NorCal Day 3: Livermore

(Day 1 and Day 2 if you missed them.)

Being in Livermore felt surreal, yet totally normal. Mom and I went for a walk downtown to start off our day, checking out the sights Marina had pointed out to us the night before. We did a little thrift store shopping, lots of window shopping, and imagined what it would be like to live in a climate where we could wear our hair down and not worry about neck sweat (maybe that was just me).

Once it got closer to noon (we're classy), we went to a local winery for a tour and tasting. Wente Vineyards is one of Livermore's oldest family wineries, and I was especially excited to check it out because they recently changed their name from Wente Bros to Wente Vineyards thanks to their female CEO, Carolyn Wente. You go, girl!

It smelled amazing in here.

The tour was, sadly, disappointing. After a lot of hype (beautiful grounds, stunning views of the vineyards, elaborate tasting room), following around a curmudgeon named Jerry while he rattled off a bunch of jargon and warned us against pretending we knew more than he did wasn't the best way to advertise this award-winning winery. Luckily, the tasting was great--I'm not a wine connoisseur by any means (I like my wine to taste like juice), but I'm game to try new things and Jerry warmed up considerably once he was behind the counter pouring el vino. (Sidenote: if anyone from Wente reads this, I could totally be your tour guide. I'm great at ice breaker jokes and I have an awesome memory. Hire me!)

Back in town and well overdue for lunch, Mom and I checked out Lemon Grass Thai. After I convinced Mom that she might actually like Thai. The conversation went like this:
"I don't like Thai."
"How do you know?"
"I don't know. Okay, let's try it."
We did and we liked it. Especially the fried banana and coconut ice cream. (If you're following along, yes, we've had ice cream every day so far. The trend continues tomorrow.)

Friday night was Marina and Nate's rehearsal dinner, and we were graciously invited over to Marina's parents' house to join in the celebration. I've either met or heard lots about the friends and family gathered, so it was nice to reunite before the craziness of the big day. I learned all about Bay Area traffic, the California grind, and that the current weather was considered "humid" (I laughed out loud at that one). More importantly, I learned that five years and 2100 miles isn't too far to lose something truly special--Marina and I met at just the right time and place in our lives to ensure that.