Well it is getting close to our departure for Colorado. As the twins say three more sleeps and we will be there. Thought I would share some of the weather we are having in Washington. It has been bitterly cold for a week and the pictures above show what has happened in the last 24 hours.

Okay, I am not even close to being up to my daughter's capability. I have fallen behind my son in capabiitiy. I do have some pictures of the Washington Clan and PROOOOmise to post them in the near future.

Up-coming Ride reports

I plan on updating (okay entering) a couple of posts over the upcoming 4th of July Holiday. Look forward to the Hell's Canyon Rally and Lawman 1000 posts. Coming soon to a theater near you.

Too Long

Well I have waited too long to post on this blog. We have been a little busy at our house, a long weekend in San Jose, Ca. to visit our new granddaughter Chelsea (she is named after Chelsea F.C.) runner-up in the EPL. Our next items that have kept me away from my blog is the visit of the Holt Clan from Alaska. We had to play unbelievable hours of WII (which was introduced to Nana and Papa by Quin when we were in San Jose. We went to Red Sox vs. Mariners game which the Mariners won; how did that happen? My youngest Son, Cory pointed out that the cost of one beer was the same as the ticket price. The rest of the next two weeks were filled with lots of food really good wine and Papa riding his MC to work in unbelievable weather. In the next post I will try and add some photos.

Walla Walla Wine

Well we were off for the annual Spring wine release in Walla Walla Friday the 2nd of May. Our first stop was Northstar where they had a free open house and some live music. After we left Northstar we were off to one of our favorites Bergevin Lane for free tapas and some lovely wines and some cool jazz.

Saturday was another great day as we started at Leonetti and tasted the new release of Merlot and Cab Sauv. Our next stop was to visit Dusted Valley Vinters this winery was started by a couple of guys from Wisconsin, next it was Tertulia, the winemaker is from Duvall. After we left Tertulia, it just opened last year we were off to Pepperbridge - excellent wine but no goodies to eat. We then moved on to Va Piano Vineyards, it was lunch time and they always have the paninis for lunch. While we were there we had a conversation with one of the local limo drivers and he suggested that we try out Trust Cellars, so off we went. We had a very welcome surprise when we got to Trust we also found a very good wine at Chateau Rollat Winery. From there we went to Hence and then on to Waters and Gramercy. We finished the day at Whitman Cellars. It was a great day after we stopped and got some good cheese and some Salami Mole and proscuitta. The meats came from Salumi of Seattle and were unbelievable.

Sunday began with breakfast at Shari's since the line was too long at Clarette's our normal Sunday morning breakfast. After breakfast we headed for the airport to check out the wineries at that location. Our first stop was at Trio and at a winery in the same complex Adamant, we then went to Buty a really neat winery run by a young couple ( our first experience with this winery was a few years ago - all wineries are playing jazz or rock but not Buty --- they are playing the man in black; Johnny Cash!). We also sampled wines at Ensemble (very unique process - no vintage, but a blend of three vintages), 428 very interesting conversation with someone that had been in the wine industry in Califorinia, the last winery was Eleganti they offered a Merlot annd a strawberry wine. We then tried to make it to Stella Fino, we drove into Oregon only to find out that the tasting was in Milton-Freewater, we were looking forward to the Italian varietals but maybe next year. Out last stop was at Longshadow - a very pretentious winery, the wine needs to be cellared for at least 5 years to be drinkable. It will probably become one of the predominant wines in Washington and will command a huge amount of $$$$$

368 Chapter Meet and Greet

Well we had our first big outing of the year today. Ended up that we had 36 bikes and 42 people. We started at the OCB in Totem Lake and after a "hearty" breakfast we set off to make the ferry ride across the sound from Edmonds to Kingston on the Peninsula. After the ferry ride we stopped in Port Gamble and picked up some more bikes from other chapters. After all the greetings, backslapping and hugging we headed for the Geoduck Restaurant - Wow what a "cluster" they were totally overwhelmed and I think that they managed to screw up every order. The groups took off in all directions and tried to make it home in one piece. Traffic in Seattle can really suck at times and we lucked out with only two slow downs all the way home.

