When is a Vacation Not a Vacation?

I was talking to a coworker the other day, and she mentioned that she would be on vacation beginning the next day. So, of course, I asked where she was going. She responded that she wasn’t going anywhere; rather she was staying at home and would be doing a few little hikes and just hanging out with her daughter.

That reminded me of a question I am frequently asked when I say I’m going to Georgia, or Arizona, or Ohio, or anywhere I happen to be going off to. “Oh, do you have family there?” More often than I would like to think, people are genuinely puzzled by the fact that no, I do not have family there.

These scenarios just got me wondering – When is a vacation really a vacation? Of course, I can only speak for myself, but a vacation must include a destination – generally with a plane ride but a road trip can certainly count too. I know the concept of a stay-cation has been much in the news lately, but to me, hanging around home is sheer torture. I look at all the organizing projects I should be working on, all the clutter I should be tackling, all the deck painting, de-mossing, gutter cleaning, weeding, car waxing, light fixture changing that I should be doing and it just makes me depressed. I can only truly unwind if I’m not stuck staring at all that stuff, thinking about what I should be doing.

That isn’t to say that I never want to do these things, but I just don’t want to use my vacation time to do it. It is a conundrum. A friend of mine only considers it to be a vacation if it includes 5 (consecutive) days off work.

Sadly, I have no vacation on the immediate horizon (under either the destination/plane ride theory or the 5 day theory) – just a couple of weekend trips nearby for the usual – a wedding, a birthday party, a baby shower. All fun, all looked forward to, but all not vacations. Now a destination wedding is a different matter! Although I have to admit that a wedding in Washington, D.C. would be more of a vacation than one in Arkansas.

Over the years, I have been on some fantastic vacations – I have had some wonderful experiences and made some great memories.  Here are just a few from the last couple of years.

Crater Lake, Oregon – August 2011

Relaxing with a Glass at Schmidt Family Vineyard – August 2011

Gold Beach Whaler – August 2011

Slate Run Living Farm – Winchester, Ohio – August 2008

The Hanoi Taxi – National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Dayton, Ohio – August 2008

Hearst Castle – San Simeon, CA – August, 2010

Antietam National Battlefield – Sharpsburg, MD – February, 2008

The Biltmore Estate – Asheville, NC – June 2012

The Joseph Manigault House – Charleston, SC – June 2012

Savannah’s Colonial Cemetery – Savannah, GA – June 2012

Benson Vineyards and Estate Winery – Manson, WA – September 2012

Elk Feeding Area, near Hamilton, WA, September 2012

California Quail at Point Reyes National Seashore – Point Reyes Station, CA – March 2013

Harbor Seal – Monterey, CA – March 2013

The Lone Cypress – near Pebble Beach, CA – March 2013

So, how about you? What defines a vacation?

Farewell 2012 – Can’t Wait for 2013!

As I sit here on the couch listening to the washer and dryer run, waiting for Jon to finish playing with paint samples and put the movie in (yes, I’m well aware of how lame we are…), I decided to do a little 2012 tribute blog.  Some of the year was great, some not so great, but I suppose it can’t all be rosy.  So here goes, in no particular order…

1.  I hit my one year anniversary at my new job, a job where I feel valued and appreciated and love my co-workers!

2.  I went on an amazing trip with Jon… nine days in Georgia, North and South Carolina.  The longest trip I’ve ever been on with him!  You can read about it from the beginning here…

3.  My wonderful Martini kitty, my feisty girl with a protein allergy who loves sneaking meat and hates being brushed, was diagnosed with low grade diffuse alimentary lymphoma.  Cancer of the blood cells.  We started chemotherapy treatment in November, and I was heartbroken.  So far, Tini is hanging in there.

4.  I celebrated my two year wedding anniversary with my fabulous husband Jon.  We didn’t do anything special, but our trip was our anniversary celebration (see #2 above).

5.  I went to Michigan to visit my Grandma, who is 95!, and to attend my cousin’s wedding.  And I got to see many of my aunts, uncles and cousins!  I’m really lucky to have the family I do.

6.  Jon and I got to visit some fantastic exhibits at some great museums.  Gauguin at the Seattle Art Museum, King Tut at the Pacific Science Center, all the wonderful collections at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the interactive musical experience at the Motown Museum.  And all the amazing historic home tours that we visited on our Grand Tour!

7.  I completed my third half-marathon!  And it was for a great cause!

8.  Jon and I went a fun wine tour in Washington and Oregon for the President’s Day long weekend.  Wine, historic hotels, and even some antique shops!

