The Bell Curve of Life

Saturday, December 16, 2023

Castello di Amorosa

Our friends had never been to Castello di Amorosa before so we stopped in there during our trip. The first time pulling up to the winery, it is quite an unexpected site! They stood there for a minute just taking it in.

Who expects to see a castle in the middle of Napa Valley?

You can see photos from our last tour of this winery here.

It even has a moat!

And a small farm just outside the castle walls.

According to the tour guide, the castle was partially built from relics imported from Europe. I would imagine the paintings are all of modern origin here in the states.

An ornate hall.

Another fresco or painting.

Yes you can sit in the chairs!

The tour winds up here for the wine tasting. It is quite fun tasting with those who had just been on the tour. When you sign up for the tour, make sure you pay for the chocolate as a part of the tour - pairing that with the wine is fabulous!

A few from the castle.

Another view from the castle. About three quarters of the hills in the background are charred from the 2020 Glass Fire.

Educating us on the various Napa Valley grape growing regions!

Barrels deep underground storage.

They had displays of medeival artifacts. Some of the helmets are said to be real, some reproductions.

This torture chamber is a reproduction.

And yes you can sit on this chair too! Our friend John did just that and came away unscathed.

Temporary case storage.

I think this room used to be where the tours did the end-of-tour wine tasting. It is now a room for wine club members only. A little disappointing.

Chateau Montelena 2023

We ended our tour of Napa Valley with a trip to one of our favorite wineries, Chateau Montelena just outside of Calistoga. They have very nice wines and a picturesque property. Here is a link to photos we took during out last visit.

Our friends took this photo of us before we headed in for some wine tasting.

Here is our host describing the winery's history and the wines we are tasting.

The four of us wrapped up the day with dinner in Napa. We passed this church at sunset and I could not resist taking this photo. It was so peaceful and serene.

Friday, December 15, 2023

Teo's First Concert

Mateo just started playing the trombone in September and already has performed with the middle school band for the Winter Concert this week!

He is ready to start!

The entire middle school band

Brother Troy enjoying the music.

After the concert with his mother, father, and brother.

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

My Bride's New Ride

She jumped head first into electrification by getting a Mustang Mach-E Premium Extended Range this time around. Gorgeous, gorgeous car! She looks great in it!

This makes her third red car in a row - and not intentionally. Each time we get a new car, we look at the colors available and pick the best one for that vehicle. It just so happens it has been red on her last three (we've bought other cars in-between in other colors).

We didn't trade anything in as we are hedging our bets - we wanted a spare vehicle to share the commute load in case she decides she doesn't want to drive the new one in every day. She'll have her choice!

I must say purchase experiences are getting better and better. Very smooth and fast, no dealership games, honest prices for honest cars. Just the way we like it.

The question will surely arise: why didn't we go with a Tesla Model Y? We are not Tesla fans for a variety of reasons I won't go into here. And just for grins, I did price one out on the Model Y configurator - similarly equipped, price came out very close - lease payment was even EXACTLY the same!