Some fun things we did during our stay in College Station Texas…

We are wrapping up our stay in the Bryan-College Station Metroplex. We thought we would share a few other things (besides disc golf) we have done while staying here.

One place we always like to visit is the Bonfire Memorial. Many of you may not be aware that Texas A&M University held a massive bonfire event so very looked forward to right before the annual Texas A&M vs University of Texas rivalry football game. That all came to an end, tragically on Nov. 18, 1999 at 2:42 a.m.

This marked the time the bonfire collapsed while being built. The tragedy was that students were actively “on the stack” putting on the finishing touches on the bonfire. The collapse resulted in the untimely death of 12 students, one former student and injured 27 others.The accident led Texas A&M to declare a hiatus on the official Bonfire and the bonfire memorial was built to honor those who were lost in the accident. Each of the 12 artfully arranged cubicles has a sculpture of the student as well as memorial wording from family and friends.  It is a very somber place indeed.

We also made a visit over to the new park newly built adjacent to the Texas A&M football stadium. This park is going to be quite the gathering place for tailgating prior to football games. It includes a nice sized pond and lots of nooks for students to relax, study and contemplate their futures.

Another nice area for a hike is Lick Creek Park with miles of trails. We love hiking this park in the spring when it is loaded with wildflowers and birds migrating through the area. In late fall we saw a few flowers and fewer birds but it is always a pleasant place for a hike.

Another nice place for hiking is to nearby Bryan Lake. There is a $5.00 entry fee but it offers some nice hiking and mountain biking trails. We hoped to see some migrating waterfowl on the lake but alas we found nary a one. Still we enjoyed a pleasant day on the lake.

We also took a road trip over to Waco to visit dear friends.. A road trip was needed to break up the routine of our more localized activities. We had a great visit with our friends Patty and Chuck. While returning home we spotted a barn painted by an obvious former student of Texas A&M University.

Another visit around happy hour was a favorite, the Messina Hof Winery. One of the very best wineries in Texas (in our very humbled opinions). offers various glasses of wine at their happy hour for $5/glass. Of course we had to buy a bottle of the one we both loved.

And lastly no trip to our former town would be complete without socializing with fantastic friends whom we dearly love.. Upon leaving we always promise to return some day to renew these cherished friendships.

Altstadt Brewery and Becker Vineyard in Fredericksburg Texas…

Fredericksburg, Texas is an area we have often visited but we found some new interesting happenings this time around. We read there was an annual free event at Becker Vineyard called Bluegrass and Bluebonnets. John loves Bluegrass music so we decided to give it a go. The event had a huge turnout as it was a beautiful sunny day. The deal of the day was to purchase tickets for 6 tastings and keep the glass. It was so very crowded around both the indoor and outdoor tasting areas, we opted instead to buy a bottle of their Cabernet and open it to sip wine while listening to the music.

After enjoying the music as well as a lot of people watching we corked the bottle to get up and stroll the grounds. At 3pm John let me know he had another surprise up his sleeve. I read that a new brewery was opening in town but sadly it would be open after we leave the area. Unbeknownst to me, John made a comment on the Altstadt Facebook page that we were sad to miss the opening as we love visiting breweries. The owner, William , private messaged John and invited us over for a private tour! How cool is that!

A young man opened the gate for us and we walked to the brewery entrance which was locked but we saw a camera and a buzzer. We rang and soon were greeted by Peter, the Brew Master! Peter escorted us into the shiny, new brewery. For a startup this was a huge facility with state of the art equipment. Peter, who is very passionate about brewing proudly showed us all around explaining that they will brew strictly German beers. The yeast, malts and hops will be shipped from Germany. The facility uses reverse osmosis to purify the water from their well as every effort is made to ensure a great product.

      

Peter was the most awesome host. His life as a Brew Master was also very interesting. After obtaining his degree in beer brewing in Germany he worked for Abita Brewing and later the the Gambrinus Company (at Shiner). The challenge in becoming the Brew Master for this large startup was too exciting to pass up. We could feel his excitement as he described future plans for a large tasting room and restaurant. If success could be measured on Peter's passion for the venture alone, it will be a huge success!

Passion aside, the product has to deliver to truly be a success so we were so happy to say yes when Peter offered us a taste of two beers he has currently perfected. One was a Lager, the other a Kolsch. The Helles lager, he explained would be exactly the beer one would typically get in Munich Germany. It was light, clean and crisp. To us the star was the Kolsch. It is honestly the best we have ever tasted. It had both body and wonderful full flavor. We know one thing for sure, we will definitely hang out at this brewery the next time we roll through. We cannot thank William and Peter enough and would encourage anyone to try the beers from  Altstadt Brewery.