9.  I got a promotion at work!  Talk about felling valued and appreciated!

10.  We went on a fun long weekend trip to Chelan, where we tried lots of great wine and had one of the most fun and memorable drives home ever!

So, while the year certainly wasn’t perfect, and there were some ups and downs, I feel pretty blessed to live the life I do.  Here’s wishing that 2013 is an even better year for all of us.  Happy New Year!

Newhalem and Some Elk Sex

As we continued toward home from Chelan, we traveled further west on Highway 20 past the town of Newhalem.  Newhalem is a company town that was founded in the 1920s, to house employees of Seattle City Lights’ Skagit River Hydroelectric Project.  The Gorge Powerhouse began generating electricity in 1924, and is still operating today.  The building has a beauty that industrial construction just doesn’t seem to have anymore.  Even now, the power plant is operating and Newhalem is still a company town.  We were there after things closed for the day, but I have heard there is a historic general store and some information about the town and the electric project.  It would be be neat to come back and visit when things are open.

For more information about what it was like to grow up in a remote company town, you can check out Tobias Wolff’s book This Boy’s Life, which is about the author’s experience growing up in Newhalem in the 1950s.  This Boy’s Life was made into a movie starring Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1993.  I’ll have to check it out.

The Gorge Powerhouse at Newhalem

The last stop on our scenic drive home from our weekend in Chelan was at one of the elk viewing sites near Rockport, Washington.  There are two big fields along the highway where elk spend a lot of time in the fall and winter months.  There are signs posted there with information about the herd, but I’m not sure if they posted the signs because the elk spent time there, or if they starting feeding the elk there so they would come.  If anyone knows how these elk sites work, please let me know.

So anyway, back to the story…  Jon and I were driving down the North Cascades Highway towards home and I made him promise that he would stop if we saw elk.  He promised.  I think he was hoping they wouldn’t be there.  So when we saw them, I made him turn around and go back to the parking lot.  He was kind of cranky for some reason, and when I asked him if he wanted to get out to go see them with me, he said gruffly, “I’ve seen elk before.”  Whatever.  Suit yourself.  I took my camera and got out of the car and lined up with all the other tourists and wildlife enthusiasts and watched the elk.

So here are some pictures of the elk, including them getting up to some hanky panky…

An Elk Herd

Elk Chillaxin’

Elk Sex – I Think the Guy on the Left Looks Jealous

And the last part of this story is the funniest part.  When Jon and I got home that evening, after a long and beautiful drive, after moving from drought and earth charred from wildfires, to beautiful rivers, wild west towns, majestic dams, and mating elk, I gave him a hard time about being so grumpy when we saw the elk.  I razzed him, in my snootiest voice.

Me (imitating him in my snootiest voice): “I’ve seen elk before.”

Jon: “Well, I have.  They are just male deer.”

Me:  “Male deer?”

Jon: “Well, aren’t they?”

This is where I burst out laughing, first, because they aren’t male deer.  Well, to give him credit – some are male.  And second, because clearly he hadn’t noticed the elk were getting busy.  Yes, perhaps I’m juvenile, and easily amused…  It was a perfect end to a great trip, and one I can tease him about for years to come…

Winthrop, Washington

On our way home from our weekend trip to Chelan, we stopped awhile in Winthrop, Washington.  Winthrop is a historic town in the Cascade mountains, that was first settled by white settlers in 1891 after placer gold was discovered in the area in 1868.  Owen Wister, author of The Virginian, wrote the novel after honeymooning in Winthrop in 1898.  All I have to say is, his wife must have been a really adventurous woman, because it would have been quite the experience getting to someplace so remote!

Unfortunately for the town, most of the mines had closed by 1915, and the town experienced a decline.  In the 1970s, the town decided to capitalize on the old western theme, and they restored the town to an old west style.  The restoration included wooden sidewalks and all of the shops on the main street of town have old west style facades on the buildings.  There are also a few historic plaques, explaining the original structures and the history of the town.  The population of Winthrop is less than 400, but a visit there shows a vibrant tourist area with people enjoying what the town has to offer.

Jon and I arrived in time for a late lunch, and we had gotten a recommendation from a coworker on the Old Schoolhouse Brewery.  Jon and I decided to check it out, and we had an awesome meal!  We started out with the chips and black bean salsa – the chips were homemade – and amazing!  For the meal, I had the guacamole, pepperjack and bacon burger and the Epiphany Ale, a medium body pale ale.  Jon had the bacon and artichoke salad and a coffee.  My burger was excellent – the hamburger is certified Angus beef!  And Jon’s salad was equally good.  The beer was one of the best beers I have had in a long time – this brewery is fairly new, but sure to have great success!

