August: 18-22: FINAL LEG HOME

We headed out of Missoula and took a side trip to the town of Arlee to get some wholesale fireworks, making the boys very happy. Stay tuned for a big 4th of July! We then headed south through Idaho and spent the night in Pocatello. We planned on a long drive the next day to get us close to Reno, where we planned to stay Thursday night and visit the Green's. But, we ended up with an even bigger drive and went all the way to Reno as there was really no place to stay in this really boring desert area of Nevada. We got in late and spent the night at the Grand Sierra Casino, where we have stayed before during the Air Races. This gave us the next morning to swim in the pool and run some errands before we headed to the Green's that afternoon. It was great to see them and their three kids! The kids played in the yard and then we went to the local casino/restaurant for a fun dinner....kids eat free! The kids (all 6 of them, the big boys acting like kids) had fun in the arcade afterwards. It was great to catch up with Ken and Patty!

We left early on Friday morning in order to get to Mammoth for an appointment with the owner of the Side Door Cafe and Wine Bar before the Wine Walk tasting that evening. Back at Venteux, Shelly had set all this up for us and we were warmly greeted by Brooke, Shields, Lauren and those in charge of the event. The meeting with Shields went well and we are excited to have Venteux wines now represented there! It will also be nice to have a great excuse to visit Mammoth occasionally. Jake took it upon himself to be our marketer during Friday night's event by giving our brochure to guests and telling them to visit our booth. He won over many guests and even got his photo taken for the local newspaper. Having lived in Mammoth in 1978-1980 (major earthquakes!!), it was really fun to see all the changes. It is a beautiful area. Saturday was the big event with the Wine and Music Festival, held at the Woods site. It was sold out with 3,500 tickets. We did not stop pouring the entire event and we loved the great feedback we got about the wines. Our last night of this grand road trip was spent at a non-road food restaurant, Petra's Bistro and Wine Bar. It was fantastic! Yes, we like Mammoth!

We had one last scenic drive on our way home on Sunday through Yosemite National Park. It was a beautiful cool morning and the drive over Tioga Pass was gorgeous. We certainly live in a beautiful state! Now, we are heading across the Hwy 46, back in familiar territory, almost home. Our trip has certainly been a trip of a lifetime for us and a great learning experience for Jake. We have seen many new things, revisited important places from our pasts, and visited many friends and family. We have been through 19 states plus Canada and have put nearly 8,000 miles on the odometer. The "Cabin Quest" turned out to be fantastic. We accomplished all we planned and then some. Our lives are enriched with many new experiences and stories. And we're thankful we were in the truck, instead of the van! Not sure if we would have survived in the van, no matter how cool we would have looked. The Shasta has been great...only a few little road dings and one broken window, not bad for all the miles. Now it's time to get home, get Jake to school, open up the B&B, get wine bottled, gear up for harvest, lose many pounds, and basically get back to our great life in Templeton!!

We were treated royally by many friends and family! We want to thank everybody who made our trip so special! The B'Nalley's (for house sitting and spoiling the animals!) Kristi, Kevin & Nick, Joan, Sherman and the guys from the Estrella Warbirds Museum, Paige, Len, Aunt Kendall, Gwynne, Russ, Tyler, Miranda, Casey, Uncle Ron, Aunt Jeanne, Brett & Jennifer Summer, Sharon, Alan, Andrew, Ryan & Brandon, Andre, Sue, Les & Mark, Joe, Carmen & Joey Wolochuck, The folks at Aperitif Restaurant, Don and Mimi Eastep, of course Logan!, Ken & Patty and the folks from the Mammoth Wine Festival. Also thanks to Shelly for keeping things running smoothly at Venteux and Mom and Dad for taking care of Vinnie post B'Nallyes! We are pulling in the drive way.....end of Post! Home at last!! We are headed to Mom and Dad's house for dinner!! We are so excited to see them and Vinnie, our kitty!

Longtime friends, Ken & Patty Green, are now residents of Reno, NV.

The Green's have a fun backyard for the kids to play!

Ken and Scott took the kids to the arcade...

but think they spent most of the quarters on themselves!

The Green Family: Patty, Ken, Lauren (5), Lana (7) and Landon (5)

19 States and and 1 Canadian Provence later, back in California!

Scott with Shields Richardson, owner of the Side Door Cafe & Wine Bar in Mammoth Lakes.

Ready for tasters!

Brooke Baumann (daughter of Sheilds Richardson) with Jake before the Friday Night Wine Walk.

Jake was a great helper during the events!

The band Train was the headliner at the festival on Saturday.

