The Traveling Vineyard -

So.....our friend - aka Kara "Feagans" Fisher became a Traveling Vineyard consultant.  And, along with that we wanted to support her.  And along with that comes a Friday evening party, ha!  In November, January 8th seemed soooooooo far away.  Ha - it was the weekend after the New Year =)

But, it worked out just fine.  Kara sent me an e:mail with the food suggestions for pairing.  No obligation but suggestions.  It was fun deciding what to fix for each.  I chose two for each =)  One food item and one dessert item.  Scallops, Shrimp, Crab Dip -

After I planned the menu -  and we prepared - including cleaning the house =)  Cierra helped with the strawberries -

I made banana bread, brownies, and tons of other stuff -

And the evening came - Kara arrived -  and we were getting ready -

Love her =)

It was such a fun night.  It started with a Skittle in the glass -

I won't spoil the fun for anyone that hasn't experienced this but it was fun =)

Then we fixed our plate and tasted/paired.  AWESOME.  kara did a great job including the group, educating us on the wine and how to actually taste.  We have participating in many (too many) tastings but none quite like this.  My cheeks hurt by the end of the night.  But we got some free wine and discounts.....AWESOME.

And then within 3 days - our wine arrived.  Such fun sorting!

Now this is a job that I could do!!  Who wouldn't love to meet great people, sip some wine and share knowledge about something that is so very popular in our region.  Here's just a peek at the options we have...

So if you haven't yet experienced a Traveling Vineyard party, GO!  if you are thinking about having one, DO IT.  And better yet, reach out to KARA  She will fix you right up!

  

The Week's End -

Friday is my favorite time of the week and with the kids away, an evening here had been coordinated with a few other couples -

It was Tower Cru night which means only members and their guests can attend.  Light fare and pick up of our latest shipment -

The weather was perfect for sitting outside.  With an awesome sunset too -

It seems like one of the requirements for a winery is it must have a perfect view of the sunset.  So many are situated with that amenity.

Kim and Craig couldn't make it but Lynn and Neal enjoyed the evening with us.

And given we were so close to one of our favorite sushi places, we had to swing in for dinner -

Yep, definitely a perfect night.  The kids are having fun in OC so we are holding the fort down here =)

Cheap fun!

Believe me, that's what Friday night was ALL about. We always search for 'live entertainment' for our Friday 'night out' which typically means we will be hitting a winery. LOVE wine and LOVE free concerts.



We headed over to Sunset Hills where David Davol was playing. Once inside, we spotted a group of women that were absolutely having a blast! Quickly we figured out it was somewhat of a bachlorette party.....wild girls, lots of laughing, limo parked out front....it was too much =)

We purchased our bottle and headed to the deck. We had two extra chairs so shared our table with a great couple from Lovettsville. They talked about their favorite winery which we hope to head to next month. Not long after we got settled, here comes "the bride" -



Of course, I just had to know what this was all about, ha! So I headed over to her table. It was her night out, she was from Winchester, getting married 9/6 and her 'party of girls' surprised her by having an 'ugly dress' party. Each of them had purchased their dresses from a thrift store (except for one - she had this one since 1987 - lol!)



This pink Cinderella dress was a total of $3.69



and one lady purchased her dress and shoes for $10! Don't they look georgeous?!


We noticed an older couple that were enjoying the evening as well and by the end of the night they were definitely into the party...



Needless to say, we had a blast with them. It ends up that their white limo broke down so they were waiting on another. It did finally come but not sure how many bottles were emptied prior to it's arrival.

David put on a nice show, being very patient and flexible with this group. Once things calmed down we chatted with him for a while and will certainly look for his upcoming performances.


So it was definitely one of those evenings where your cheeks hurt. It seemed like 2 hours of non-stop laughing =) What a better way to 'wine down' on Friday and jump into the weekend?!

Slight change -

For the past two weeks Ronnie has been coordinating a group of couples to go see Andy play here -

The plan was for 6 couples to leave around 4:30 p.m. in the "PARTY BUS" and head over to Mt. Airy, Maryland. As the time passed, six couples went to five and then the final count soon became four. With that in mind, he worked with the limo company and locked in their "white stretch limo". All was good -

On Wednesday our weather quickly became a factor when 11 inches of snow fell, leaving the our area with a lot of piles looking like this -



Regardless, the party must go on, right?! But on Thursday we learned that one of our 'groupies' was sick. :( Hmmm do we search for a fill in? Nope, they were still game to go. Becky was looking at 24 hours of good meds and rest but was committed to the night.

The day came. Did you notice how the vineyard looks like it is sitting in the middle of a field? Right - so the limo company called the vineyard to ensure he could get in and get turned around. She was assured it was good although we may need to walk down from the top of the hill. Let's think about that, lol.

Then one of the stops in Bakerton was pretty treacherous. Ronnie took that route on the way home from Frederick and determined there was no way the limo could make it down there.

So...since we truly believe everything happens for a reason, we decided to "postpone" our limo excursion. But.....there were four of us that still wanted to go. It took a little over an hour to get there. Once we turn into the lane of the vineyard we all four quickly realized that there was NO way the limo could have safely made it in. Better yet, we actually got stuck and had to push not only our car out but also another guy (which we later learned was Andy's bro-in-law).

Gee - look how different the place looks.



Then we make it inside. BEAUTIFUL! A warm fire-

the place is packed and Andy is doing what he does best!

Now it's time for the 'tasting'. Jeff, Robin, Ronnie and I are SO much alike....have SO much in common.....and seem to ALWAYS agree =) So our first choice was this one -
We typically opt for white but over the past few weeks have become fans of some red's. Not yet a fan of Merlot, though. We had some snacks.

Then grabbed a bottle of Syrah. Pretty good, too.

Whenever we go to The Main Cup we always reserve the 'couch'. Once inside last night we spotted this -

but it was taken! We joked about 'stalking' so we could have our normal space but opted to chill out at a table nearby. Later in the night the couple left so without causing too much commotion, we gathered up all of our stuff and made our way there (*heehee*)

Oh, and did I mention John McCain was there?!

Just kidding but he really did look like him, huh?!

The night wrapped up which meant it was time to head out. Wow...I see car lights that appear to be stuck. And, the road is really icy -

and sure enough we had to help push this car out

We helped them then they helped us. Back on the road we go.

Heading into Frederick in search of a restaurant we noticed a car weaving all over the road. At one point Jeff passed them and we noticed a car seat in the back. Now I'm worried because obviously the driver is very drunk. Then, right before our very eyes is a Maryland State Police officer on the side of the road. We pull over and Jeff approaches the driver's side. Oops....somehow we missed that there were five other police cars across the road at the liquor store. Seems there had been an armed robbery and they were investigating. The officer did say he would radio ahead and alert someone of our concern. A few more miles and then we see this -

You got it! The wreckless driver has rear-ended a van. Wow. Luckily no one was hurt and we could see the little girl in the car seat. She appeared to be fine. Ronnie called the police and they were on their way.

Geez - pretty exciting night so we decided to get some breakfast
and recount the night. Shew.....


So after a page of writing, we definitely made the right decision about the limo, had a great, adventurous evening and even after three weeks in a row with Jeff and Robin, we're already planning next week (*wink, wink*). With stories like this, there should be tons of couples that would love to go with us, lol! How was your evening?!