My friend Vic is well known for making long term bets, ones that require at least five years to be won or lost.  He is also well known for never having won any of these bets.  Cecilia's trip to Napa Valley California to celebrate her 30th birthday in September 2005 was sponsored by Vic, as the result of a bet that they had made seven years previous.  It was summer 1998 in Houston when the bet was made, during a party, in the kitchen of a rented house that Vic formerly shared with another Houston friend.  Vic and Cecilia were arguing about the desires of many women in their early twenties to quickly settle down and have children - Cecilia insisted that she would certainly wait and put first priority on her career, and Vic disagreed.  The argument concluded with a bet that Cecilia would have two children before reaching age thirty, the amount of the wager was somewhere between $300 and $500, but nobody could accurately recall in the end.  I remember the moment of the bet very well - Cecilia and I were not yet dating, but I had my secret intentions and I remember thinking that I would be happy to help her lose this bet if possible.  In the end we both got what we wanted :). 

Our trip to Napa was a good one - Steve, Vic, and I spent the majority of the time tasting wine, but also managed to have a few beers in San Francisco as well.  After experiencing excellent hospitality while tasting wines in France I had expected a similar atmosphere in California, but was sorely disappointed.   Most of the tasting sessions were limited to their most recent year or two at best, and the hosts were often presumptuous and sometimes even rude.  But the wines were excellent, so we easily forgave the attitude and bought bottles from the people who were kind and helpful.  A few pictures from the weekend: