We always feel better driving west.

I bought a wine tasting deal on one of those social sites a couple months ago and, since I didn't do anything for Spring Break, we decided to take the day on Saturday and make the trek. It felt so good to get off the main roads and see some of Virginia's country. We daydreamed about living out in the middle of nowhere. We felt the peace of quiet and realized it had been too long since we had found our way out of the city. We live in Arlington but most days it just feels like an extension of D.C.

Somedays I just want to quit school and buy a ranch and farm something. The feeling is usually fleeting, though I know that someday we'll have a big tract of land with a small house and a fireplace. We'll have three dogs and a 15 farm cats. Someday.

For now we just enjoy getting out there every once in a while and when there is in the general westward direction we feel like we're going home - we joke that it would take us just three days to get to California, but I don't think we're really joking.

This vineyard was surrounded by hills and mountains. It's tucked in its own little valley which we're told gives the european varietal a good chance to grow. Thank god for that because the muscadine grapes of the south are just too sweet for our liking.

I love watching Dan in situations like this, like wine tasting. Dan is an interesting combination of introverted and extroverted. It takes him a while to warm up to a person he'll see frequently as if he's cautiously trying to determine what kind of relationship they'll have, but strangers? Oh man, strangers beware. Dan will talk your ear off and chat with you as though you are friends from grade school. He is never at a loss for questions or stories and he makes the whole place feel like the bar in Cheers.

It's one of the reasons traveling with Dan is so fun - he has the worst luck with airlines (his flights always get delayed) but he makes friends with everyone at the bar and we are never without people to talk to while we wait for our plane.

I always have fun when he's around and this weekend of wine and country was so needed. Thanks, Virginia.

Without further ado

We were on the West Coast last week, hence the no posting (although, I haven't posting a lot lately anyway so it could've just been a typical lull - but it wasn't). Anyway, when I have a bit of time I'll update you on the trip but for now here's a picture of some grapes that grow on my in-law's property.

Ya, they own a vineyard. And it's beautiful to wake up to in the morning.

Memories Made

Some of the best memories are made while traveling. During our time in

Florence we took out a day to see some of the surrounding area. We saw the leaning tower of Pisa and we went wine tasting in the Chianti region of Tuscany. The drive up to the winery was super long and curvy and for the first time since I was a little girl I was feeling carsick. We arrived and I was looking forward to sitting down and having some water. They gave us a tour of the facility and then took us to our wine tasting area. It was set up so we would have 5 wine tastes paired with cheeses, bruschetta, and pasta. But what I was most excited about at that point were the water bottles on the table.

So we sit down and enjoy the appetizers and pour ourselves some water. There are about 20 other people in the room participating in the tasting with us. We start the tasting with our first wine - super yummy. Dan finishes his wine and to my surprise and horror he picks up the water bottle and pours a little into his wine glass, swishes it around and, pours it into the bucket. He looks at my face and says, "I was cleaning it out for the next wine." I explained, "But, they usually order the wine in such a way that you don't need to wash your glass each time as long as you finish the previous wine or you pour it out. But now everyone has seen you and they'll..." I couldn't even finish my sentence when we noticed the two couples to our right pour water in their glasses and clean them for the next round.

I looked at Dan accusingly, watching my precious water wasted. "It's not my fault I look like I know what I'm doing," he shrugged. I just shook my head trying to hold in my laughter. I'm sure in a perfect wine tasting atmosphere one would have a clean glass for every wine tasted. But this wasn't a perfect wine tasting atmosphere, this was a functional wine tasting atmosphere. And that water was for drinking. Not for cleaning. Dan stopped cleaning his glass out but the damage had been done and our 4 new friends continued to make sure their glasses were spick and span for each new wine. I even helped them pour their dirty wine-water out into the bucket situated in front of me, mentally shaking my head each time another glass was "cleaned". We just wanted to make sure our fellow wine tasters knew the proper wine tasting etiquette.

P.S. I have now been to 2 of the 3 countries that Elizabeth Gilbert went to on her year long journey in Eat, Pray, Love. Anyone up for Indonesia?