Thursday began with clear blue skies and a sun to follow us through the day. This was great complement to our day of kayaking. We headed off down the river for a short ride. Logs were loaded with turtles basking in the sun after a couple days of clouds. Our guests serenaded us along the way, with tunes from the Grateful Dead, Billy Joel and Bob Dylan. At lunch, we left our kayaks on the river and headed up to taste our afternoon away. We were amazed with the pinot noirs from the area, they were just fantastic. The guys headed back early for massages and a little relaxing before the evening.

Our last morning was crisp and blue, with a couple clouds catching the morning rays from the sun. We headed up the Dry Creek Valley passing the rolling hills full of vineyards. The Zinfandel vines are just about done for the season with most of their leaves turning a deep purple. We arrived at Talty Vineyards after a brisk ride. Michael, the winemaker, greeted us with open arms and a big smile. He treated us to some fantastic old vine Zinfandels, then we had to jet to our final stop of the trip, Lambert Bridge. We had a whirlwind tasting of the reserves, which were a definite favorite of the trip. Alas, the time was up and we had to travel back to Healdsburg to return the guests for a their shuttle back to the real world.

-Mary Carmen and Ken