Despite revisiting an old favorite, the town of Fredericksburg had a few new gems for us to enjoy. Thanks, Fredericksburg...we will look forward to seeing you again next year!

NOTE: We are now in Blanco State Park in Blanco Texas.

Red Rocks and a visit to a Nevada Winery…

Knowing we weren't far from Las Vegas almost enticed us to go there for a visit but we really weren't in the mood for the throngs of people we would undoubtedly encounter. The next best day trip would be a hike in the Red Rocks area just west of Vegas.

The last time we visited Las Vegas and the Red Rocks area we drove the loop and did a lot of small hikes along the way. We vowed if we ever came back we would need to do something longer so when we approached the entrance to Red Rocks we noticed a few cars alongside the road and pulled over to see what hike they were doing. This is how we found the First Creek Canyon hike.

This 1.5 mile hike in and 1.5 mile hike out was just what we were looking for. We put our boots on along with our sun protection and started the slow but gently climbing trail toward the canyon.There were a few Joshua Trees along with vegetation typical of both the Great Basin and Mojave deserts. We also noticed a short side trail which led to a piece of “hiker art”,  a spiral made out of rocks. Of course we had to contribute a few small rocks to the art…

As we made our way closer to the canyon the vegetation got thicker and some of the trees were changing colors to the fall yellow hues. This hike climbs at the end through some thick scrub with a bit of rock hopping but the view into the foreboding canyon was worth the hike. We did see a few other people on the trail but not too many to ruin the solitude we sought. The return hike offered different views of the layered colored rocks the Red Rock area is known for.

Once we finished there was still time to drive the loop through the park so we did. Wow was this park crowded even on a weekday. As such we were so glad we decided to hike the canyon before entering the park instead of choosing to hike within the park. As we headed home we were happy with the drive and the hike.

Back in Pahrump we decided to visit the Pahrump Valley Winery for our happy hour. We arrived just before their last tour and were given an interesting tour of this small winery. It is one of only a few wineries in Nevada but they have won many awards. They gave a complimentary tasting of seven wines (our choice) after the tour and we chose a nice Syrah to take home with us for a another day.

Yet another great day on the road of retirement…

NOTE: We are now in Hemet California until the 30th…

Wine and Beer Tasting in Washington Wine Country…

We have been having a blast with our friends Marshall and Debbie here in the Tri-Cities, Washington Area. The other day Debbie invited us to a local establishment called the Grill On Gage where they were hosting the Pelican Brewery (from Oregon) for some beer pairings called their first Tap Takeover. We met up with Debbie,their son and his girlfriend. Once seated we were served three beers: Scottish Style Ale, an IPA and one of their core Ales. They were paired with some wonderful smoked pulled pork tacos, a tasty Gazpacho with shrimp and a very good Caprese Salad with a yummy balsamic reduction. We had a great evening of fun and our table won two of the door prizes including the grand prize of a custom Pelican Growler.

We have been having a blast with our friends Marshall and Debbie here in the Tri-Cities, Washington Area. The other day Debbie invited us to a local establishment called the Grill On Gage where they were hosting the Pelican Brewery (from Oregon) for some beer pairings called their first Tap Takeover. We met up with Debbie,their son and his girlfriend. Once seated we were served three beers: Scottish Style Ale, an IPA and one of their core Ales. They were paired with some wonderful smoked pulled pork tacos, a tasty Gazpacho with shrimp and a very good Caprese Salad with a yummy balsamic reduction. We had a great evening of fun and our table won two of the door prizes including the grand prize of a custom Pelican Growler.

The next day we headed west to the town of Prosser, a nice town along the Yakima River. The Indians who once resided here called the area "Tap tut", meaning rapids, but this town is now known for its more than 11,000 acres of vineyards and their associated wineries. Here we visited several wineries concentrated in an area called Horse Heaven Hills but the one winery that stood out to me was the Coyote Canyon Winery. Most wineries we visit will have one or two wines that will appeal to me but this winery had the best wines from top to bottom. I prefer reds but even their whites were quite tasty…And of course, we had to purchase a bottle to take home with us.

We stopped for lunch and a beer at Whistran Brewery (after all I am more a “beer snob” that a “wine snob” <insert grin>). The crafted beers here were mostly average but they had some really funny captions on their shirts. After lunch we stopped at another winery for a tasting, then we stopped at the Horse Heaven Saloon that abuts the Horse Heaven Brewery where we sampled some of their beers as well. Pretty decent stouts here and a fun place to have a meal with a brew when visiting this town.

Our last day we went with Marshall and Debbie over to Walla Walla. Walla Walla may be best known for its sweet onions but it is known more recently for its wine as there are over 100 wineries around Walla Walla.  We visited  a few wineries  with my favorite in this area being Waterbrook Winery, especially their Cabernet’s and Syrah’s, just east of town.

