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We boosted a car and headed up the coast. Ok fine, we rented a Sentra and buckled the “kids” in the back seat, but we headed north from SFO to our friends and rock star designers, Deviant 9 Studios, in Chico this past Friday. The visit was too short, but their hospitality has us pining for another trip. Especially if the lunches at Sierra Nevada brewery, the picnics in parks you could only find in northern california, and the distinctly not refrigerated and trucked across the country food keeps flowing! Oh, and did I mention, we pushed the ball forward on Monkey Bed’s next bag? I thought we were excited about the Urban Blanket Bag, but our new everyday bag due this winter has us tapping fingers AND toes with nervous excitement. More thanks than we know how to give to Greg, Michelle, Carrie, Wendy, and of course, Taos!

It was on to Napa where we got to hang with our old friend Clay and the wonderful Sonja, but not before Sonja gave us a behind the scenes tour of Artesa Vineyards. If you’re into design and architecture, even without the incredible single vineyard Pinot, Artesa is worth a long visit. Literally set into one of the highest hills in the area, the views inside and out at Artesa pretty much force you to stop and smell the oaky goodness.

Of course, how could any of that compare to the rocking beer-can chicken BBQ that Clay put on for us and a few friends. Life in Napa for Ollie the Bulldog seems pretty sweet! Thanks so much to Clay, Sonja and your charming family for such a relaxing evening soaking in the wine-country life.

It was a quick jaunt from Napa to check out Sonoma where I’m pretty sure Heather Margolis fell in love with that perfect combination of places like Fremont Diner (looks like a shack, tastes like a 5-star southern ho-down) and Buena Vista Vineyard where we scored a bottle of their ‘05 Pinot. Which reminds me, we found use #467 for the Urban Blanket Bag…wrapping your wine country purchase for the long trip back to bean-town!

Last stop, back to San Fran for a dinner with our friend Eileen from the good old days at RCA Records and her amazing better half, Mario. Once again, we were treated to an incredible and locally grown meal at Urban Tavern but it was nothing compared with getting to catch up with old friends! We boarded the red-eye for Boston Monday night already comparing calendars in the hopes of finding time for our next trip west. See you soon Northern Cali friends!

And since WordPress doesn’t want to cooperate with putting pictures inside paragraphs today, here’s a few shots from the long weekend!