Yesterday, I drove up to Yountville, California, the home of the world-renowned restaurant The French Laundry and equally famous Bouchon Bakery. One of my good friends from Saint Mary’s, Megan, lives in Napa so both of these eateries are pretty close to her! I first heard of The French Laundry in high school. At that time, my Junior Year AP English teacher, Melinda Sousa, had the opportunity to dine at the world class restaurant. I’ve always wanted to eat there; however, for the prix fixe menu, the cost is around $270 per person. The restaurant has also received 3 Michelin stars. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the ranking system of the food industry, it is quite a deal to be granted even 1 Michelin star, with 3 being the highest and the best of the best. I kid you not. These stars mean EVERYTHING to these eating establishments, trust me. Although we didn’t actually dine at the restaurant (for those of you who were confused about my check-in on Facebook), we were able to munch on some delicious baked treats from Bouchon Bakery. It was like a dream come true. I have purchased many of Thomas Keller’s cookbooks, so I have become quite familiar with this recipes (Keller is the chef proprietor of The French Laundry, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, ad hoc, and per se.
Once we picked up our treats, we headed over to the Napa Riverfront, which has to be one of the nicest downtown promenade areas that I have ever been to. Shout out to our friend Lauren who also played residential photographer for the day.
There’s also this bridge near the Napa Wine Train where everyone “in love” places a lock with their initials alongside the chain link siding. Apparently the three of us (Megan, Lauren, and I) are all in love with one another. Needless to say, there’s now a lock with our initials on it in Napa. Once the lock is ‘locked,’ you toss the only set of keys in a wine barrel down below.
After the love-lock bridge, Megan wanted to show us this building with several different shops and eateries in it! Although I can’t remember the name today, it is very similar to the Eastern Market that I visited in Washington, D.C. but much more upscale of course!
I had to purchase a flat-edge spoon for the times I am deglazing the bottom of my Le Creuset pans, usually with a little bit of red wine! YUM! Now we walked through the building fairly quickly, as I believe some of us were pretty hungry. A local eatery known as Gott’s was our choice! Delicious diner food with an upscale twist and gourmet ketchup–you can’t beat it!
On our walk home, I happened to catch this beautiful photo of the downtown Riverfront!
We ended the day back at Megan’s house where I finally got to meet the rest of her family! I think it’s so crazy when you are friends with someone for quite a while and have yet to meet their family! I have to include this picture of Lauren (if you can’t tell, she took some selfies) and a shot of Megan’s dog, Max, who definitely became my little buddy last night.
I have really come to enjoy these little day trips that I’ve made to go visit friends from SMC. The places I’ve been are great, but the people I’ve been with are even better. I have always wanted to go to Bouchon Bakery, but just never made the trip out there. Since Megan lives in the area, I am so glad she played tour guide for the little day excursion out there. I am extremely grateful for the friendship that we share, and as I grow up in life, I have become more and more appreciative for the type of people like Megan who are willing to put up with me on a regular basis. She’s one of a kind. That’s for sure! Yesterday, as we were perusing one of the local shops, Megan happened to glance over at a pencil case with these words by E.B. White:
Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.
Ironically enough, I thought that this quote was the epitome of yesterday. So oftentimes we go places with our friends, and do not take a second to realize this exact moment in time. Yesterday, as I was walking down the street with Megan and Lauren, snapping photographs, I had this feeling that quickly overcame me. What an amazing day I had already had with a great group of people. It’s such a weird feeling to have but is one that is unlike any other. I can only explain it as one that is completely aware of the surroundings while enjoying even the smallest parts of the day. I do realize that that is such an awkward placement of words to explain one’s feelings, but I cannot think of a better way to write them.
What a day. Full of memories, great laughs, and wonderful company. Cheers to a day that I will forever remember (and I really mean it, I’m not just saying that!)
And that is today’s thought.
–pg
Yes, this is real life. 
“The presence of wonder” … I know exactly what you meant with your description … it has happened to me several times in my lifetime (and probably more had I been in tune to the experience earlier in my life). In my “mature” years (aka senior) I have come to think of it as “feeling God’s presence” …