Girlfriends and Wine

Last night Beth and I got together for a little "Girl's Night Out" It was the Meet-up Group Wine Tasting evening at the Captain's Walk Winery downtown. It was an awesome evening with some great laughs. We both realized that we do not get together as often as we should! In fact, with how often we get together anymore, you would think that we like miles apart, but in reality, she only lives about a mile from me!

The Captain's Walk is a true gem! The history of the building can be seen in every room the staff at the winery is always eager to share this great history. One of the really cool things about this winery is that they have a glass floor in the center of the tasting room so that you can see the HUGE barrels of wine "resting" in the cellar. While we were, one of the staff was down in the cellar topping off the barrels, so that there was no air left in the top. While he was down there, he stole a sample from one of the barrels and brought it up for our group to try. They poured some of that Merlot for each of us as well as some of the same Merlot that had already been bottled. What a difference! The bottled sample was definitely much smoother and the over all taste was soooo different! If you every go somewhere and have the opportunity to sample wine straight out of the barrel like this, go for it! If really gives you a different perspective on how the taste of wine can chance with processing!


We were able to sample all of the different wines that they make right there at the Captain's Walk, as well as a few wines from their sister winery, The Von Stehiel Winery in Algoma (where we just were on Saturday for the Wine Festival!). I think there were only a few that I did not care for, and these were mostly the very dry ones. A little dry is sometimes ok, but when you get the to far dry end of the spectrum, it is just not for me!


I also HAD to buy a bottle of their Maiden Voyage wine (pictured above). Not only is it an awesome wine, but the came in the super cool, limited edition bottle that looked like a big pirate ship! TOO COOL!! Right away I thought about our freinds with Bounding Main Maiden Voyage was the name of their first album! I think I need to send them a bottle of this wine!

This group is always fun to get together with! I think every time we go out and do something , there are new faces! Where will our next adventure be? Wherever the flavors take us!

Adventures in food

When a new restaurant in town opens it's doors, you can't help but be curious. The curiosity got the best of us when Gali, a Puerto Rican restaurant opened up not too far from us. I was really excited to see this as I had recently found out that the Paradise Palms Cafe that I was wanting to go back to had closed! No more Jamaican cuisine just around the corner... but now I have Puerto Rican. This could be a good thing!

Since John isn't much for trying new restaurant, Darrin and I decided that it was up to us to go check it out. That would give us the chance to see if it was something that John would enjoy. So it was Gali night! We met up with Bill and Sarah there tonight for dinner!

The restaurant itself is a small place with only about 7-8 tables and a coffee bar. It is also the home of a small bookstore in the back - a great combination! Plus for Internet lovers, Gali's also offers WiFi for it's customers!

I was somewhat surprised at the relatively short menu! There were 6 different appetizers, 6 main entrees, 3-4 sandwiches and the typical American fare of burgers. Then there was the daily special.

Darrin and Sarah both opted for the Pasteles, which they both agreed were "ok" not a lot of flavor and a very small serving - they each got ONE Pastele... that would normally be a snack for Darrin! Bill was very please with his Mofongo - it was a HUGE portion that he knew he would never eat all of! I was also very please with my choice. And for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was called. All I remember was that it was the special for the day. It was plantains, ground beef and other ingredients all put together in the same style as a lasagna, then topped with cheese. It was also served with a side of rice. YUMMY! It was just a unique combination that I had never tried before but was very tasty! I just wish that was on the regular menu!

The more time I have plantains in my food, the more I realize that I really like them! They give such a unique flavor to any dish and I have had them prepared in so many different ways that it is always exciting!

All in all we were pleased with our adventure this evening... yes we will go back, some of us will definitely order different entrees! Trying new things means opening yourself up for a few disappointments, but we learn from those disappointments and work around them!

We finally did it! Not that we had not wanted to before, but this was the first time that Darrin and I were actually able to go to the Cub Scouts Mom and Son Weekend. On Friday afternoon, we headed down to Kiel - hoping for good weather, but not counting on it!

Aside from the weather, only a few "oops" moments. The first of which was leaving our tent with the rest of our stuff to be ahuling on to the campsite. We hiked into the campsite (probalby about a half mile) to find that our tent did not make it to the campsite yet. Our sleeping bags, chairs and duffle bags did, but not tent, pillows and a few toher misc. items. So we scoped out the area, figured out where we wanted to pitch the tent and waited...

and waited...

Finally! The trailer arrives! I grabbed the tent off the pile along with a few other items taht were not buried too much. I thought Darrin was waiting for the sled wtih his shoes and a few other things to be unloaded. Apparently they started putting too many tents into our side and some people were moving to a new site. Next theng we knew, the trailer was gone and our stuff had not been left behind. So Darrin was off on a hike to try and find our stuff! He found it - down at the next camp site, just waiting for him!

Oh well! The biggest issue was the weather! It started raining overnight on Friday and didn't quit until late saturday afternoon. No sooner than we started to feel dry, it started pouring again - while we were at the campfire that night! Finally overnight on Saturday it quit again., opening it us for us to pack up everything Sunday morning! Aside from EVERYTHING begin wet, we had a great time! We did spent quite a bit of time under the leather working tent just because we didn't want to go out in the rain anymore!

Why is it that last weekend when they had the Dad and Lad Scout camp, the weather was beautiful and the weekend that we mom's head out to camp with the kids it is rainy and icky?? Go figures!

Wine, Shopping, Food and Grape Stomping

Every Fall, they gather from miles around for a stomping good time in Algoma. It is the Wet Whistle Wine Festival at the Von Stiehl Winery. This was the first year that we were able to actually make it to the festival... always too many other things going on!

