Last Day in California

Our plans for visiting vineyards today have been dampened. As I lay in the warm queen size bed, Lucy and Baxter snuggled between Dan and I, my eyes closed, I have Ilissa's electric smile in my mind as the rain pours down outside - the wind slamming the rain into the house and making the windows creak. We decide we can go anyway, after all the tastings are done inside. Ilissa has made it so she only has about a half days work ahead of her. I'm grateful and proud because she works really hard, as always. We have known each other for about 24 years, meeting on set, we both ran camera. Since, she has gone back to DC and worked for CSPAN, CNN, Fox News, Omega Recording Studio, and Voice of America. We sit in the garage, on the smoking couch,  I blog and Dan does his computer things (FaceBook and gaming), the dogs snuggled between us.

The rain is coming down so hard that Dan calls to make sure the vineyards are open while I make lunch and Ilissa takes a shower. We are having sammies on the roasted garlic, rosemary bread, with the jalapeno gouda cheese and slivered basil. Gail gave Dan some dill pickle chips that she brought back home from North Dakota. We had been saving them for the trip, and now we finish them off. Ilissa is happy, she closed a big deal, liked her lunch, and is singing as she cleans up. I like the deal here, I cook, she cleans!

With the rain pouring down, a lot of the vineyards are closed. The Temecula Wine Valley Trail, is flooded out, but we ferry on.

A flooded soccer field.

One of the few open is Cougar Vineyard and Winery. Their tasting room is in the cellar, it's cold and there are no chairs, but the lady serving up the tasting is entertaining. We are not too impressed by their wines, all aged in stainless steel, but enjoy each other's company. Plus, you get to keep the glasses!

Ilissa smuggles in Molly, in the above picture she is in the bag over her shoulder. Nobody is the wiser.

The lady at Cougar sends us to Leonesse Cellars Winery.

Running through the rain we get into the warm, tasting room.

I'm not feeling it, I've had too much wine in too few days. It was pretty and the company was great and again, I just kept thinking how great it would be in the summertime. After a dinner at the local Chicago pizza joint, Ilissa, me, Dan and Justin watched My Life In Ruins. The guys loved it!