Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Another New Experience (5/17/2014)

As we sit, writing this blog, we watching one of the most beautiful sunsets over the grape vines of Jessie’s Grove Vineyards. (Established in 1868!) As we left the lake country where we camped last night, the terrain became very mountainous, but the hills were covered in grape vines and various citreous trees. When you see the amount of grape vines, you realize how dependent we must be on migrant laborers. How can you get all the grapes picked when they cover so many acres? We eventually left the mountains, and hopped on I5 for a short run down past Sacramento to Lodi. Although we were driving on a Saturday, it reminded us that we enjoy living in the small towns of North Carolina instead of the congested cities. We arrived at Jessie’s Grove Vineyard around lunch time and were greeted by Marcella, the “future” tasting room manager. She and the rest of the staff of the tasting room were so friendly and welcoming. We felt like we were doing them a favor by staying here instead of them allowing us to set up on the beautiful property of this old and historic vineyard. We ran into town and did laundry and filled the car up with gas, but were anxious to get back and sample some of their wine. I think that since we were not having to drive, they were more generous with the samples than they would be otherwise. After about 7 or 8 samples, we ended up with 3 bottles to bring back to the trailer! YUM!!! After cooking dinner, we decided to wander the grounds of the vineyard. It is amazing to look at vines that are over 100 years old. In addition to the many acres of grape vines, there are pastures with horses, a goat named Jacks, various other farm animals, barns, old farm equipment, etc. We just had a blast wandering around the old homestead and pretty gardens. Everyone we met here, made us feel welcome to the property. We are looking forward to staying at another Harvest Host facility in the future. Tomorrow, we head over to Yosemite NP! Until then………..

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