Tonight’s blog was fueled by a glass of 2001 Beaucanon Estate Trifecta from Napa Valley. It’s a fabulous fusion of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc. It was a gift from my daughter and son-in-law, so I don’t know how much it cost, but it’s got a high-roller taste.
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Funny Family Feasting
So here’s my beautiful granddaughter happily munching on an avocado. I’m so delighted that she’s following in the family tradition of totally enjoying her food. Reminds me of my days as the pie-eating champion at the University of Idaho during the 1970 Turtle Derby Days.
Today’s Cabernet
Today’s blog was fueled by a sumptuous glass of 2003 Zenato Ripassa from Valpolicella, Italy. I ordered this wine as a guest at the famous Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington. I’d give up an entree and dessert for this wine. It’s $40 dollars a bottle, but hey, I’m here alone and I’m thirsty.
Lady Lobby Lizards
Today I sat at a table in the lobby of the Davenport Hotel in Spokane sipping Ripassa wine and munching on Crab Louie salad. On business trips to Spokane, I never stay anywhere else. The Davenport is a magnificent hotel that opened in 1914, closed in 1985 and was renovated in 2000. Sitting in the grand and ornate lobby, I expect to hear the Glenn Miller Orchestra play “In the Mood” while sophisticated patrons mingle in chiffon gowns and top hats around the center fountain. The elegance of this hotel harkens back to a refined era that is not reflected in the modern-day Budget Inn.While I enjoy the grandeur of the past I also appreciate the reality of the present. I have traveled on business as a single female for over 30 thirty years. In the past, I was often seated in the back of the hotel restaurant as the pathetic loner and obvious loser. Waiters continually asked is I was waiting for someone, perhaps to offer hope to my solitude. Now I can confindently order a table for one and ask for the wine list and no one calls the authorities to haul me away. My 80-year-old widowed mother still refuses to go to a restaurant alone. My 29-year-old daughter has entered a restaurant in Spain and competently ordered a menu in Spanish. Progress, indeed.Here’s a short list of my favorite female-friendly places for Lady Lobby Lizards in the Northwest:1. Davenport Hotel, Spokane, Washington2. Coeur d’Alene Resort, Idaho3. Four Seasons Hotel, Seattle, Washington4. Chandlers Steakhouse Bar, Boise, Idaho5. Oba! Restaurant, Pearl District, Portland, Oregon
Today’s Cabernet
Today’s blog was fueled by a glass of 2004 Dynamite Cabernet Sauvignon. This average, inexpensive wine makes me wonder if it’s worth the calories.
Midlife Cabernet: You Can Enjoy a Family Vacation without Drama, Bloodshed, or Lawsuits
I recently joined my adult children and their families on a wonderful trip to the Oregon Coast. This is a remarkable achievement for me because I have two brothers within a day’s drive of my home and we would rather eat rancid snot than spend an hour with each other.
I haven’t seen my older brother in 17 years, and now I wonder if I could convince a reality show to sell lucrative sponsorships to document a reunion. He would do that for the money. My younger brother would just ask, “So, why do you want to get together, anyway?”
My parents were strict, hard-working farmers who couldn’t be bothered with family vacations or sibling relationships. My father started each day at 6:00 am by blaring John Philip Sousa marches throughout the house, pounding on our bedroom doors, and hollering, “Get up. Time is money!” That explains my uncontrollable eye twitch every time I hear “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
My dad was a brilliant businessman who worked from poverty to riches, but he lost his family along the way. After he died young, my brothers conspired together to acquire his abundant estate. It was a scene from the final chapter of The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. I attempted to protect my mother’s finances and so my older brother, a lawyer, sued me. I won the suit and was awarded a court order against him. Consequently, there haven’t been any laughing, loving vacations together.
My brother has never met my husband (or the one before him) or my children’s spouses or their children. That is an enormous loss for my brother because my kids are fabulous and have the lives I always wanted for them. They love each other, and their children are close cousins. It’s like The Waltons – the old television show not the billionaire family with all the stores.
Last week I watched my children and their families play along the beach, learn about whales, throw nets to catch crabs, hike through an enchanted forest, and sit around a campfire. The parents introduced clam chowder to their five children, jostled diapers and dogs in a rented recreational vehicle, and explored new vistas along the coast. Best of all, they laughed together. And then they eagerly planned the next family vacation.
I can’t change my past or make my brothers arrive at my door with a baked turkey and a pie. Well, not without a food taster. But I can move forward with gratitude that my children broke my family’s tradition of tense animosity. And, if either one threatened a law suit, the other would just laugh and bring out some snacks and adult beverages. In one respect, my father was correct. Time is money, as long as it’s time spent together as a family. My grandchildren are rich, indeed.
Today’s blog was fueled by a 2009 Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon from Columbia Valley. This velvety wine is full-bodied and delightful. It’s more expensive than the tasty Trutina from Dunham Cellars, so save it for a special occasion – such as any day ending with the letter y…
