Sunday, February 23, 2025

A Short Getaway to Calistoga

Sunday, February 23, 2025  , ,  No comments

For Inna's birthday, I had planned a two-day getaway to Calistoga, with rest & relaxation at the Indian Springs Resort & Spa and entertainment at Blue Note Napa, where one of her favorite flamenco guitarists - Ottmar Liebert was performing.

Friday, February 21, 2025

After Inna and I finished work, we started our drive to Indian Springs Resort & Spa in Calistoga. There was some traffic on the way and we arrived later than expected. After checking in at reception, we picked up our room keys for #21. We parked our Tesla Model Y near our room and unloaded the car. Both Inna and I unpacked our suitcases and rested a bit.

I had initially made dinner reservations at Lovina afor20:15, but we decided to change to an earlier time. After a 10-minute walk from room #21 at Indian Springs, we checked in at Lovina and waited while our table was being prepared. After being seated we ordered the following items:
  • Appetizer: Freshly baked bread
  • Salad: Sonoma Apple Salad
  • Boris: Heritage Pork & Beef Bolognese
  • Inna: Seared Wild Halibut, Mushroom Soup, Georgia's Sparkler
As expected, the freshly baked bread and Sonoma Apple Salad were excellent. Service was fast and efficient. I liked my Heritage Bolognese and Inna raved about her Wild Halibut. The Mushroom soup was also excellent.



After dinner, we returned to our room and changed into swimsuits. We walked to the nearby thermal pool and jumped in. The water was quite hot and Inna was a bit shocked by it at first but got used to it eventually. We swam around for an hour and returned to our room at 23:00.  

The frogs near our room were extremely loud but stopped ribbiting when we came near. After resting a bit, we turned in.

Saturday, February 22, 2025

At 08:00, we decided to try the Restorative + Meditation Yoga at the Reflection Room. We were a few minutes late (as I took a shower and shaved), but we managed to find two spaces. For some unknown reason, I felt a bit nauseous when doing some of the yoga poses (very unusual for me). We did enjoy the overall class.

On the way back to our room, we stopped at the Indian Spring's library/game room where freshly brewed coffee was served. There were also Scrabble, chess, checkers, and other board games (in addition to many books).


At 09:15, we decided to drive for breakfast to our favorite Michelin-rated Solbar restaurant, located at the Solage Resort (just a few minutes away from Indian Springs). Solage also has free Tesla destination chargers and we parked our Tesla Model Y at a charger and started the charging process (it took 8 hours to charge from 28% to 87%). 


From the charging lot, we walked a few minutes to Solbar. We decided to sit indoors, as it was still quite chilly outside. Initially, I was planning to order my all-time favorite Lemon Ricotta pancakes, but changed my mind. We ordered the following items:

  • Boris: Duck Hash, Coffee
  • Inna: Morning Benedict, Coffee
My Duck Hash was amazing and Inna's Benedict was excellent too. We were so full, that we declined to order Lemon Ricotta pancakes!

After breakfast, we left our Tesla charging and walked back to Indian Springs. We decided to use the complimentary bicycles to ride around the area. After changing into bicycling attire, we picked up the two city bikes (we did not bring the U-locks, as they were broken).

We started the ride on Lincoln Ave toward Washington Street (where we turned south). The Vine Trail turned out to be much longer than we expected and was mostly flat and separate from cars. From Washington Street, the trail continues to Sterling Vineyards and continues parallel to Hwy 29.


We biked for about 4.5 miles each way (for a total of 9 miles). We enjoyed the ride as the weather was pleasant the multiple wineries on both sides of the road were beautiful. On the return ride, we stopped by Sterling Vineyards (it was closed the last time we visited in October 2023) and noticed that it had a gondola to the top. 


After returning to Indian Springs, we dropped off the bikes and rested. For lunch, we decided to stop by Sam's Social Club, Indian Spring's main specialty restaurant near our room. I called in to make reservations but the receptionist on the phone told me to just come in. After coming in a few minutes later, we were seated outdoors (it was a nice, sunny day). We ordered the following items:

  • Drinks: Hot Tea, Coffee
  • Boris: Scramble
    • House Made Sausage, Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, Peppers, Cheddar Choice of Toast, Fruit
  • Inna: Egg-in-the-Hole
    • Parmesan-crusted brioche, Porcini Cream, Black Truffle, Arugula, Fruit
While service was a bit slow (as usual), the entrees were excellent. Inna loved her Egg-in-the-Hole (egg benedict on brioche), while I enjoyed the Scramble.

After lunch, we played some ping-pong (Inna won 21-12) and then returned to our room to change into swimsuits. We enjoyed swimming in the adult (less hot) pool and the main pool (more hot) until about 15:40 when I left to return to our room to pick up the charged Tesla at Solage and prepare for dinner and an upcoming concert.