Schoolhouse Brewery in Winthrop, Washington

Jon Enjoying his Lunch at the Schoolhouse Brewery

After lunch, we wandered around town and checked out the shops.  There are lots of wonderful art galleries, and a bookstore with lots of local books.  There are several neat gift shops with unique items.  But if you get bored of poking into the shops, you can also check out the Shafer Mining Museum (I would have liked to go, but Jon was getting antsy…), or you can check out the pedestrian bridge over the Methow River.  The river is really shallow here, so you could easily see the bottom, and looking into the river was really peaceful.  If you plan to stay awhile, there are also lots of outdoor activities – camping, hiking, fishing, 4 wheeling…  Plus skiing in the winter of course.

Methow River – Winthrop, Washington

After we left Winthrop, we headed over the pass towards home.  State Route 20, also known as the North Cascades Highway, is beautifully scenic, with areas to pull out and take photos in several locations.  It is also much less congested than the more traveled Highway 2 to the south.  Of course, Highway 20 is only open part of the year, opening typically in April or May and usually shutting down in November.  Heavy annual snowfall and avalanches leave the snow at Washington Pass between 15 and 20 feet deep in the winter!  Interestingly, State Route 20 is the longest highway in Washington State, at 463.13 miles, beginning in Discovery Bay, on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, and finally ending within 1000 feet of the Idaho state line.

On this trip, Jon let me stop a time or two to check out the beautiful mountains, and again to drive over Diablo Dam.  Diablo Dam is one of 3 dams built on the Upper Skagit River, and it generates electricity for Seattle City Light.  Construction was started in 1917, but due to extreme weather and political delays, it wasn’t completed until 1930.  At the time of its completion, Diablo Dam’s 389 feet made it the tallest dam in the world.  The dam created a lake called Diablo Lake that is home to rainbow, cutthroat, brook, and endangered bull trout.  The water is a brilliant turquoise blue-green color, caused by pulverized rock that is deposited into the lake by glacier-fed streams, where it hangs suspended in the water.

Diablo Dam with Diablo Lake

And the coolest part is that if you drive down this little road off to the side of the highway, you can drive across the dam!  We drove across (you aren’t allowed to stop on the dam) and parked on the other side to take some closeup photos.  I know some of you will find it strange that I found a dam so interesting, but it was a really neat (and really big) piece of architecture!  Plus, there was this cute little chipmunk posing on the road!  And since it was really close to closing time (they close the little road at 5 pm and there is a gate that will not let you in, but will let you out), we were the only ones there.

A Cute Chipmunk at Diablo Dam

After we said goodbye to the chipmunk (ok, I’m the only one who said goodbye to him – Jon refused), we continued on toward home…

Chelan Saturday – Dinner (of sorts) and a Movie!

After our tasting at Chelan Ridge Winery, we were wined out.  Plus, considering how pleased we were with the wines there, I’m not sure that we would have been as successful if we had gone anywhere else, so we headed back into Chelan and relaxed a little bit.  We got some food at the grocery store so we could have dinner at the room (after 5 days away from home I was getting pretty burned out on restaurant food).  Then we went out to a movie for date night!  Jon took me to see ParaNorman, the story of a nerdy boy who sees ghosts, and who has to help a little girl ghost find peace.  It is an animated film, and it was a really fun movie!  But I hate when people give away the details, so you will just have to go see it yourself!

The movie was shown at the historic Ruby Theatre, right on the main street in Chelan.  The Ruby opened in 1914, and is believed to be the oldest continuously running film theater in the state of Washington.  It is beautifully restored building that remains true to its Moorish design style.  The Ruby was state of the art for its time, with sloping floors, individual seats, a built in sound system and a fireproof projection room.  The restoration project installed more comfortable theater seats, but the first three rows still have the original seats, so you can get an idea of what once was.  You can even sit in those seats, if you are so inclined – we chose not to because there were a lot of kids at this movie, and many of them wanted to be front and center.

The Ruby Theatre, Chelan, Washington – Built 1914 – Renaissance Revival Architectural Style

The Ruby also hosts workshops, community plays and other events, to fulfill its goal of being a true community gathering place.  I loved visiting, and it is great to see a community that treasures its history and wants to preserve it.  While the projection system isn’t going to satisfy you if you are interested in seeing special effects in all their glory, history and architecture enthusiasts will delight in this special theater.

