Calaveras County

 

Yesterday Rick and I spent the afternoon with my niece Sara and her husband Ryan.  We had a lovely lunch and a did a little wine tasting.  I forget that there are some really adorable little towns in California.  So used to the bustle of the Bay Area and Sacramento.

We had lunch in a town called Murphys.  There was some event going on so the little town was teeming with people walking up and down the main street. 

 

Calaveras and nearby Amador county have a ton of wineries.  Murphys has a number of tasting rooms so that one needs to just park their car at one end of the street and work their way down to the other, rather than have to drive from winery to winery to go wine tasting. 

We popped into Lavender Ridge to sample some wines and cheeses.  My favorite wine of the day was a Cotes du Calaveras Blanc.  A white blend of Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne grapes, all Rhône  varietals (look Sara!  I was paying attention).  Nice and light – it might be my new favorite Summer wine.  Actually I had a glass with lunch before we went into the tasting room so I might have been biased.

 

It was a perfect afternoon.  There is so much to see in our State that is just a short drive away.  No need for over planning or packing.  Just hop in the car and drive the beautiful back roads. 

I'm trying really hard not to bring up the obvious – the fact that I rarely post these days.  Oops.  There I brought it up.  It has to get old, reading my pleas for forgiveness and my multitude of excuses.  Let it suffice to say that my huge work project is wrapping up, I'm taking the first two weeks of June off and things should improve around here.  I may even have time for some creative endeavors.

If not you can throw me in the Murphys Pokey.