A Mini-Vacation in September

Not that I am making excuses for other people’s blogging or non-blogging, but several fans of my wife’s blog have wondered what was up when her weekly dance party posting did not appear as usual on Saturday morning (actually middle of the night) time. Fear not all! Warrior Queen and I went on a short (overnight) road trip to our favorite winery. My spouse will post pictures and invite her readers to guess where we went.

I will play spoiler and spill all the beans here, detailing the highlights of our trip.*

Warrior Queen picked me up from work at 1p Friday afternoon and we proceeded xxxx on 476 to xxxx.  Four hours and a few rest stops to stretch our middle-aged legs later, we arrived at the xxxx Hotel, located at the foot of xxxx Lake in xxxx. A short time to rest in our room overlooking the lake, and we then walked across the parking lot to the hotel restaurant. An appetizer of panko breaded scallops was followed by a bowl of French onion soup (Okay, I know what Spanish onions are, but what’s the difference between French onions and the plain ole white onions in our grocery store?), and a lite dinner of sandwiches and a shared slice of salted caramel crunch cake.  Warrior Queen just had to have a Cosmo, while I savored a pint of xxxx Hops from the local brewery that is slowly taking over the village where we were staying.

Warrior Queen noted that our room looked different from the other rooms we have stayed on previous visits to this hotel. We remembered that the hotel had been renovated during the last few years. The flat screen television was new, and WQ liked the new shower stall as opposed to the old fashioned bath tubs. I thought that the seat situated in a corner of the pre-formed shower stall is a nice touch. Kudos to the American hospitality industry for acknowledging the aging of their baby boomer clientele!

Our room rental came with a breakfast discount, and one ticket for a scenic boat tour of the lake. We planned our morning so that we could return home to our cats in time to feed them evening dinner. (They were given full bowls of dry food to get them through the night.) We would trek to our winery first, return in time for the 11a boat tour, and leave for home.

Thus, 8:45a found us parked at the xxxx Mill, listening to Oscar Levant’s recording of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, as we waited for the store to open. I thought this selection was appropriate since we were, after all, in upstate xxxx. Our road trip music selections consisted of Harry James, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Chicago, and Oscar Levant. No Abba (sigh)!

A few minutes to feed the ducks in the pond behind the store, and we did our wine shopping, which will have to get us through until we can afford to do this trip again (usually 2 years). We bought a case of xxxx Red, a case of xxxx Apple xxxx, and another half case of assorted other reds/whites. (Wines, that is, not communists!).  We also bought several cheeses, sauces and condiments: okay so it’s not strictly a winery. We were in and out of the store in 25 minutes as I had hoped, and we had time to enjoy a dish of ice cream at the mill snack bar, which was a bit adventurous since the weather was cloudy, seasonably cool, and very breezy. 

Back at the hotel, WQ dropped off our room key while I walked to the boat trip office to purchase one more ticket for myself. At first, there was some doubt that the 11a trip would happen, since they need a minimum of 10 passengers to make the trip worthwhile. Fortunately the required ten people did show up with enough interest to purchase tickets ($16, cash only) and the 11a trip went off without a hitch.    

Our hour long tour on the xxxx was relaxing. The waters of xxxx Lake were choppy, but the boat stayed on course and we enjoyed the sights as I sipped a strawberry daiquiri. WQ, being the conscientious chauffeur with a four hour drive ahead of her, opted for a diet soft drink.

Our drive home was uneventful. We had a quick lunch at the local outpost of a Canadian donut chain, and a few other stops to stretch our middle-aged limbs. As planned, we were home by 5p, just in time to feed our girls and beg for their forgiveness for leaving them alone overnight.

Sorry, dear, for ruining your game of “Guess Where We Went” on your blog.

*As edited by Warrior Queen.

(Thank you for reading! Wine anyone?)