Ruby Theatre Interior – Looking Up at the Side Balcony

After the movie, we walked back to the hotel and had another evening of relaxing and enjoying some wine.  We had a great time in Chelan, but after 5 days of the smoky air, my poor lungs couldn’t take much more, and we decided we would head home the next morning.

Chelan Saturday (cont.) – More Wine and More Smoke

To get back on the wagon (or continue falling off, depending on your perspective) after our less than stellar experience at Atam Winery, we headed on over to Benson Vineyards Estate Winery.  Benson is probably the Chelan area’s most well known winery and the one of the only wineries in the area that is a 100% Estate Winery.  To qualify as an Estate Winery, that means the winery and vineyards have to be in the same AVA, all of the vineyards have to be controlled or owned by the winery, and the wine has to be made from start to finish at the winery.  Most of the Chelan area wineries source some of their fruit from the Yakima and Columbia Valley, so Benson is unique in that respect.

The tasting room is another in the grand Tuscan Villa style, with the building cut into the hill so you walk into the tasting room on the same level as the parking lot, but on the back side you can head down a flight of stairs to a gorgeous patio with chairs and tables, and a spectacular view of the lake.  Well, the view… the weekend that we were there… not so much.  You haven’t forgotten about the smoke, have you?  My lungs hadn’t!

Benson Vineyards – Can you see the really faint line across the picture near the center? That’s where the lake ends and the land begins. Normally, you can easily see the lake.

We enjoyed tasting several of their wines, starting with their 2011 Chardonnay.  This wine was aged in French oak for 6 months, but honestly it didn’t taste like an oaked Chardonnay.  It was very crisp, with flavors of tart apple – a very nice Chardonnay.  I tried the Rosé next, a Syrah Rosé that is dry with a light sweetness and flavors of cherries.  It would be an excellent accompaniment to BBQ on a hot day.  But I wasn’t so impressed with their 2009 Pinot Noir – it tasted too earthy for my taste, with lots of bitter coffee flavor.

The 2009 Nebbiolo was a big smooth wine, with flavors of strong tobacco and peppermint.  It was decent, but at a $45 sticker price, it needed to be amazing for me to buy it.  At $28, I liked the 2008 Rhythm much better, with a nice balance of berry and smoke.  The 2009 Cabernet Franc was another big tannic wine, with flavors of coffee and heavy smoke.  Not really my taste.  I liked the Cabernet Sauvignon much better, although it was also a big wine, its flavors of leather and chocolate were very smooth.

Benson Vineyards and Estate Winery Patio Seating

After our tasting, Jon and I sat out on the patio for awhile and enjoyed the warm air, but we couldn’t really linger for long because of the heavy smoke in the air.  So, we headed to our next destination.  At that point, we didn’t really know where we wanted to visit next, so he headed out and turned when we saw a winery sign that piqued our interest.  That sign said Chelan Ridge  Winery.  We had no idea what we were in for…

The tasting room was staffed by Henry, and a tasting room server (I didn’t catch her name).  Henry explained that he and his wife Lynn own the winery, and she is the winemaker.  He spent his career as a commercial airline pilot, and they decided to start a winery as a retirement project (that sounds like an awesome retirement!).  Henry and the server were both really friendly, and Henry enjoyed talking about the wines.  When he saw that I was taking notes during the tasting, he offered to make a copy of the tasting notes for me.  They had 4 reds when we were there, and here’s what I thought.

2008 Merlot – Estate Vineyard

The Winemaker’s Notes – This Merlot opens with rich, bright aromas of ripe dark cherries, blackberry jam, and dark chocolate. It’s bright acidity and supple tannins round out a long firm finish with flavors of black cherries, black currant, mocha, and toasty French oak.

My Notes – Very tannic, Toasty – aged in French oak.  A lot of great structure and balance – needs some age.

2008 Syrah – Estate Vineyard

The Winemaker’s Notes – This Syrah opens with lush aromas of ripe dark fruit, white pepper, and violets, followed by rich jammy flavors of blackberries and plums, along with spicy oak. Bold tannins show on the entry and in the finish. This is a no sissy wine! Pairs wonderfully with grilled ribeye!

My Notes – White pepper.  Very good structure – big tannins.

2008 Rouge de Moraine (Bordeaux-Style Blend) – Estate Vineyard

The Winemaker’s Notes – Our Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Cab Franc (27%), and Merlot (18%) is a real fruit bomb layered with dark cherries, rich plums, and toasted oak forming the base of the aromas, with cherries, pomegranates and blackberries on the palate. The dense tannin profile is complemented by dark chocolate notes and good acidity making it a great food wine.

