Wine tasting at Murphy's with Em

I had made plans to spend the day up in the foothills wine tasting with Em. We all know she enjoys good wine, as some of us also do, and i happen to think we have really good wine here. I love going to Murphy's, cus there are 23 different wineries you can taste at up and down one block. Most of them are free to taste, and the wine is generally very good. It has been raining here off and on and we had heard there was snow in the foothills, and I don't know how to drive in the snow. John told me I should stay in this area, but I really had my heart set on Murphy's.

So, Friday morning I woke up to dry sky's. I checked the weather for Murphy's online and it showed a little rain, but no snow. I made up my mind, we were heading to the foothills. As planned the day before, Em showed up right around ten. It was so exciting to walk out and meet here in front of my house. The strange thing about meeting an online friend, we already know each other, its the personal meeting that is so cool. Touching and knowing the other person is really real. We hugged in the front yard and she came into the house for a short look around, then we were off on a fun trip.

I showed her the little Bistro we sometimes go to in the shopping center, where John works around the corner, then headed of in the direction of the mountains to enjoy a fun day. Actually, I didn't know how to really get there, I knew the general way, but I have never actually driven there, so Em fired up her GPS, just in case. As it turns out, I went straight there without getting lost. It was just different from the way John usually drives it. We talked like old friends all the way there, I guess because we are old friends. I never even got worried about being lost, and I always get lost. I don't think we stopped talking all day.

Anyway, we found our way to the main street, and found the perfect parking spot right in front of a cute little shop that looked like a house. it was a little chilly, but not enough to keep us from having a great time. We went in and had our first taste of the day. It was good, not good enough to buy so we took off on our next stop. We were both hungry, and it just isn't a good idea to taste on an empty stomach, so our next stop was at the local grille. After a hearty lunch, we started again.

 

At the first place we stopped at, the lady gave us a map of the wineries and told us to try and fill it out. We would have to get the paper stamped at the places we went to and then turn in the card to the last place that that got stamped. It would put us in a drawing to win something. Em was so good at this, she made it like a treasure hunt to find the correct wineries in just one of the blocks. There is no way we could hit every winery in one day and be able to drive home. With her insistence, we got the west part of the map stamped, and turned in. we were told not many people turn the papers in, so we have a pretty good chance of winning.

We had to finally head back home. But first I had to show her this huge gold piece at Ironstone Vineyards. It was found in the area and is now stored in a safe behind three inch glass case inside a huge vault, open to the public for display. it really is pretty cool.

I better wrap this up, it getting kinda long and I know you are busy. We met John for dinner, then headed back to the house. Em had to head back to her hotel and it was getting late. I hated that she had to drive back in the dark, but she got there safely. This wasn't all the fun stuff of the day, but the highlights. What a great day it was. Thank you so much Em for leaving for your vacation a few days early and spending time with your west coast friends.