Last month, Deane and I drove up to St Helena for a heart filled weekend. We hit up all our favorite spots - see below for highlights. As always, we ate our way through the weekend, rating BLTs and cocktails. We like to stay in balance and keep flow at the forefront of our day to day itineraries. That looks something like - a morning walk or hike, coffee and a juice at Station, breakfast sandwich from Model Bakery, a stroll through downtown St Helena or Yountville, pool time at home, lunch (we are die hard for small plates), the morning activities all over again, a drive in the vineyards, a tasting at Napa Valley Reserve, dinner, and a nightcap under the stars. We also make a daily trip to the spa at our favorite nearby hotel for a good sauna sweat and cold plunge. I could go on and on about my appreciation for Napa but in the meantime, here are a few to do's and must visits.

Charter Oak - bread & butter, raw vegetables, beef tartare, garden peppers, burnt vanilla soft serve

Farmstead - frose (this is a summer must), shishito peppers, lacinato kale salad, cheeseburger

Picobar @ Solage - damn. where do I start! whipped avocado, hearts of romaine, fish tacos and a sip of something spicy mezcal based

Oakville Grocery - blt or turkey pesto

* wine country travel guide to come…