Scott's arm was soar after we poured through 3 cases to eager tasters. That's about 1000 tastings.

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Jay & Linda Adams: Some of our favorite Venteux Club Members came to the festival!

Watch out Clover! We stayed at Juniper Springs Lodge in Mammoth Lakes.

Heading over Tioga Pass into Yosemite National Park.

A beautiful drive through Yosemite was the grand finale of our road trip.

Our "Mourvedre on the move" bottle now has 7,830 miles on it

Mom and Dad made us an incredible "welcome home" dinner!!!!

These photos aren't loading right...but you get the idea! YUM!

How nice to come home to family and a lovely dinner!

August 14-17: MONTANA

We didn't think we would make it to Montana this trip, but we are so happy it worked out. We really wanted to see Logan and we also always love seeing our great friends, Don and Mimi Eastep. Actually, they feel more like family to us. They live in Livingston, which is one of our favorite places! Don and Mimi have an incredible property right at a fork on the Yellowstone River. It is so beautiful to watch the river and all the activities of fly fisherman, beaver, deer, pelicans and Canada geese. There is a show to watch all day long. Logan met us in Livingston, so that was a huge bonus! He brought his dog, Buddy, who next to Clover, is the greatest dog ever. Clover loves Buddy and they had the best time running around together. Don and Mimi seemed genuinely happy to have us visit. Seems like whenever we visit them, we make a large presence with our camper, ourselves, Clover, etc., but they don't seem to mind! Mimi had been in the kitchen for what must have been days preparing for our arrival. We were spoiled from the instant we walked in the door with homemade cookies, homemade ice cream sandwiches and drinks....Jake had his first regular Pepsi, and let's just say he was wound up with the sugar and excitement of seeing everyone and being there. Mimi made a huge fantastic dinner of country style ribs, baked beans, deviled eggs, potato salad, corn on the cob, corn bread muffins made from special cornmeal and delicious apple crisp for dessert! We enjoyed some Venteux, too! Don and Mimi are Venteux Club Members as well. We spent the evening on the deck smoking cigars, drinking wine and catching up. It was perfect. Logan and Jake stayed in the Shasta and Scott and I stayed in their lovely guest room, which Mimi had decked out with fresh flowers, chocolates, etc. She made homemade waffles, fruit and bacon for breakfast.... we are spoiled! Jake and I went with Logan to visit a farm and then we spent the rest of the afternoon fishing (no luck) and relaxing by the river after a trip into Livingston. We love that town! Logan headed back to Missoula to get some work done, but we would see him the next day. Mimi had another fabulous dinner planned, this time the main feature being delicious pulled pork. Another great evening with the Easteps! Before we left the next morning, yep, breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls. We would have stayed there forever if we could, it is such a special place to us.

Logan met us in Deer Lodge to show us his operation for Zoo Mountain. We got the full tour and it was very interesting. Afterwards, we headed to Missoula and saw Logan's store in downtown. It was really cool to see it all and understand more what he has been working so hard for. I can't believe he is only 20 and has accomplished so much. He is quite the entrepreneur, but still plans to finish school, only 20 credits away! We are impressed. We parked the Shasta in Logan's driveway and headed to the river. Last year when we visited him we went tubing and loved it, so we did that again in the afternoon. It was super fun! Buddy comes along too in his doggy like jacket. We had a nice dinner at a restaurant on the river. The weather has been just perfect! We said goodbye to Logan Tuesday morning. It was a great visit!!

Livingston...we love it!

Don and Mimi

Logan (20) and Jake (7).., handsome boys if I do say so myself!

Mimi's homemade ice cream sandwich

We just love this spot, right on the Yellowstone River!

Buddy and Clover

Mimi and their cute dog, Molly. Molly was a trooper with the "big dogs"!

Yet, another great meal.....nice view too!

Jake with his Munny and homemade cinnamon roll

Logan and Jake in front of Logan's house in Missoula

Aug 10-13: "U.P" & MN

After picking up the Shasta in Sudbury, Ontario, we were officially heading back west and on the tail end of the trip. We crossed the U.S. border in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan where the Soo Locks lie between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. We were now officially in what is known as the U.P. (Upper Peninsula of Michigan), where the residents are referred to as "Yoopers". This is certainly not just an accent, but a true dialect, and you betcha it felt more like a foreign country than Canada! We drove from the "Soo" on to Munising on Tuesday. Munising is a cute little town on Lake Superior. We took a Ship Wreck Tour in a Glass Bottom Boat, which was really cool. We saw three different wrecks and heard the tails of how they ended up there. We tried the local fare of the Pasty, as there are pasties sold all over the UP. Not terribly tasty, nor was any other dining experience in the area. Think overcooked and under-seasoned. But, I think the pasty has some possibilities as a fun "meal in one" dish with some fresher ingredients, so I may give them a try someday. We've had fun with the "road food", but my body is ready to get healthy when we get home!