My Notes – very smooth – excellent blend.  We bought two of these.

2008 Cabernet Franc – Estate Vineyard

The Winemaker’s Notes – Spicy aromas including red currants, raspberries, vanilla and light oak give way to black cherry flavors, black raspberries, and baker’s chocolate. Bright acidity and moderate tannins provide good structure and balance. Superb with alder plank salmon or grilled meats!

My Notes – Raspberry on nose.  Dark bitter chocolate.  We bought one of these.

Chelan Ridge Winery – And Lake Chelan on the Left Side Down the Hill, Only You Can’t See It!

I may not have written much in my notes, but this is no way means the wines were duds.  In fact, these wines were the stars of the weekend.  If Jon and I weren’t trying to save money, I would have gladly bought multiple bottles of each of these wines.  I contained myself with just the three bottles, but it was really hard.  If you have an opportunity to visit this winery, don’t pass it up.  It is truly a gem with standout wines!

Chelan Saturday – Wine and Smoke

Part two of our September Chelan trip…

On Saturday, we slept in and relaxed in the morning before we headed out to do some wine tasting.  We had planned to do some hiking while we were in Chelan, but the air was still so smoky that it would have been impossible.  I have asthma, and that would not have been a good idea for me to be breathing in all the smoke, which hung visibly in the air, giving it a dirty orange color.  We got moving (at a leisurely pace) and decided that we would head out to Manson, which is about seven miles from Chelan, and where a lot of the area’s wineries are.

Our first stop of the day was at Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards.  This place is fun – taking its name from one of the more colorful parts of the area’s history.  Back in the day, the 1930s to be more precise, construction on the Grand Coulee Dam was shutting down, and hiring was picking up at the Howe Sound Mine.  The mine produced mostly copper, but also gold, zinc and silver.  A group of enterprising “professional” ladies, who had been working down at the dam, decided to move into an abandoned lodge at Point Lovely, a couple of miles up the lake from the Howe Sound Mine.  So, one of the locals opened up a water-taxi business, rowing men from the mine the few miles up to the lodge.  Hard Row to Hoe – get it!?

The tasting room capitalizes on the story, featuring photographs of Victorian prostitutes and with a space decked out in velvet wallpaper, beaded lampshades and a beautiful velvet upholstered settee.  If you haven’t heard the story when you arrive, they are happy to tell you the juicier details.  And even their website gets into the act, featuring a graphic of a man rowing a rowboat across the water, and topped with Mae West quotes on every page.

Hard Row to Hoe Tasting Room

Ah, but enough about the story, you want to know about the wines, right?!

We started off with the Shameless Hussy Rosé.  It is a blend of Pinot Noir and Sangiovese that is off dry and with just a hint of sweetness.  I really liked this wine, but Jon always tells me I have too much Rosé.  What?  I don’t understand what that even means!

Then we tried the Marsanne, which is not often done as a single varietal wine.  The wine had flavors of lemongrass and oak, and the server explained that it was aged in a neutral oak barrel.  The tasting notes say it tastes of honey and grapefruit – I didn’t really get citrus flavors out of this wine, but who knows, my sniffer might have been off because of all the smoke in the air.  Jon liked this wine quite a bit, but I prefer a less oaked white wine.  I should mention it won Gold at the Seattle Wine Awards.

Next up was the Semillon, a crisp wine with a light butter flavor.  It was very nice.  I can’t tell you any more about it, because it is not mentioned on their website.  Then came a Cabernet Sauvignon, with light tannins.  It was a very laid back Cab, with the grapes coming from the Wahluke Slope in the Columbia Valley.  The Wahluke Slope has about 15% of the grape acreage in Washington State.    I liked it, but Jon likes a bigger, bolder Cab – this one was softer, with a more widespread appeal.

Their 2008 Lickety Split is a blend of two different Syrahs and a Primitivo.  All the grapes for this wine are also brought in from the Wahluke Slope.  It is a smooth balanced wine that is perfect to drink now.  A wonderful wine, but priced a bit high for my taste.  The 2007 Primitivo, again with grapes grown on the Wahluke slope, is also very smooth, with light tannins and blackberry flavors.

There wasn’t a bad wine in the bunch here – just some that were more my taste or Jon’s.  It was a real treat to try Primitivo grapes fresh from the cluster, because they were doing crush right outside!  The grapes were very sweet – sweeter than I was expecting them to be.   And the tasting room staff were fun and friendly, and were willing to give lots of information about the wines.  We came home with three wines and they are just waiting for the right night to open them!

