SELECT Magazine Summer 2020 | Page 22

YOUNTVILLE While towns like Dana Point and Rancho Palos Verdes certainly make for excellent day trips along the way, the only fitting conclusion to your tale of the open road is Yountville. Situated squarely in Napa Valley, there’s a Parisian-countryside charm to the city; traffic is near nonexistent, 40 works of outdoor sculpture dot the town and most importantly — wine is integral to daily life. Serene vineyards encompass the views and your adventures. Hikes through nature preserves are paired with visits to world-class wineries, bike rides through the gorgeous countryside combine with picnics among the vines; why, even admiring art at the Napa Valley Museum pairs well with wine. This is a sumptuous way of life — the perfect finale to a vacation. For those who demand their road trip adventure end on an adrenaline-rush high note, there is one more option: Hot air balloon rides are plentiful in Yountville. Soaring over hillsides bathed golden by California sun, centered in pervasive solitude provided by a few hundred feet of elevation, you’ll find yourself swept away in that aforementioned wanderlust — the joy of living radiating down to the core of your being. And, like all things in Yountville, it pairs excellently with wine. Sample the best from world-class wineries 22 | SELECT · 2020