Team USA wins at Esurance Tennis Classic

What a fabulous last day in Mill Valley!! It was a PERFECT tennis day. It was a tad more serious on the courts today (they are, after all, competitive athletes) and the tennis was both great AND FUN!

But first let me digress and say a quick word about last nights fund raiser/black tie affair. It was a worthy event that raised a lot of money for the respective charities. The Bryan Brothers band was great for the second night!

This morning we were treated to a homemade breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon and macadamia nut pancakes) at the magnificent home of friends of the O'Fees, Fred and Dina Eisenhart. Their home is 4 stories on the side of a mountain! Awesome view and awesome hosts!

Such a fun trip and a fun day! Met lots of very nice people! Murphy Jensen, by the way, is a super nice guy-now the tennis pro at the Cloisters in Sea Island. He was the captain of team USA.

The Bryan Brothers are incredibly nice about letting people see, touch, and wear their gold medal. They are such amazing ambassadors for their sport! Their old tennis coach, Dick Gould,(now Director of tennis at Stanford) was there today to support and cheer the players on! He is the distinguished gentleman wearing the Gold Medal. We actually got to hold it and Cindy got to wear it!!! What more could you ask for a tennis day?!

Esurance Charity Tennis Classic in Mill Valley

Yesterday we had an awesome time with Jim and Gloria Mack, proud owners of the Jemrose Winery! They were gracious enough to open their home to us for the night - a super nice couple who just happen to also make an awesome wine! They were also nice enough to arrange for a tour of a winery where the grapes are in the process of being crushed and fermented. A very interesting tour with some great wine tastings!

Last night was the cocktail party for the opening night of the tennis tournament. All the players were there, with the exception of the Bryan Brothers who were setting up for a 2 hour concert to benefit the local food banks. It was a GREAT concert for a wonderful cause. Everyone was having a great time----both band and concert goers!

The tennis tournament is a team tennis affair and the players are having such fun! It's a wonderfully intimate, relaxed event where you can really enjoy the tennis personalities! This year the players are: Lindsay Davenport, Gigi Fernandez, Rennae Stubbs, Conchita Martinez, the Bryan Brothers, Mark Knowles, Justin Gimelstob, Wayne Ferreira, Murphy Jensen and Wayne Bryan--- a fun loving group of pros!!

Tonight is a black tie dinner and auction with the pros and the Bryan Brothers band playing again. Should be great fun! Big thank you to our friends, the O'Fee's who invited us to join them on this adventure!!

Glen Elllen-- Sonoma wine countr

We have arrived in the Sonoma wine country with our good friends, Cindy and Don O'Fee! What a good time we are having!

We have made the rounds of several vineyards on the most perfect (not a cloud in the sky) kind of weather day!!!

We are staying in a newly renovated ( opened Aug. 1) bed and breakfast called Olea. It's just a little way outside of the town of Sonoma. It's a wonderful bed and breakfast run by a wonderful family with a great and accommodating staff! They are known for their spectacular breakfasts- and we can attest to the fact that the reputation for excellence is well deserved!! Summed up in the word"Yummy"!

We made the rounds of several wonderful wineries today for their tastings! Lunch was at the Swiss Hotel in Sonoma in their courtyard. It had an excellent menu. The baked Brie with garlic and flatbread was awesome!!

Our room at Olea is charming. We have heated bathroom floors and a fireplace in front of our bed! What more could you ask for??

Last Day in Ireland

Well, all good things must come to an end and so it does with our Irish trip. We've been blessed with great weather and beautiful sights.

Our final day we visited Casel Rock and had a wonderful lunch in the village. Upon returning to BallyFin we went for a horse and trap ride. Our horse was Billy and our driver was Victor. We had a lovely drive around the estate which is 8 miles of grounds!

After the trap ride, I went on a tour of the Manor house which proved most interesting. I then collected Bill and we took one of the golf carts to go see the walled gardens---beautiful! All in all, a beautiful trip where we all had a great time. Our final dinner was with two Navy Captains (retired) whom we had met the day before. They were most interesting and dinner was delightful!!!