Hard Row to Hoe Picnic Area – It would be a great day if not for the smoke in the air!

After Hard Row to Hoe, Jon and I decided to try Atam Winery.  Atam Winery is one of the areas only estate wineries – growing their grapes and producing the wine on site (more on estate wineries in an upcoming post).  It is close by, and a guy I met at the conference said that he had been there with his family the night before and was pleased with it.  So off we went.  It is up a huge hill, with vineyards and a horse pasture in front of the winery.  The winery is the lower floor of a home built into the hill, and the day that we were there, the tasting room door was fully open onto a big patio where you could sit and enjoy a glass of wine.  But unfortunately, the experience went downhill from there.

There were the birdscarers…  I know they want to protect the grapes and all, considering it was really close to harvest, but trying to enjoy wine while a sonic boom goes off outside every 15 seconds is just impossible.  Jon thought they were gunshots, and was having all sorts of thoughts of crazy Eastern Washington folks shooting their guns off everywhere!

And then, the server was a bit stiff.  She poured the red wine, a Barbera, first and said that since the wines were made in the German style, they sampled the red wine first, like the Germans do.  But that was all the information she offered up.  She didn’t tell us why the German style wines should be sampled in that order.  She didn’t explain why or how a Barbera, which is an Italian grape, was being made in the German style.  She didn’t say anything about any of the wines!  So I’m left wondering if what she said is true, that the Germans do their wine tastings with the reds first.  If you know the answer please let me know.  And if you know why – even better!

So, we tried the Barbera – it had a slight foam on top which was strange -the wine was so-so.  The Riesling we tried next was sweet but flat, and had no acidity to balance it out.  The Gewürztraminer was like grape juice; it had no structure.  I didn’t like any of the three, so I won’t delabor the point with any more detail.  At that point, Jon just wandered off, out to the patio and then further away… I knew he wasn’t coming back.  What to do now!?  I hate leaving a winery without making a purchase, because these are generally small businesses, and people’s livelihoods, but I really didn’t like any of these wines…  I said thank you and departed, and then chastised Jon when we got back in the car for bailing on me!

And I certainly won’t be taking anymore wine recommendations from my conference friend!

Chelan Beginnings – Day 1

At the end of September, I had a conference over in Chelan, Washington.  I headed over with my coworkers on Tuesday, and attended the conference session from Wednesday through noon Friday.  Jon then took Saturday off from work and drove over Friday after he finished work to meet me.  Chelan is east of the Cascade mountains in Washington and typically gets hotter drier weather than we do in Western Washington.  This year the temperatures were nice, but not overly warm.  I could walk around in a skirt and t-shirt and be quite comfortable – which typically isn’t the case at the end of September at home.  But sadly, there wasn’t much sun to be found.  Because even though the sun was up there in the sky, it was obscured by the thick smoke in the air from the nearby wildfires.

Friday after Jon arrived, we spent the afternoon wandering around the shops in the downtown business area.  Chelan has about 3500 year round residents, and the population balloons by several thousand during the summer.  But with the season winding down, and the heavy smoke in the air, it was certainly less busy than I think it would usually be.  After wandering around and checking out the shops, we decided to head out to Tsillan Cellars to go do a wine tasting.  I had their Sinistra wine a few years ago, and it is one of my favorites – but I hadn’t tried any of their other wines for a couple of years.

Tsillan is on the main drag just outside of town – up on a slope overlooking the lake (although you couldn’t see down to the lake because of the smoke).  They grow some of their own grapes, and some they truck in from the Yakima Valley.  For a $5 tasting fee, you can sample five wines (they did pour us a sixth though).  Jon and I shared a flight, and we started with the 2009 Estate Chardonnay.  This Chardonnay had a nice light butter flavor, but without being too heavily oaked.  It was one that we could both agree on.

Tsillan Cellars Tasting Room and Restaurant

Their 2009 Estate Riesling was very floral at first taste, but then settled into a rich pear flavor with the taste of vanilla.  It was a drink now wine.  The 2011 Bocciolo di Rosa was a light Syrah based Rosé with flavors of honeydew melon.  It had a light sweetness, and did not have much acidity.

The 2009 Bellissima Rossa is a Syrah Merlot blend, with big structured tannins and flavors of smoke and caramel.  The 2009 Reserve Syrah had even bigger tannins, and tasted of brown sugar, ripe cherry and lots of prune.  I liked the wines more than the reds at Tsillan, with the exception of the Sinistra that I love so much, but sadly it is sold out for the season!

