Monday, June 17, 2013

Sonoma: Driving With The Windows Down

This weekend we drove to Sonoma in the wine country where we'd rented a house. Kevin was away so I had the kids on my own. Thankfully our friends visited because the house was one of these places you arrive at and say: "Oh the photos did it way too much justice." We had fun anyway.

The kids and their friends at Girl and The Fig, best mussels ever (they don't heap too much garlic on them)

Back to the fabulous Scooteria coffee shop
Paella at El Dorado Kitchen
And the triple threat lamb

Scarf from French Nest

Re the house: There were coyote statues near the pool, not really an animal that I want see poolside alive or in concrete form.

Swimming with the coyotes (or is it a dingo?)

Inside, all the glasses were smeary, the drawers full of crumbs and black bits, and the windows were dirty. I told the owner's Person Friday. "Oh, this is the country" was her reply as though all of those things were tres charmant and I was a clueless urbanite. Outside I showed her the bottom of the pool which was strangely scrapey and multi-coloured. Dirt? I asked her. She gave me a look. "This is the country" I replied for her.

This was at the entry...setting the tone?

Enough of my complaining. (Why is it when I complain it's legit consumerism and when my kids complain it's just whining... )

Sonoma is the place where the songs on the radio come alive. And especially that cheesy-genius country one called Cruise where baby you a song you make me wind my windows down (resurrected by Nelly sticking it at the end of his equally dodgy Hey Porche and then with a re-mix) which I now know all the words to and so do the kids. If you want to feel good about your life, just picture me, 51 year-old crazy mutha driving a bird-pooped ugly Dodge Minivan with four bickering kids in the back, singing her heart out with the window down.

Before we drove home last night I stopped at the Chocolate Cow on Sonoma Square and gave the kids $10 to buy a couple of gobsful of candy in nuclear reactive colours. Cy, 9, came back to the car with his left cheek bulging. Whajaget? I asked. Chewing tobaccy, he said. Bless.


38 comments:

  1. Don't you hate it when your rental place is not what you expect it to be? although you and the kids would have a great time wherever you were Jody....and the seat at the entrance...well that is not 'distressed' that is suicidal..........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Libby, as the kiwis say, I had a bit of a wobbly! Next time I have to see the place in person - photos only show the half picture! yes whey would you put that sofa at the entry?

      Delete
  2. Coyotes by the pool, my kids would love that! But the paella looks divine.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you enjoyed the break Jody....I always worry until I actually get to the place in case things aren't quite as they seem!It did happen with a pool in Portugal but the owner refunded some money when we complained!
    ~Anne

    ReplyDelete
  4. The food looks delicious and these photos are so beautiful. Thank you for your share!
    http://led.cpbay.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank God you went out! Barry would have packed us up and demanded a refund - he is not patient about that stuff anymore! This is the COuntry? that is quite a response!

    On the other hand, the food looks amazing and your kids, as always, Beautiful! Are you sure you weren't Rosalind Russell in a past life?

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's legit consumerism, never whining, when money has been paid by the consumer. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I LOVE Sonoma and Sonoma Valley... the past few times I've been to the Bay Area, I always go there. It's on my list to try to get to Napa, but I've always had such great fun in Sonoma...

    I need to get back!

    ~shoes~

    ReplyDelete
  8. Those Coyotes are hilarious - who needs a concrete garden gnome to give pizazz? It's one thing if the place has interesting decor choices, but dirty... that's just horrible. We were once forced to stay in what I termed "the skanky log cabin" for a night due to a landslide (couldn't get up the mountain to our more luxurious accommodation, and frankly were lucky as we fought off others for the privilege of the cabin). I spent most of that 24 hours waiting for hte roads to reopen musing on what the person that chose the artwork for the walls was thinking (none of it was in remotely the same style or complimented one another), and how tall they were (all hung at near ceiling height). At least with friends and good cafes things improved for you... hilarious about Cy and the tobacco... that's legal for children in the States?? x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've spent many an evening in our Tahoe ski rentals wondering why someone would collect ten wood bears and hang them on the wall or ten ft scythes or various other Knicky nkackies. And this was also one of those rental places that had 15 notes in every room, telling you this and that...

      Delete
  9. What an excuse
    Let all hang loose
    It's the country they say
    When a hillbilly bathes in the bay
    A truck is all muddy and old
    They have one tooth made of gold
    See it could be worse that dirt
    A mountain man could have came to flirt lol

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great pictures Jody and looks like you all had a great time. It's been so long since I've been to Sonoma and I can't wait to go back. The seafood pictures you took are great and looks like to ate well;) Have fun today! xxL

    ReplyDelete
  11. I totally understand your gripes about the house--- I am soooo picky about that sort of thing!