On Wednesday we headed to Woodbury, MN (a suburb of St. Paul) where we were scheduled for a Venteux Wine Dinner at Aperitif Restaurant Thursday evening. Earlier Thursday we decided to check out the MOA (Mall of America) as it seems to be the thing to do there. The big attraction was the Nickelodeon Universe amusement park. Jake was having a blast there until his hand got stuck in a ride. Scott saw it happen and leaped toward the ride (is now experiencing some pain!) and thankfully Jake is fine (just sore, bloody fingers)...but it was very scary. So, we left there early to get ready for the dinner. Aperitif opened about 6 months ago and they put Venteux on their wine list, thanks to our friends, Corey and Robert Nyman. The restaurant is beautiful and obviously quite popular already. We were treated royally, with a comped luxury room at the neighboring Sheraton (lovely hotel!). The chef did a perfect job pairing the wines with each course. The dinner was a great success and we really enjoyed the guests and the staff! We headed out early today, Friday, to drive across the state of North Dakota, stopping at a horrible diner in Fargo. Corn has now been replaced with miles and miles of sunflowers. Not sure how far we will get tonight, but we are anxious to get to Livingston, MT tomorrow to the Eastep's. Logan plans to drive to Livingston to meet us and we are so excited to see him too!

Munising, U.P., Michigan:

Glass Bottom Boat Shipwreck Tour Of Lake Superior

Rock formations along the shores of Grand Island.

View of the famous East Channel Lighthouse on Grand Island from the Shipwreck Tour.

Preserved by Lake Superior’s frigid waters, these doomed vessels lay on the bay bottom where they met their fates when the tempestuous Lake displayed its violent power.

YOOPER: Nickname for people who live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Traditionally, Yoopers are big fans of outdoor recreation such as hunting and fishing.

You Might be a Yooper if...

Your wife's Lady Remington is a 30-06...
Your snowmobile costs more than your kid's college education...
Your wife's night gown says Fred Bear Archery...
A trip to the islands means Mackinac and Bois Blanc...
You're on a first name basis with the clerk at the Michigan State Unemployment Office...
You install your snow tires in early September...
You think working at McDonalds' means making the big bucks...
Your best clothes are reversible; Blaze Orange to Camouflage...
Going south for the winter means going to Escanaba...
You think that Iron Mountain is a prime example of a big city in urban decay...
You think the expression "to open a can of worms" means " to go fishing"...
You think that a Big Mac and a shake refers to the Bridge on a windy day...
People in Wisconsin act superior to you...
Your kid "aced" the 3rd grade...on his 9th try...
A new car means a 1972 AMC Gremlin...
Being a "Red Wing fan" means you like their new line of hiking boots...
You watched the "Ricki Lake Show" because you thought it was a show about fishing...
You answer the question "How many UP'ers does it take to change a light bulb?" with "None, we don't have electricity"...
You consider Velcro to be high tech...
You think that "The Straits of Mackinac" refers to the heterosexual population on the island...
You think that the Mackinac ferry refers to, well, you know...
You view working the drive-through window as an important career advancement...

The tradition was brought to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by immigrants who worked the copper and iron mines of the upper UP. The mines are no longer operating, but the pasty lives on in the minds and kitchens of "yoopers" everywhere.

Traditonal Pasty is filled with beef, potatoes, onion and rutabaga. Definitely a little gravy helps, as it seems to be in place of herbs and spices of most foods here.

(ok, we are spoiled in California!)

The Mall of America, outside of Minneapolis/St Paul is the largest mall in the US and has several anchor stores, more than 500 specialty stores, 50 restaurants, 7 nightclubs, Underwater Adventures Aquarium, 14 movie theaters plus Nickelodeon Universe indoor amusement park.

Overlooking the Nickelodeon Universe in the center of the mall.

http://www.aperitifrestaurant.com/

Venteux Wine Dinner at Aperitif Restaurant in Woodbury, MN:

The four course dinner and wine pairing was amazing!

The dinner was sold out far in advance!

We were so happy to see some familiar faces! Denise and Roger Diehl are Venteux Club Members from Tujunga, CA and made it all the way to dinner in Minnesota!

Venteux Grenache is sold by the glass at Aperitif and they have a state of the art nitrogen preservation/serving system.