Tsillan Cellars Tasting Room

After the winery, we pondered what to do about dinner.  Tsillan Cellars has a large Italian restaurant at the winery, but neither of us felt like eating heavy Italian food.  We decided to head back to the hotel and walk somewhere downtown.  We asked around for some other suggestions, and everybody kept recommending Local Myth Pizza.  It is apparently the best pizza ever – based on the numbers of rave reviews I have heard!  I’m convinced that these pizza place owners are true geniuses and are paying people off for the recommendations, because to be honest, I had their pizza a few days before and just was not that impressed.  It was one where you had to blot the oil off the top before you could eat it – with the New York style flat crust.  Jon is not a fan of heavy, greasy foods on his best days, so I knew there would be no way he would like it.

We decided to go to a place that served burgers and salads called BC MacDonald’s.  We both had salads that were nice and big, and Jon had a glass of wine.  My iced tea was good too.  The ambience was not great – there were two men in the bar arguing loudly, but the server was fast and attentive and we both left satisfied with our meals.  But the reviews on BC MacDonald’s are mixed, so I could easily see having a much worse experience than we did.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and relaxed with some wine and TV watching.  Vacation is the life!

Lawton Ridge Winery

The last day of our Michigan vacation Jon and I headed with my cousin Megan to get out of the house while Grandma was napping.  It was the last day of our vacation, and we had a few hours to kill. We considered going to the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, but decided instead to go to another winery.  I had googled a couple of options in Kalamazoo, and wrote down an address based purely on the look of their website.  So, we really had no idea what to expect when we walked in the door.

The building is a 1970s style office building that I imagine was converted rather than built for this winery.  When I was young there were several of this style of building at home, but they have mostly been remodeled or replaced.  It is covered in dark cedar shingles and doesn’t really have that winery “look”.  We walked in and the owner and a server were there (the server explained that she was a bit new at this, and that she was filling in for harvest).  Megan and I bellied up to the bar, and Jon decided to sit this tasting out – he fully intended to sample some of mine though!

Lawton Ridge Winery’s grapes come from the Lake Michigan Shore AVA.  It is an AVA in the southwest area of Michigan, with warm days and cool nights, but close enough to the breezes coming in from the lake that it doesn’t get quite the same hard freezes as the rest of Michigan.  It is home to many of the states wineries.  I haven’t had much of an opportunity to travel this AVA and sample the wines of the region, but I will be getting out there at some point!

The tasting fee at Lawton Ridge is $5 (refundable with purchase) and you can choose six wines from their list to taste.  The tasting list here is still fairly extensive (about 15 wines), but nowhere near as robust as the menu at Sandhill Crane.  Jon asked to sample the Chardonnay – so I chose that one as my first wine.  It was a nice un-oaked Chardonnay with just the tiniest hint of butter – it is aged in stainless steel, so I’m not sure where the butter came from.

Next I tried the Riesling, which I was expecting to be sweet, and it was, but I was just not that impressed with this one.  It was sweet competing with something else (maybe a woody taste?) and it just didn’t do it for me.  Next I moved on to the Traminette, which is a varietal that we don’t have at home, so I was interested in trying it here.  Traminette is a hybrid of Gewürztraminer and Joannes Seyve (I hadn’t heard of this one before) that was created in 1965, and this one did have some Gewürz characteristics (don’t I sound smart, saying Gewürz?).  It had a slight floral note, and a flavor of ripe melon.  All in all a nice wine.

The first red wine that we tried was the Lawton 3, which was a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  It was very fruit forward with light tannins.  This wine was good, but it did not have a lot of structure.  Jon likes his reds to be more robust than this one, but I liked it.   After that I sampled the AZO Red, a blend that is named after the airport code for the Kalamazoo airport.  An airport that I have done a fair bit of sitting around in actually!  AZO Red is a nice summer red wine, with lots of raspberry flavor and a light mouthfeel.

I followed with their 2010 Rose, which was crisp and sweet with a strawberry flavor.  I am a big fan of a nice Rose, and this one was pleasing.  The Kzoo Daily Red that I tried next wasn’t a big crowd pleaser, it was just a bit too sweet for my taste, and didn’t have a lot of structure.  It is a drink now wine.

I finished off the tasting with their Late Harvest Vignoles, which is a blend of well, duh, Late Harvest Vignoles, and Vidal.  This wine was a best in class winner, according to the tasting sheet, and it had a nice tropical fruit flavor and balanced sweetness.

