Wine Tasting Weekend

Mom came up for Dad's Birthday weekend.  We decided to take a girls only road trip down the Naramata Bench, to taste wine and relax.   We had a great trip down stopping at some amazing wineries, tasted so fantastic cheese and ended up with a private tasting at VAN WESTEN vineyards.  We stayed the night at the Naramata Heritage Inn & Spa.  Relaxed on the deck, ate amazing food, played bocce, and searched out a peacock thanks to Joy's talented mating call ;-))

           Hillside Winery has an amazing collection - Their Pinot blanc and viogner are fantastic!!

 Private Tasting at Van Westen 

 Naramata Inn & our peacock

She's got the whole world in her hands

Taeya is working on a school project regarding the conservation of energy and its effect on our world....so this is the photo we came up with for her brochure.   Thanks for taking a look!   XOXO

Sunset & Flowers

This evening I took the dog for a walk and enjoyed the last sunrays resting on the flowers....

Meeting the Global TV crew

Tonight Global TV was on the road, in Kelowna!   We took the girls out for dinner at Earls and then down to watch the live broadcast and meet the crew.  Kristi Gordon, Chris Gailus & Squire Barnes, were so friendly, the girls got photos and signatures!  So much fun!!   After the night was topped off with ice cream ;-))   Beautiful hot sunny night, a great way to end the day!

A Train Ride thru AZ

Ted and I saw the advertising for the longest running train ride in AZ, so we decided it was worth the drive to check it out, after almost 3 hours we arrived in Cottonwood (close to where the train leaves from) early and then had time to go to Jerome and take a few photos.  Featured in the previous post here,  After which we boarded the train and had an amazing time running thru the passenger cars, thru the open air cars, hearing the history, the mountain formations etc.... it was something you can't experience in many places anymore - we watched the sweetest older couple cuddle together and look for eagles nests. Listened to people talk about their lives and home in Iowa, New York, and New Hampshire.....we listened as people talked about the weather in their home towns....us letting everyone know we left to fresh snow!   Everyone in our car was served champagne to celebrate a 40th wedding anniversary of a couple from Florida.   It was a very unique and very entertaining experience.   Here are a few photos from our very romantic, intimate and special train bound day.

Our Car!

Isn't this such an amazing sight....a river, green trees and flowers in the desert!

The train behind our car ;-))

Going thru the rock tunnel 

This is where the train stopped, unhooked the engine, re-hooked to the other end and took us back.  This little 'town' is called Perkinsville.  Parts of the movie How the West Was Won, was filmed here.  The water tower that used to be on the stand bellow was blown up for the film....however it was cut from the final production.

Jerome a village built on the hillside

Jerome AZ is built on the side of the hill.   Named "America's most vertical city"  it is amazing to see.  However, it is hard to get thru it ;-)  So much to see, little cafe's and coffee shops rule this tiny city.  Walkways and roads are supported by beams ....  yes it is scary!!  However it is a must see.   Here are a few photos of the town....

 The view from the side of the road....you cannot stop or pull-over...that is the guard rail and supported road in the foreground - the view from Jerome is spectacular!

Most of the buildings here are 140 years old...I'm guessing this one is around that time - so gorgeous!

 All the streets are crooked and 'strange' due to the lay of the land!   So much fun!

 This entrance is standard for the area, leading you to homes and businesses.

The police car for Jerome!  

Diamond Backs VS San Fran Giants

On Wednesday night Ted and I went to the baseball game!   It was such a great game - the Diamond backs had the lead until the 8th....when the Giants took over the game and ended up winning 9-6.

Good Try boys!!  Great Game