Springtime Snow

Well here it is the 18th of April and instead of warm balmy days we are experiencing a snowstorm of sorts. In Everett, Wa. where I work it snowed off and on all day with temps in the low 30s. Since getting home it has been snowing. The only thing that is keeping it from becoming a total mess is the temps are slightly above freezing. The deck is covered with snow and the grass is turning white. The daffodils in the back yard are really confused and may decide to not bloom next year. Our big red rhodie in the front yard has just started to bloom and I'm hoping the weather will change soon.

This type of weather certainly puts a damper on any motorcycle riding. Its tough to get started with temps below 40 and snow on the ground.

Maybe spring will come next month!

Cardinals

The post on the right is a slide show of the statues outside the new Cardinal Stadium in St. Louis. These are some of the players that have made the Cards one of the greatest National League teams in history. Its baseball season and St. Louis is a baseball town that really understands the meaning of the game. Someday Albert's statue will be in front of the stadium. The one non-Cardinal in the slide show is "Cool PaPa" Bell. He was one of the outstanding players in the Negro League and would have been a sure fire member of Cooperstown, if this country would have let him play in the Major Leagues.

Spring - RIGHT!

Okay, this weather is starting to wear on those who want to ride motorcycles. Last weekend we had 2 inches of snow Saturday morning. Yes it did melt during the day but when we woke up Sunday we had another 3 inches. It snowed on the way home Monday, it has been in the high 50's every day this week. Well, guess what is the prediction for this weekend. Yep its going to get into the mid 40's and rain. When do we just suck it up and go for a ride.

Woodinville Wine Tasting

Well we had a little wine tasting adventure today. We wanted to check out the Des Voigne Cellars new release of a Columbia Valley Red Table Wine. Big surprise!!! we had a case of wine that we had purchased a year ago and needed to pick up.
Our next stop was to Cuillin Hills Winery, they had a new sangiovese (the primary grape for the popular Chianti) that was being released.
Next stop we had some 6 bottles of Arlington Road "Monolith" that we had bought as futures some 12 months ago. This is a very big Cabernet based wine that will require it to be laid down for a couple of years.
We then headed for J&M to pick up some wine that we were owed from the wine club. Three bottle of 2005 Cuvee and 3 bottles of Tre Facelli. These are both excellent wines. They will both require some aging if you have the patience you will be rewarded with fantastic nose and flavor.

Denali!!!!

This is what we saw on our way to Anchorage the last day we were in Alaska.

Rick's Iditarod Start

At the right is a slide show that gives you a feeling of what the Iditarod Start was for Rick when he left Willow. Screaming people wishing him well and actually there were a few that even knew him. Enjoy and thanks to Heather Rogers for using my camera and capturing the essence of the start.

Iditirod - "The Last Great Race"

We went to Alaska to support our son 'n law and his family as they struck out on one of the last great adventures that we as humans can accomplish in this modern world. It was outstanding and the restart in Willow, Ak. was like the super bowl. Autograph seekers, tailgate parties and all of the build-up without the interference of the network media.

The locker room for this event is not in the bowels of some stadium, but right out there on the snow and ice of Willow Lake. These athletes do not need to get pumped up for the event they are ready to go as soon as they get the harness on. They almost all have zero fat and are dependent upon the musher, in this case Rick to make sure they get plenty of carbs and fat to sustain them over their journey.

When the time came to lead them to the starting line, it is a struggle to hold them back. I can tell you first hand that these 65 yr old joints are hurting from the power that these "little" doggies have.

I will also put forth that if you decide to do it again next year I will be there to help in any way I can.

The Start

I am going to try and keep up with my children, especially the one in Alaska.