All in all, Lawton Ridge had some nice wines.  And they were very affordable, with most priced between $9.95 and $12.95.  We certainly don’t find wines at those price points frequently at Washington wineries!  And if you are feeling parched after your tasting, you can enjoy a glass of one of their wines for $3-4.  What a stroke of luck that we stopped in here!

Wedding Mania!

After not being to many weddings in a while, I have now been to two in two months’ time!  One in Washington and one in Michigan!

So, remember the purpose of our trip to Michigan was two fold.  My cousin’s wedding – and visiting my Grandma.  Saturday, September 8th was the wedding portion of the trip. The wedding was two parts – the church wedding was at 2 pm, and the reception was at 5 pm.  We had a relaxing morning on Saturday reading, surfing the net and working out in the workout room in the hotel (hello treadmill!).  Then we got ready to go and heading out to the church – St. John the Evangelist at Michigan State University.  The service was beautiful, and the church was more progressive than other Catholic churches I’ve been to (bongo drums!).  The choir was fantastic – and they really had fun with the hymns.   It is in this same choir where my cousin met his lovely fiancee (now wife).

After the wedding, there were a couple of hours before the reception.  Jon and I went and got some coffee and perused a used bookstore that had all sorts of fabulous Civil War books!  If I lived there, I would probably visit it regularly.  But I behaved myself, and left without buying anything.  I already have a tall stack of “books to read.”  Several stacks, if you must know…  I blame the fact that I have to have a full time job.  If I had that anonymous benefactor, I wouldn’t have to work and would have way more time to stay up on my reading.  And these blog posts would probably be a lot more timely too…  Just sayin’.  Click here to donate to my PayPal account (just kidding!).

So, after killing a bit of time at the bookstore and the coffee shop, we headed over to the reception, which was about 15 minutes away in the next town over – Grand Ledge.  It was at the historic Grand Ledge Opera House.  The building was built in 1884 as a roller skating rink – I didn’t even know they had roller skating back then! – and then was converted to an Opera House around the turn of the century, to be used as a theatre for vaudeville acts and local entertainment.  The Opera House has been converted to a modern facility, but does maintain some of its original charm.

The Grand Ledge Opera House – Promotional Photos – http://www.gloperahouse.com

The reception began out back on the lower Terrace level, where there was a cocktail hour and some light Hors d’oeuvres, and lots of extended family pictures (what can I say – I have a big family!).  We set our wine glasses and purses and cameras down and smiled and posed and laughed and hopefully they turn our marvelously.  I wore my 3 inch heels, so maybe I have a chance at not being completely dwarfed by my much taller cousins.  My cousin’s daughter, who is 12, is already 5’6″ to my 5’3″.  I think my shortest cousin on that side of the family is 5’8″.  Clearly, my mom’s side had the dominant height gene (or should I say short gene)…

Then we headed upstairs for our sitdown dinner.  Toasts were made, jokes were cracked, my cousin’s obsessive love of Star Trek was mocked (numerous times), and our meal was blessed.  And it was delicious.  Dinner included your choice (or all 3 if you wanted!) of potato salad, spinach salad with berries and cheese crumbles and an Asian style salad with sesame seeds, shredded carrots and artichoke hearts.  I didn’t have the potato salad, but the other two were amazing!

Then on to the main courses.  You could have four types of kebabs: vegetarian, chicken, beef or shrimp.  They were all lined with tomato, yellow squash (or zucchini to my mom), and onion, plus the meat selection you chose.  The next table contained a do it yourself mac and cheese served fancy style in martini glasses, with your choice of white cheddar or regular cheddar, and with optional toppings of bacon bits, tomatoes, shredded cheese and something else I can’t remember (maybe green onions?).  After that, you could select your choice of four types of potatoes in ramekins: garlic mashed, mashed sweet potatoes (topped with nuts!), and two other types – sorry my memory is failing me!  Then, if you weren’t already stuffed, you could have baked apples (YUM!) and a pulled pork sandwich.

The Wedding Dinner – Great Food and Lots of It!

Following dinner, there were more cocktails – still your choice of red (Good Harbor – Harbor Red) or white wine (Uncle John’s Apple Honey), beer (Budweiser), or you could have an Appletini! The Appletinis were garnished with a couple of slices of Granny Smith apple.  The Appletinis were delicious – fun and refreshing – and they coordinated with the wedding colors!

So for the rest of the evening, we laughed and chatted and caught up on lives… and I even danced a little.  Hanging out with the family was great – I enjoyed seeing a great couple start their married lives together, and I got to spend time with my family.  What a fantastic day!