We're just "wining" again...

My hubby and I went on an adventure this week. You see, out daughter is away at a church youth convention, and we have very few obligations this week...so we're trying to make the most out of our "discretionary time".

And what better way to pass time than going exploring? And if wine and food are involved - all the better!

We drove south to find the Shawnee Wine Trail. We lived in this region for about 4 years, but that was when we had a young child, and drinking wine and going traipsing across the countryside just wasn't in the cards. So, our trip was a bit of a time machine, going back in time to see our first house, places we shopped, and the region we never knew existed because we were up to our elbows in diapers and baby drool.

Our first stop was Von Jakob Vineyard.





The drive was about two and a half hours, so by the time we arrived in the area, we were ready for lunch. We chose this winery for lunch because on Mondays through Wednesdays, if you bought one lunch, you got the second for half off - and we always keep an eye out for a deal!

We chose wisely. I ordered one of their grilled pizzas:



This winery is also a brewery, and used beer in the pizza crust. This veggie pizza was fabulous! My husband, being of German heritage, couldn't pass up the German beef sandwich with butter potatoes:




It tasted like the old country, indeed! But - we did come for the wine, and at the waitress' recommendation, accompanied our meal with their Hillside Red. It was a bit sweeter than I usually drink, a bit drier than my hubby usually drinks, but it complimented the food quite well. We bought a bottle of their Country Red to bring home - a sweeter wine. The food was great, and for $30, we had an appetizer, two meals, two glasses of wine, two wine tastings (you didn't think we'd just try one wine, did you?) and took a bottle to go. Pretty sweet deal - with very good food, and nice wines.

We then moved to our next destination: Alto Vineyards.




We had already become somewhat familiar with their wines at a tasting in Champaign, so we only tried a few with which we were unfamiliar. We asked for a recommendation to serve with our Good Ol' American Burgers and Potato Salad July 4th celebration, and he recommended the Rocko Red. It was another semi-sweet red, but he claimed he personally could attest to the fact that it went with just about everything. It seemed that while in college, he could either afford good food, or good wine, but not both at the same time. A friend of his made the revelation that Rocko Red complimented Mac & Cheese...and his mission began to test this wine with every kind of cheap college fare possible.

His testimony seemed reputable to me - thus our purchase. So now with two bottles of wine in the trunk, and having tasted 9 wines so far, we headed to our next destination.

Now, before you express concern with the amount of alcohol in our system by this point - perhaps it would be a good idea to explain how wine tastings work, in case you've not been. The tasting samples are only about 4 small sips worth of wine each. At the risk of sounding "wine-snobby", we take our time to smell the wine, then inhale slightly as we sip, to get the best flavor profile of the wine. We take our time...and take advantage of the little crackers in-between each wine to cleanse our palette. So, in a tasting of 5 wines, for example, we may only drink a total of 3/4 a glass of wine. Over the course of an hour, that's not going to make us "blotto", by any means.

At this point, however, being mindful that the alcohol in our system could accumulate, we decided to take a detour while on the way to another winery. Being in Alto Pass, we saw a sign for "The Famous Root Beer Saloon - You Have To See It To Believe It".

Well, how could you pass that up?

But on our way, we also came to a sign that said "Scenic Overlook" - also, a must-see. So, the scenic overlook would come first, then the Root Beer.







This was the view from the scenic overlook...these pictures do not do it justice. So green, so quiet, so breathtaking...after a busy summer, it was nice to feel peace here.

As my husband and I were taking it all in, a voice came from behind us.

"Ya'll from around here?"

Often when one hears that sentence, one expects it to be accompanied by banjoes. Not this time. The man speaking to us was a kind, older gentleman who just wanted to make conversation and meet new people.

He quickly became my friend when he told me I looked about 26 years old, and my husband clearly robbed the cradle when he landed me. He then asked me to guess his age - I returned the favor to him by ballparking low - I guessed 65 years old. He volunteered that he was actually 89 years of age, then pulled out his wallet to show that he was a member of the "Battle of the Bulge" club - he fought in this battle during WWII.

"There's not many of us left," he said, as he continued to flip through his wallet. "Here's a picture of me and my wife...I lost her a few years back now." He showed us a picture taken during the late 1960's, when they would have been in their 40's. "Isn't she pretty?" My husband quickly lightened his mood by saying, "Well, who's that young, handsome guy with her?" This encouraged a hearty chuckle, and we continued to make small talk and enjoy each other's company for a few more minutes. He had brought "an old man" with him to enjoy the day who stayed in his truck, presumably not able to get out and around, so after a bit, he said he needed to get back to his friend.

We parted ways, and the man instructed me to make sure I work to keep my "figure", and reminded my hubby how lucky he was to have me. As we drove away from this beautiful overlook, and our new friend, I thought about how some of life's greatest pleasures are the ones brought about by sheer happenstance. I looked at the darkening clouds - a welcome sight during this drought - and said a small prayer of thanksgiving for our happy accidental meeting.

Our next stop - another happy accident in the making - was "The World Famous Root Beer Saloon".

To be continued...but to encourage you to check back, I present you with this picture, taken inside our next destination:



Yes, we make a cute couple...but check out the decor around us, multiply it by 50, and imagine being surrounded by stuffed "flying" birds while drinking draft root beer...and hearing the life story of a millionaire...

...stay tuned, my foodie friends!