When Sip Hits the Fan

As luck would have it, I’ve remained extremely close friends with my college cronies (go Gators!). That’s the whole gang (27 in total!) in the photo above. Most of us were born in 1977, so we decided to take am epic trip to celebrate our collective 40th birthdays. The destination? Napa Valley for the legendary fall harvest.

My friend and personal travel agent Eddie Mena of Mena Travel planned all the logistics (call Eddie at (305) 649-7066) and let me tell you…this vacation was one for the books! In fact, I’m going to need rehab (kidding… um kinda) after 4 days in Wine Country. Our lackadaisical days were spent tasting the fruit of the gods at wineries such as Truchard (thank you, Suzy!), Robert Mondavi, Charles Krug, V. Sattui, Fluery and Jarvis. We ate a killer French dinner at Bouchon and stayed at the super luxe Hotel Yountville. 

Under the buzz-y influence of wine and with zero children to take care of, my friends and I were able to act like, well, teenagers in college once again. We laughed until our bellies ached. We drank until we could no longer partake. We ate until our stomachs were full. We danced on a party bus like nobody was watching. It was all so freeing. Liberating. Hedonistic. 

Personally, I relished seeing my friends so damn happy and carefree. It was as though we were are little bundles of sunshine and basking in each other’s hazy glow literally warmed my heart. I love you all with every atom of my being and am always in awe of my friends that are family.

We decided to take another trip in 5 years to Hawaii. I hope this post inspires you to vacation with your closest friends, too. Because in light of everything that is going on this crazy world, we never know what tomorrow may bring.

Can’t. Hardly. Wait.

Photos by Charlie Lebess. Follow the hashtag #LetsGetReadyToStumble on Instagram for more pics!