The drive to Napa was pleasant and we could find parking near Blue Note Napa, where the Ottmar Liebert concert was scheduled for 18:30.



I had made dinner plans at Napkins Bar & Grill nearby and we walked there, arriving at 17:05. After being seated, we ordered the following items:
  • Appetizer: Ahi Poke
  • Inna: Pan-seared Scallops
  • Boris: Halibut
The Ahi Poke was excellent, as was the wild Halibut and Inna's Scallops. We enjoyed our dinner. The service was fast and efficient and the food was excellent. We decided to skip drinks and dessert, as our upcoming concert would have those to offer.



We walked a few minutes over to Blue Note Napa and showed our tickets. We were seated on the Center Platform, on high chairs. The seating is unassigned (first come, first serve). It turned out to be ok, though a bit cramped with very little room. We ordered the following items from the menu (before the concert started):
  • Drinks: Hot Tea
  • Desserts: Apple Cobbler, Chocolate Opera Cake
The Apple Cobbler was warmly baked, generously sized, and delicious (though maybe a bit too sweet). The Opera Cake was nothing special but too small.



Ottmar Liebert and his band Luna Negra started the concert. There were three musicians:
  • Ottmar Liebert: acoustic flamenco guitar
  • Jon Gagan: Electric Bass Guitars + Upright Acoustic Bass
  • Robby Rothschild: Drums + Percussion
The Ottmar Liebert concert was very enjoyable and I recognized a few songs and melodies. The Blue Note Napa is a small venue with excellent acoustics. It feels more intimate than the larger venues we have previously attended (like Levi's Stadium or Chase Center).

Here is a short clip of Ottmar Liebert playing:



The concert finished around 17:50 and we returned to our Tesla Model Y and drove back to Calistoga. We decided to go for another round of swimming in the thermal pool. This time, it was much colder, though not as cold as on Friday. However, it was cloudy and we did not see as many stars as on Friday.


Sunday, February 23, 2025

Happy Birthday, Inna!

I woke early to heavy sneezing (allergies were acting up).  At 09:00, after taking a quick shower and getting dressed, we drove over to Solbar for our morning breakfast. I was hoping to charge my Tesla Model Y but the 2 destination chargers were initially full (1 additional charger was broken).

After sitting down at Solbar, we ordered the following items:

  • Duck Hash, Coffee
  • Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Coffee

The Duck Hash was excellent (as usual) and the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes were also fantastic. After breakfast, we returned to our Tesla and noticed that both chargers were now free. I decided to plug in the Tesla (to give a little extra charge for the return trip home). I ended up charging from 67% to 87%.

We walked back to Indian Springs Resort & Spa and changed into our swimsuits. We ended up swimming for about an hour (from 10:30 to 11:30). It was a bit colder and more cloudy than on Saturday. It also sprinkled a little bit.

I returned to our room and changed out of the swimsuits. I walked back to Solage to pick up the charged Tesla and drove it back to Indian Springs Resort & Spa. Inna was already there and we quickly packed our suitcases and checked out of the hotel.

We decided to explore Calistoga downtown for a bit. Inna was curious about some of the jewelry shops but they turned out to be closed on Sunday. We retired to our Tesla and drove to Bouchon Bistro in Yountville.

We found a parking space near Bouchon Bistro and checked in at 12:50. (Our lunch reservation for for 13:00). We got a fantastic corner table with a window view (much better than all our previous visits). After sitting down and looking at the menu, we ordered the following items:

  • Drinks: Scribe Spritz, Hot Coffee, Hot Eal Grey Tea
  • Appetizer: Freshly Baked Bread, Salmon Tartare
  • Soup: French Onion Soup
  • Main: Lamb
  • Birthday: Brownie with candle
  • Dessert: Profiteroles

The Salmon Tartar and the French Onion Soup were excellent. The Lamb was also quite delicious. We also enjoyed the birthday brownie and the Profiteroles dessert.


Unfortunately, my allergies got much worse and I could not stop sneezing. We walked a bit after lunch (to walk off all the calories). Inna offered to drive the remaining two hours back home. I took her up on the offer, as I was sneezing too much and had a difficult time with my sneezing and itchy eyes.

The drive back home was fairly smooth with mostly light traffic and we arrived at around 16:50. We decided to skip the birthday dinner, as I was not feeling well enough (and Alex was still driving back from Northstar).

Calistoga Trip Review

Highlights

  • Swimming and relaxing at Indian Spring's Thermal Pool
  • Watching Ottmar Liebert at Blue Note Napa
  • Dining at Solbar, Lovina, and Sam's Social Club in Calistoga
  • Dining at Bouchon Bistro, Napkins Bar & Grill, and Blue Note in Yountville and Napa
  • Bicycling from Calistoga to Napa boundary (about 4.5 miles each way)

Lowlights

  • Getting allergies on Sunday

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