Napa, California

Sometimes you just have to throw your camera gear in the car and go. It’s nice to just explore the world and see what it has to offer without a plan in place.

“Not all those who wander are lost.” — J.R.R. Tolkien

Normally I spend weeks obsessing and planning my day trips. Only shooting during at the “magic hour”, only at the best locations, even to the point I know exactly what pictures I am going to come home with before I have even walked out the door.

This was not one of those trips. It was an unseasonably beautiful day outside I had just passed down some of my old camera equipment to my youngest son. It was also a Sunday after a long work week and more importantly I wanted to sleep in for as long as possible. We finally rolled out of bed at 11 o’clock and I packed our stuff up with a strong cup of coffee in hand. We stopped by the store and picked up all the road trip necessities; candy, soda, beef jerky. I saw a picture of yellow flowers in Napa the week prior, so I knew it was good time of year to visit but having never spent much time there we decided to wing it go wherever the google directions to Napa took us.

The drive should have taken us less than an hour and forty-five minutes, but thirty minutes into the trip we hit heavy traffic. This was probably the first time I have ever not had major road rage. Every time I would start to get frustrated I would remind myself we had nowhere to go and no time we had to be there, plus singing teeny bopper music loudly with my son helped to pass the time. We had the top off out my jeep, so all the surrounding cars could hear our sing and the look we got were priceless.

Two and half hours later we arrived. After some googling we decided to drive the scenic Silverado Trail which spanned between Napa Valley and Calistoga. We didn’t stop to take any pictures on the way to Calistoga we decided to use that time to simply look and experience what was around us. Once almost to Calistoga we pulled over to a beautiful spot located in front of a vineyard and had lunch. We discussed all our favorite views and planned out stops on the way home. My goal for this trip was to practice panoramic, and his was to to learn how to use his new camera and try out some of my lens.

In total I think we pulled over to the side of the road 6 times to take pictures. Then we drove home the same way we got there. This time we knew where the traffic was, my son found a route that bypassed that section. My amazing husband called on our trip home to find out what time we would be home, so when we arrived just before 6pm dinner was waiting on the table for us.

I will remember this trip for years to come, and not because I took amazing pictures or because it was the best road trip I have ever taken. I will remember this trip forever because I spent the day with my son, and we were able to talk and catch up and reconnect which isn’t always the easiest thing to do in this busy life.