Napa or Bust!

This is what 4:30am at the airport looks like, for a 5am boarding time – Greensboro to Atlanta to Sacramento, nearly coast to coast.

I climbed into bed  = hopeful = that I’d be able to squeeze in 6 hours of good sleep before my 3am alarm went off so I could get myself to out the door by 3:45am to make it to the airport by 4:15 to do the luggage struggle and parking solo again.

Neighbor dogs barking madly at midnight did NOT help.  

There are no sky caps at his hour in Greensboro.  I grabbed their cart however and loaded all of my stuff and wheeled it into the terminal, giving myself extra points for weight bearing exercise on this day of long travel ahead.

Somewhere over Atlanta I dozed off…maybe 20 minutes, but that was enough to get me all the way to California with no extra shut eye.  It just wouldn’t come.

What does a girl do on a flight where her pop-up TV from between the seats in row 10 has NO AUDIO!? 

We hexie.  All the way!

Border number 4 is growing!

I just finished an excellent audio book – The Baker’s Secret by Stephen P Kiernan.  If you are looking for a good read, or listen, give this one a try.

On June 5, 1944, as dawn rises over a small town on France’s Normandy coast, Emmanuelle is baking the bread that has sustained her fellow villagers in the dark days since the Germans invaded her country.
Only twenty-two, Emma learned to bake at the side of a master, Ezra Kuchen. Apprenticed to Ezra at thirteen, Emma watched with shame and anger as her mentor was forced to wear the six-pointed yellow star on his clothing. She was powerless to help when Ezra was pulled from his shop at gunpoint, the first of many villagers stolen away and never seen again.

In the years that her sleepy coastal village has suffered under the enemy, Emma has silently, stealthily fought back. Each day, she receives an extra ration of flour to bake a dozen baguettes for the occupying troops. And each day, she mixes that precious flour with ground straw to create enough dough for two extra loaves - contraband bread she shares with the hungry villagers. Under the watchful eyes of armed soldiers, she builds a clandestine network of barter and trade that she and the villagers use to thwart their occupiers.

But her gift to the village is more than these few crusty loaves. Emma gives the people a taste of hope - the faith that one day the Allies will arrive to save them. Stephen P. Kiernan paints a brilliant and vivid tableau of humanity during one of the most harrowing points of modern history.

And before I knew it we were crossing the Sierras!

Oh lovely!

I like flying into Sacramento.  It’s a very easy airport and Jamie was there to meet me, happy to help me with my trunk show bags:

I think we are going to need MORE help! LOL!

After a delicious lunch out, we made our way from Sacramento out toward Fairfield where she lives.  We passed farms and fields, orchards and countryside – I love this part of California!

Click to play:

A post shared by Bonnie K Hunter (@quiltville_bonnie) on Apr 13, 2018 at 5:41pm PDT

We had to stop at the "rusted tractor crossing" because the sign said antiques -- we didn't find anything to bring home, but the tractor display was fun, and we had a great time poking around before continuing up to Jamie's house.

Walking on Jamie’s beautiful property!

Does it get much better than this?

It does this morning, at sunrise!

Click to play:

A post shared by Bonnie K Hunter (@quiltville_bonnie) on Apr 14, 2018 at 6:46am PDT

I’m rested and ready to meet with the Napa Valley area quilters and visiting friends this morning.  I have no idea what we’ll get up to this afternoon after the meeting, but my schedule is OPEN and I’m excited to see what we do to fill in this day.

I know I’m in good hands!

Quiltville Quote of the Day!

Don't let the fear paralyze you. Take the step.

Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!