Weekend of Fun

We did two of my favorite things this weekend: we went wine tasting and we saw some local artists.

For an exotic change, we actually drove to the wineries rather than pop on down the street to our local BevMo and Total Wine shops. Sierra Vista Wineries was having a barrel tasting event, and with the weather so perfect, we couldn't resist. They were tasting a lot more than just their three to-be-released wines; I think they poured me at least seven different glasses, and by the end (when I started getting more picky about what I was going to have and actually said no to a few samples) I was ready for lunch. Fortunately, there's a great little market nearby, in which I saw last week's NON author Tessa Dare's novel for sale on the racks! That was exciting for me (made more so, perhaps, by my pleasant intoxication). Though to be honest, it's a cheap thrill for me anytime I see any interviewed author's novels on the shelves anywhere.

Lunch was a car picnic with the breeze blowing through the windows and super-tasty sandwiches. Then we got lost, found the right road, and eventually happened upon Shenondoah's Winery. I've been wanting to go to their tasting room for about a year and a half now, ever since we discovered Sobon Vineyards, which is their parent company and produces all organic and very delicious wines. Unfortunately, while they tasted about twenty (I'm not kidding) different wines, I could only handle about five, but we did find a scrumptious black muscat. It's a very sweet dessert wine and the first black muscat I've ever tried. Since we bought two bottles of grenache at Sierra Vista, it seemed appropriate to get something completely different.

We were both done after just those two wineries. There was a time earlier in my twenties when I could handle at least four vineyards before my stomach warned me I was pushing my limits. I'm still wondering if it was just an off day and the heat. But we both enjoyed the wineries and the drive, which was very windy foothill roads with rolling golden hills and oak trees.

The art was on a separate day, an afternoon event held at a local open-air mall, where artists of all types gathered with booths to sell their goods. (There were also a bunch of zippy cars, Corvettes, and old, refurbished cars and trucks. A very nice owner of a yellow gangster '20s truck let me attempt to sit in it—my knees hardly fit, and I had to turn my legs in very awkward ways just to get into the vehicle. I felt a bit like an Amazon.)

Suzanne Goodwin, one of my favorite artists, had a booth there with her friend. Suzanne was selling art and she and her friend have started up a new business called Geek Girls at Heart, and they were selling their new handmade products. Cody and I also found a new artist we both really like: Cathy Rowe. In fact, we bought one of her framed and matted prints after about thirty seconds of discussion. This is the one:

All in all, it was a great weekend. I hope yours was too!