I think we will have a great mix of both!
Just think of all the other lovely things you can do in San Francisco on the two days you don’t go to the festival! I’d suggest a hike up to Coit Tower to see the murals inside and take in the view! And a walk or bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge!
I love traveling with my adult children — well, my daughter is an adult, my son is 17. They’ve become people you don’t have to teach or guide anymore. They’re just people you can enjoy spending time with. Enjoy!
Thanks Rachel – Those are great suggestions! I have been to Coit Tower, but never ridden across the GG Bridge, maybe it is time! Our kids are our best friends, they are amazing and fun people. We are lucky.
Isn’t it great to enjoy your children as adults and friends? Sounds like you have some terrific travel plans to make the most of your time together and I’d sure love to join your family for the music festival – what fun!
What a great way to spend time with the kids!
It is great value enjoying your children as adults and mostly an expensive way, but heh it works.
Sounds like you family visit to the Napa Wine Country went well. I don’t think I’ll be going there any time soon with my adult children, because they would be bringing along 6 grandchildren. However, we did travel there many times with them when they were the young children and that went surprisingly well. I will be getting together with my mob soon in Coronado, San Diego. Can’t wait. Beaches are always fun with kids.
Napa looks like a great place for a family getaway. We love traveling with our adult children but don’t get the chance nearly as often as we would like.
Napa is great. I highly recommend taking the Napa walking food tour–we did it a few years ago and loved it! We spent the night in SF a few weeks ago, seeing back to back nights of SF Opera with our daughter. During one afternoon my husband and I took a segway tour in the Fishermen’s Wharf/North Beach neighborhoods. It was fantastic! I hope to post something about playing in SF as it is my backyard (we live in San Jose)! If you have time to meet up for coffee let me know and I can see if I can make it up there.
Going out drinking with our sons seemed a little strange at first, but I soon realized that they had a lot more experience with alcohol than I did. We took our sons to Italy when they were 20 and 16. Like you, I was concerned that they would slip into old patterns of sniping at each other. However, we were pleasantly surprised at how well they did. I think they were actually glad to experience that trip together and they even played Boggle with me on the train—on the condition that I promise to tell no one. They’re now 31 and 28. I’m hoping they’ve forgotten that promise.
IMHO, there is nothing better than traveling with adult kids. They say that you see the world in another way when you travel through the eyes of little kids, but I think the same of traveling with older ones.
Napa is such a great destination, too, with something for everyone! Enjoy every minute of this adventure~