One other notable feature... Colorado has the weirdest road kill:
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Rocky Mountain High
Good morning from Colorado! This is the view from my Dad's back porch where I sipped my coffee this morning... what could be more peaceful? Colorado in the summer is something everyone should experience. I'm not talking about Denver (which is cool, don't get me wrong). I'm referring to making the trip up into the mountains... higher than the mile high city. My Dad lives in Eagle, which is right outside of Vail and Beaver Creek. Vail's lowest elevation is 8120 feet... and it is real what people say that being at this elevation gives one a natural since of euphoria... a "Rocky Mountain High" as John Denver named it.
One other notable feature... Colorado has the weirdest road kill:
One other notable feature... Colorado has the weirdest road kill:
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Mizzourah & Booze
Where to begin?
I have started my mini-American tour; which consists of visiting almost every member of my family (wherever they might live) over only a period of six weeks. CRAZINESS! My family is so spread out!
I spent an incredibly relaxing week in Dallas to begin. Every time I drive into the city and my vision breeches the towering downtown buildings I am flooded with INTENSE warm-fuzzies. Most of my visit was spent lazing around on the couch with my Mom watching our favorite cheesey movies (The Holiday and French Kiss are always on repeat). Whenever I visit my mother's house I sort of revert to a state of childhood. As an adult, I have become a neat and tidy person... but for some reason at my childhood home I am completely incapable of washing dishes, cleaning my room, or picking up my wet towels off the bathroom floor. Does this happen to everybody? Or just me? I swear I'm not normally this lazy... nor did I depend on my Mom to do everything for me... I have to admit that it was really nice to do nothing for a week. It was almost a necessary form of tension release after completing my undergraduate degree.
Next stop: Carrollton, Missouri
To sum it up, it was pretty much a week of over-populated tables and way too much home cooking. Good Lord! I had such a great time visiting family there! Seeing my cousin's little kids was so fun! They're adorable! I also had the please of meeting my cousin Matt's new wife. Unfortunately I missed their wedding because I was working in Germany at that time... it was nice to see him completely whipped :)
Next stop: New Haven, Missouri
Family visited: NONE
This trip was the most exciting thing that has happened to me in a while. My Mom, brother and I took a road trip and visited 8 wineries in 2 days. The German town of Hermann is located right on the beautiful Missouri River amongst rolling hills with bright green grass (not found in Texas). The three of us had constant smiles on our faces as we sampled the wine from the area. I hadn't heard much about Missouri wine before, but now I feel knowledgeable enough to be considered a Missouri sommelier. One of the more interesting wineries, Stone Hill, was actually the first winery in the United States and in their cellars had the oldest wine barrel on the continent.
After we tasted 12 Stone Hill wines and their Port AND their Sherry... my brother Keaton and I got a bit ridiculous:
I would post some other pictures from this particular winery, but I won't for fear of greatly embarrassing myself.
Our final winery stop was Montelle and it was the most beautiful! We tasted the BEST Norton wine (and even bought a few cases). Norton grapes, as we learned, are the only true and native American grapes. Thus the wine made from Norton grapes is the only truly American wine. The particular year we tasted and purchased at the Montelle vineyard was aged in American oak barrels that gave the dry red wine a really rich, full taste with a hint of black cherry. YUMM! After we placed our wine and sandwich orders... the three of us sat on the patio taking in the view and sipping our beverages for a few hours. It was truly the perfect familial moment to soak up. Here is the view full of the river and a few grape vines:
Where am I now? I have just arrived in Columbia to visit my Gram for a week and thrive on the city's tiger spirit. What kind of trouble can we get ourselves in to? Stay tuned...
I have started my mini-American tour; which consists of visiting almost every member of my family (wherever they might live) over only a period of six weeks. CRAZINESS! My family is so spread out!
I spent an incredibly relaxing week in Dallas to begin. Every time I drive into the city and my vision breeches the towering downtown buildings I am flooded with INTENSE warm-fuzzies. Most of my visit was spent lazing around on the couch with my Mom watching our favorite cheesey movies (The Holiday and French Kiss are always on repeat). Whenever I visit my mother's house I sort of revert to a state of childhood. As an adult, I have become a neat and tidy person... but for some reason at my childhood home I am completely incapable of washing dishes, cleaning my room, or picking up my wet towels off the bathroom floor. Does this happen to everybody? Or just me? I swear I'm not normally this lazy... nor did I depend on my Mom to do everything for me... I have to admit that it was really nice to do nothing for a week. It was almost a necessary form of tension release after completing my undergraduate degree.
Next stop: Carrollton, Missouri
To sum it up, it was pretty much a week of over-populated tables and way too much home cooking. Good Lord! I had such a great time visiting family there! Seeing my cousin's little kids was so fun! They're adorable! I also had the please of meeting my cousin Matt's new wife. Unfortunately I missed their wedding because I was working in Germany at that time... it was nice to see him completely whipped :)
Next stop: New Haven, Missouri
Family visited: NONE
This trip was the most exciting thing that has happened to me in a while. My Mom, brother and I took a road trip and visited 8 wineries in 2 days. The German town of Hermann is located right on the beautiful Missouri River amongst rolling hills with bright green grass (not found in Texas). The three of us had constant smiles on our faces as we sampled the wine from the area. I hadn't heard much about Missouri wine before, but now I feel knowledgeable enough to be considered a Missouri sommelier. One of the more interesting wineries, Stone Hill, was actually the first winery in the United States and in their cellars had the oldest wine barrel on the continent.
After we tasted 12 Stone Hill wines and their Port AND their Sherry... my brother Keaton and I got a bit ridiculous:
I would post some other pictures from this particular winery, but I won't for fear of greatly embarrassing myself.
Our final winery stop was Montelle and it was the most beautiful! We tasted the BEST Norton wine (and even bought a few cases). Norton grapes, as we learned, are the only true and native American grapes. Thus the wine made from Norton grapes is the only truly American wine. The particular year we tasted and purchased at the Montelle vineyard was aged in American oak barrels that gave the dry red wine a really rich, full taste with a hint of black cherry. YUMM! After we placed our wine and sandwich orders... the three of us sat on the patio taking in the view and sipping our beverages for a few hours. It was truly the perfect familial moment to soak up. Here is the view full of the river and a few grape vines:
Where am I now? I have just arrived in Columbia to visit my Gram for a week and thrive on the city's tiger spirit. What kind of trouble can we get ourselves in to? Stay tuned...
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