Debbie and Marshall had signed up to take a wine making class so while they were in class Sharon and I walked all around town and over to Whitman College. This is a private liberal arts college which started out as a seminary and has become one of the top liberal arts schools in the USA (recently ranked 41st by U.S. News and World Report). We thought it was a nice campus with quite a lot of public outdoor art all around it. We feel it is just another reason we love walking around campuses… even if we don’t always fully appreciate the artist's best intentions.

We met back up with Debbie and Marshall at the Red Monkey Lounge for dinner and beverages. They run a really nice happy hour where many of their appetizers were only $6.00 so we had most of them and just shared. It was a fun place indeed! We loved our time visiting with our friends from way back to our days in high school and college days.  We all had a fun, fun, time, time in Walla Walla…

Did I mention that we also spent an evening at their house and enjoyed their pool and the fur babies. We especially fell in love once again with the dog Archie who is a surfing dood… or is that dog. We will head west from here for a few days in the Columbia River valley before moving over to Portland for a stay of nearly three weeks. We are really looking forward to revisiting Portland!

Visiting friends in the land of corn…

It is still hot and in the 90’s here in central Illinois but the weather is thankfully supposed to change back to a more typical low 80’s in the next few days. We broke camp and left Fox Ridge State Park in Charleston, Illinois. We liked this park a lot but it was the first place we have been all spring and summer where we had a bug problem. We had a few mosquitos around the campsite which didn’t bother us too bad but when we went for our hike we were pestered incessantly by small gnats that would fly right in your face and buzz your ears. Annoying? Yes but at least they didn’t bite so as to not ruin our hiking.

Tuesday called for a short 34 mile drive south to visit some friends we made during our first winter in Florida. Sharon kept in contact with them via Facebook and as we neared their farm we arranged a get together. As we pulled into their farm just outside of Newton, Illinois. Mike and BJ were at the driveway to greet us and directed us to where we should park and set up. Man we could hardly believe that we were going to have full hookups for our short stay here at their home place! It has been a while since we had full hookups as most of the parks we have stayed at this summer were not!

After hugs and greetings we took a short drive to see some highlights of their town. Upon returning that evening we had a little happy hour at the cabin Mike has been building near a pond on their property It is a neat A-Frame cabin that he and his 11 year grandson have been building and it is about 95 percent complete. It is comfortable and welcoming with plenty of chairs on the wrap around deck in which to relax, enjoy the view and enjoy the cool breezes. An added delightful surprise was that they had invited another couple we met during our first winter in Florida to join us as well. It was wonderful to see Steve and Diane and we all had a lot of fun reminiscing about the things we had done since we had last seen each other. As the evening ended we made plans to see Steve and Diane once more as they are only about 30 minutes away from here.

Wednesday I woke up and made coffee and looked out the windows to a thick blanket of fog.It cleared as Sharon awoke and we readied for another fun day as we met Mike and BJ at the main house for breakfast, BJ treated us to a great breakfast casserole with fruit and more lively conversation to start the day. We were told the plan for this day was the “Newton Loop Tour”.

Our first stop was the “Mug Tree” in Yale, IL that only a picture can adequately describe. The Mug Tree, topped by an outhouse, is where you can trade or leave your coffee mugs. Then it was off to Moonshine, a well established small-town eatery, frequented by folks from far and wide in Martinsville, IL. We loved this little “hole in the wall” spot and the moonburgers we had there were awesome. The place reminded us a bit of Luckenbach Texas. After lunch we drove to Casey IL where you can see the worlds’s largest wind chime, knitting needles and golf tee. Sharon and Mike had fun making the wind chime work…

From Casey we drove over to Cameo Vineyards in Greenup, IL for a little wine tasting. The Cameo wines agreed quite nicely with our palates so we left with a bottle of their River’s Edge Dry Red Wine. The owner was chatty and full of local news to share making it a fun stop. Next was yet another winery called Tuscany Hills near the town of Effingham IL. Pretty decent wines there too and what a beautiful building and courtyard they had. Mike and BJ are friends of the owners so we were all invited to go in the back since they were in the middle of grape smashing… what fun to watch them crushing grapes. It was also great to see the joyful banter as the owners and their daughters were enjoying working together. But my favorite thing there were their T-shirts that boasted they were The Best Effing Wine in Effington…

Our last stop was the MVP bar in Newton IL for a couple of cold beverages and chance for us to meet Miss Piggy. Now the MVP bar would be classified as a Dive Biker Bar and was the perfect place to stop for the end of the day. We were the only patrons in the bar at this particular time but there was however a hound dog that entertained us especially when he jumped up on the pool table to get at the cue ball… too funny. And of course we had to step outside to meet Miss Piggy, a rather large pot bellied pig that resides on the premises.