We arrived just as they were getting the first round of grape stomping underway! What could be more fun than stomping on a barrel of grapes while the crowd cheers on! Everyone had their own method and style to getting the job done. In the end, it was not about how many grapes you stomped and how much juice you got, it was all about the response from the crowd! So I guess it is best of you bring a LARGE cheering section with you!!

And you cant have wine without food! From Chili to cheese, smoked salmon to brats, they had it all! The artisan bread was super too. We met up with Elle and Ellen from the Meet-up Group that we are part of - Food, Fun and Friendship. What a great afternoon! We sampled a few wines that we found to be wonderful and bought a bottle to share as we strolled the festival grounds, listening to the live music and watching the fun.

No trip to the Wine festival is complete without a stop at the actual Winery, just a few blocks from the festival grounds. For those that do not want to walk the few blocks, they have the Wine Train available for you to ride... so why walk when you can ride! At the winery we got to sample even more wine - many that they did not have at the festival, as will as purchase wine to take home.

So of course we had to buy some! But we had to bring that wine back to the car before heading back in to the festival, as no carry-in's were allowed. Cool thing... they had a golf cart that you could ride back to your car to drop off your purchases! WooHoo! Unfortunately, there was no way that 4 adults and Darrin were going to fit on the one golf cart... so we let Elle and Ellen ride with Darrin and John and I walked back. Apparently Elle and Ellen has some issues with staying ON the back of the golf cart....

Another afternoon of great fun and friends! For the complete set of pictures from today's adventures, head to our Flickr site!

More Smiles appearing in food!

It's official, I am not completely crazy! Either that, or my friends are just as crazy as me!

These morning smiles are traveling! I got this photo in my email from a good friend near Detroit - she found the morning smile in her coffee...

I guess you never know where the smiles will turn up.

She said this photo was tough to get because it kept moving.

I guess this was a shy smile!

Here's to another great day full of smiles!!

Animals, Apples and more

We are are finally home for a weekend! It seems like it has been forever since we have actually been home for the weekend! Not that I am complaining, but sometimes it is nice to be home! Darrin headed to Scout Camp with my dad yesterday so we had a day to do what we wanted!

First stop was the NEW Zoo. We had not been out there most of the summer and we anxious to see all the changes and additions! The day after we were out there the last time, the baby swans hatched, then a month ago the lion cubs were born, not to mention the fact that the giraffe's keep growing! They also have been working on the new Japanese Macaque exhibit that just opened last month as well as a few other improvements... so we were due for a visit!

It was a chilly morning so we were hoping to see a few more of the animals moving around more, or coming out from hiding. We were not disappointed!

The Badger was actually out wandernig around! Most of the time when we visit him, he runs and hides, and will not come back out. Today, he really did not seem to care that we were watching him! He just kept strolling around, checking out all the rocks and logs!

The Prairie dogs are always one of our favorites! They never miss a move!

But today the highlight was the pair of giraffes - Hudari and Zuri. This pair is 4 years old. Hudari weights in at about 1800 pounds! And they love their crackers! We spent quite a while feeding, photographing and petting them today, since there was no one else up at the feeding platform except the volunteers.

To view the entire set of photo's from today's adventure, click here

After the zoo, it was off the apple orchard. We found this little gem a few years ago and keep coming back! Once they open in the fall, we usually are here about every other week - especially since they are only a few miles from out house. Each time we go, we usually end up picking a different variety of apples. Today was our first trip of the season to the orchard and the HoneyGold's that we really like won't be ready for another few weeks. Today it was Jonagold's and Paula's. Cortlands should be ready next weekend.

Now is time to find some new apple recipes to try this year, as well as digging out the good ones that we discovered last year! Each week is always a new adventure, trying different apples in different recipes! Tomorrow, we make applesauce and who knows what else!!

Happy Sandwich

You know it's going to be a good day when you see a smile first thing in the morning! What started out as any ordinary day, the alarm going of at 5am (I love the snooze button!), showers, breakfast and making lunches. But one "off squrt" of bbq sauce and everything changes!

It's the appearance of the Happy Sandwich!
This was not a planned smiley... it jsut happened. And of course I had to grab the camera to capture the moment!

I guess I better make the best of this day... Darin's sandwich told me it was goign to be a good day!

Starting School and Making Decisions

The official first day of school has arrived! We are never really sure who is more excited for this day to come - the kids or the parents! But it is also bittersweet as it means that summer is ending...

This year Darrin was really excited to start school, as this is his final year at King Elementary! He is "one of the big kids" now. This was also the first year that I was not able to bring him to school for his first day. With the new job, it was not going to work! So I had to be a pain and ask the neighbor to get a few pictures of the kids at school, and the annual picture of Darrin in front of the school sign. I will have to dig out all these photos from years pasts and start a collage or something! The one thing that I want to do this year, that I have forgotten in the last few years, is to have Darrin wear the same shirt that he work on the first day of school, on the last day! That way we can get a real comparison of just how things can change over the school year!

This year he also had a big decision to make... What instrument did he want to play in band! This is something that he has been waiting for over the years. He had his choice down to drums or the trumpet. When the paperwork came home from school, he found out that he could not pick the drums, for various reasons. So it was the trumpet. He decided on the trumpet because that is what Unkie played in band. Works for me, as my brother's trumpet is still at my parents! All we need to do is have it cleaned and all that fun stuff.

Now only if all decisions were that easy! Then again, you take away the options, and things become clearer!