    But as for your photos--- that paella looks divine!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Eeek! Strange that the Person Friday thought it was 'country' to be mucky! But anyway, you sound like you had a great time in spite of that and I'm not at all surprised.

    And the coyotes?!

    Actually, my guess is that this is One of Those Stories you'll Look Back on and Laugh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I kept wanting to say: "Im from New Zealand and I know what country is!!" but that would have sounded shrill..

      Delete
  13. Perhaps the owner doesn't know how their "Person Friday" is keeping the place. A few pictures and a warning from the Health Department might be in order. Still looks like a lot of fun!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sigh! A few years back I was working in the next province and I rented a furnished apartment that looked way better in the photos than IRL. I slept one night there, after which I wrote and complained to the owner - got my deposit and rent back. Luckily I was going away for 2 weeks, so I never had to go back to the scary place.

    Chewing tobacco, huh? He's got an early start, that Cy. Is he the one who will be going to the community college? :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the older brother. I made some calls to other places but they were all booked up. Hopefully we'll get some money back, probably not though...its the country after all

      Delete
  15. Oh Jody-Sonoma is one of my favorite spots on earth. I lived in the Napa Valley for 4 years in another life;). The Girl and the Fig-delish- and the sleek El Dorado Kitchen our two of our very favorite restaurants. Looks like you and the kids had fun despite the ...ugly statues and yucky windows.
    xx, Heather @ Stylemindchic

    ReplyDelete
  16. oh you had a lovely time over there :) I love paellas esp. the one in the pic seems delicious :) I'll be happy if you check out my blog too=)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Now, had I seen the white wicker love seat I would have SWOONED!!!!!!!!As for the other.......am in total agreement with YA!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Haha, this is great Jody. And makes me feel better about my disastrous exchange with what I thought was represented to be a chic flat in London that was disgustingly filthy. Anywhoo, all that yummy food looks it outweighed "the country".
    xo Mary Jo

    ReplyDelete
  19. Jody- Ah, we are trying the "house rentals" for first time this summer and I am crossing my fingers!

    Happy Summer!

    Loretta

    ReplyDelete
  20. Looks like a marvellous place, although I could not have had dirt in the drawers, it's not good. Love the pool, that statue would have freaked me out a bit, like something staring at me, maybe a camera was in it, no shouldn't say that!! But, it is very strange!! Glad you guys had fun! xx

    ReplyDelete
  21. A quaint place, full of character, in the country. Ah, yes. And then there's the place where you stayed. Guests make a nice distraction.

    I've never heard of chocolate chewing tobacco. But there are so many new things these days, it's hard for this Bear to stay current.

    Blessings and Bear hugs!
    Bears Noting
    Life in the Urban Forest (poetry).

    ReplyDelete
  22. This looks like it was an amazing time and that lamb looks DELISH!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Glad you had fun in spite of the sleaze.
    "This is the country", what a cop-out!

    In the days when one still did big parties - I made an enormous Paella and my husband #1 scoured Soho for lobster's tails. It was a great success but by the time I felt I could relax and party all the flippin' paella was eaten.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I'm taking notes - we've got 5 days in San Fransisco at the end of July before we leave the US.....wine country definitely on my list.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I absolutely love your laid back attitude to life and parenthood. chewing Tobaccy! Priceless!

    ReplyDelete
  27. So, you picked Sonoma AGAIN over Napa!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know. I'm sorry, just that its only 40 mins away (and slightly cheaper). However now that I have discovered that Napa restaurant last time it draws me back in...

      Delete
  28. I love Sonoma! How fun to rent a house. It's a bummer when it isn't as advertised. That happened to us before too. Hopefully, you guys still had a blast. Looks like you went some great places!

    Have a good weekend!
    xxKim

    ReplyDelete
  29. I just hate the first couple of minutes when you arrive at your destination and you hope it will be great. You know immediately you open the door whether its going to be a yeah or a Neath. Sadly for you it was to to be good. Dirty because it was the country what a joke. But the coyotes at the pool are the real giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I think I've figured it out ... your life is a sitcom.

    The food looks divinely delish.

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a disappointment about the house but it looks like that delicious food helped to make up for it especially the paella. Love your scarf! Those pool statues are definitely not cute.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Wow, you're too good. I wouldn't have been so understanding and let the lousy excuses go. Good thing you guys had fun anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  33. This is the country.....so funny. That chair needs to be thrown out of the country. :)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...