After the enjoyable drive through the countryside it was back to the cabin on the lake to enjoy some fishing, some dinner and more conversation with our friends…Quite an enjoyable day we had!

Enjoying our stay in Paso Robles…

When I wrote our last blog I was a bit worried how it might be received. Wow was I surprised at number of the comments! Interestingly most folks overwhelmingly agreed with what we had to say and added a few comments of their own. Having ranted about out issues with Northern California we do however have to admit that we are enjoying our stay here at Wine Country RV Resort in Paso Robles, CA, even though it is very pricey to us at 250 per week.

For those that don’t know about this area, Napa Valley isn’t the only place  where California wine is produced. There are over 200 vineyards and wineries in the Paso Robles area. While here our agenda included exploring this part of the California coastline and to sample some of the wines produced here.

We visited three wineries in the area that didn’t charge for their tastings as many do here. We enjoyed the wines we sampled at each winery and picked up a couple of nice wines to take home with us. We also enjoyed a lunch that we packed at the beautiful estate of the Castoro Winery. Another highlight was having had the pleasure of meeting some of the owners of D’Anbino Vineyards when we stopped to sample their wines. One of the owners was a very

interesting fellow. In his previous working life he was a professional sound mixer working in Los Angeles and told us some interesting stories about several of the big time musicians he worked with. He even won an Emmy for his work with HBO’s series Deadwood. He also did a lot of work with music for the movie Dirty Dancing. The tasting room is right in the downtown part of Paso Robles and is a must stop if visiting the area

 

 

Another day we drove over to Cambria, California on Highway 1 where we were once again greeted with the persistent coastline fog that shrouds much of the scenic views along the shoreline. Fog does have its own beauty but too much of it is not necessarily a good thing. A few areas of blue sky peeked out through the clouds to give us some view of what the area is like in when the fog is gone.

Southern California is one very beautiful area and combined with its weather it has attracted throngs of people to live in this part of the state. As beautiful as it is and what was once a state high on our list of possible places to settle down, it has now be removed from the list. But that is okay with us as there are many more states we have yet to visit. We are still enjoying our stay here but just not as much as we once thought we would…

Wineries in the Yakima Valley, Washington…

One thing we had to do while staying at Hood Park in Burbank, Washington was to go visit some vineyards and wineries. A drive up Interstate 82 from Richland to Yakima will have you driving through some of the most highly concentrated wine country in western Washington. With over 80 wineries on this stretch of road there is no doubt you will find one that makes a blend that appeals to your palate.

During our last few days in the Tri-Cities Debbie took us to a couple of nice wineries near West Richland. First was the Kiona Winery where the lady that served us was very entertaining and the various wines we tried were all pretty good. We primarily like like reds and before we left we had to buy one made from the Lemberger grape. It was a wine we had never tried before yet found to be quite exceptional.

Next up was a winery that was drop dead gorgeous and is often rented out for $10,000 and up for weddings. Great views are seen from the tasting room of the well manicured and smartly appointed grounds framed by the rolling desert hills in the background. Terra Blanca vineyards has some pricey wines but in our opinion their reds were not as good as those we had at Kiona. However, they had a white Vognier that was exceptionally crisp and smoooooth… We drink mostly red so to find a white we both liked was great. We bought two bottles, one to share with our friends Marshall and Debbie on the patio of their tasting room and one for a later date.

Before we knew it the days had passed and we were to leave on Sunday morning. We bid farewell to our great friends and were amazed at how easily we were able to reconnect on so many levels. Had a great sunset our last night in the park and we left before our noon checkout to drive only 70 miles up Interstate 82. We are staying at a Harvest Host Winery in the Yakima Valley near Zillah,Washington. Claar Cellars Winery is a small mom and pop winery of German heritage that welcomed us to camp behind their tasting room.

A small and cozy tasting room gave us the opportunity to take our time tasting since we were the only ones visiting the tasting room. Debbie, our server of small samples of wine, was lively, energetic and full of stimulating conversation about the history of wines, the history of the area, and made many suggestions of other places to see while here. We enjoyed her company so much we spent nearly two hours visiting with her and sampling wines.

All of the Claar Cellar wines were pretty darned good and they even had a few nice whites. Their 10 year port (I am not a big fan of ports) was not too sweet and when served in a small dark chocolate cup we decided it would make for a real nice after dinner treat. We selected a nice Merlot to take with us back to the motorhome. Tomorrow we head to Randle, Washington for a few days and unfortunately rain is in the forecast. We apparently didn’t stay long enough in the desert for the typical highs to settle in at the northwest. Then it is off to Astoria, Oregon for a week…