Today is the day before the wedding. According to Marita and the sticky notes on the sliding glass door, there is a still a fair amount to do. I offered to frost mini cupcakes. My sister and brother-in-law had arrived in Lakebay at 11:00 a.m., right on time for the family brunch that had been canceled. No problem. We had a mini brunch with Dave, Marita, Kristi, Gordie, Rick and Judy, the neighbors, Chris and me. With so much to do, why not let Dave and Marita keep cooking for us? You probably think we are just pathetic. Anyway, we finished eating and everyone set out to complete the chores. Marita, off to to Club Sel (reception spot), don't know where Dave went, Kristi and I stayed at Dave's and frosted cupcakes, Chris and Gordie headed out to get us some Chardonnay, but really went to the local tavern for a beer. They came back with no Chardonnay, but they did have a six-pack of beer for themselves. No problem. As soon as we finish the cupcakes, off to the Trillium Creek Winery for a little wine tasting. Incentive enough to stay on task.
Earlier, Marita had called down to the winery to make sure they were open and to alert them that we were coming. By the time we finished frosting, it was about 2:00. We arrived at Trillium Creek Winery about 2:30. Chris needed to be at the church for rehearsal by 4:00. No problem. Taste fast.
The owners of Trillium Creek Winery, husband and wife team, Claude and Claudia -- you heard right -- were quite entertaining. Chris was more interested in taking photos around the winery since he had a job to do and needed to be on top of his game, but the rest of us were all about tasting. Claudia took Chris on the tour of the vineyard. Claude escorted us into the tasting room.
Claude, a retired Continental pilot, was born and raised in France. Claude has managed to duplicate the wines he grew up drinking, according to his brochure. Not sure if that is good or bad. The very low sulfite, dry white wine was not to our liking. Claude says it is a wine that compliments food. He also says you won't get a headache if you drink this wine. The reason I wouldn't get a headache is because I probably wouldn't drink it. Moving on to the Syrah. I liked that much better. I also liked the creamy cheddar cheese and smoked oysters he brought out. I think he really appreciates visiting (and drinking) with the people that come in, and his cost is not a factor. Claude does not skimp. Each sample was more like a glass. He is a character and very generous. You will be entertained, I promise. I think he was a little sad to see us go, so he brought out his reserve. We sampled that, even though it was not on the sampling menu, and it was pretty good. However, none of us thought it was great. My rating system would give it a 3. It must be because we are not all too familiar with French wines, seeming to drink more wines from California and the Pacific Northwest, and are not as sophisticated and experienced, when it comes to European wines, as Claude. We bought a bottle of Syrah and some cheese and oysters. We had a great time at Trillium Creek Winery and will definitely stop back when we are in town. Thanks Claude and Claudia.
On to the church. Chris had gone ahead of us so as not to be late. We arrived around 4:15. The wedding was rehearsed, and then everyone headed off to the compound in Grapeview (small town down the road) for rehearsal dinner.
Breanne is married to Josh. Josh is an ordained minister, but that is not his day job. Josh is performing the ceremony, just like he had performed the ceremonies for Marcie and Jennie. Might as well be the one to marry all of the girls in the family.
Josh's parents have two houses on the compound, the cabin and the beach house. And what a compound it is; absolutely the coolest place in the world. There are five or six houses along this beautiful waterfront all owned by members of the same family. It is sort of like the Kennedy Compound. I don't know if the Kennedys are all really nice, but this family is. We did not talk politics, so I don't know if they are D's or R's. It is probably a good thing we didn't get into that. Why ruin a good time? We had a very enjoyable visit with the family members we did meet. In fact, some day we plan to come back and rent Aunt Laurie's house, which apparently she does rent out from time to time. After spending a week with us, it will make them appreciate their own family that much more.
The other great thing about the compound is they have a neighbor that is a winemaker, and, boy, can he make wine. It was the best wine we had on the whole trip. We weren't staying for dinner, as we weren't in the wedding party and had mooched far too many meals by now, but after tasting the wine, we wished we were. We would really like to get added as a friend to the Friends and Family Wine Buying Program. This particular winemaker picks a number of charities. When you buy your wine from him, you make your check out to one of his charities. How cool is that? I don't really know his story, but what a generous winemaker. My rating scale would give his wine a 4.
Off to Alderbrook Resort. Good news: We know the way, as we had completed the lay of the land task the day before. We checked in, then immediately headed to the bar to discuss dinner. We could either eat at Alderbrook or go to the Robin Hood Restaurant and Pub. We got to the bar, and then we sat, and we sat, and we sat. Then we sat and waited some more. Keep in mind that time is of the essence. We are only going to be at Alderbrook for two nights. Service is not Alderbrook's strong suit. Is it beautiful? Yes. Were we glad to be there? Yes. Is service less than you would expect at a place like this? Yes. When the barmaid came over and informed us that the kitchen was backed up, if we wanted to have dinner we had better get the order in now, the decision was made. Robin Hood, here we come.
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| (Sorry, you've seen this before, but it is the only picture I have of the Robin Hood Pub) |
We headed back to Alderbrook and eventually went to bed. We had a big day ahead of us.
Today we can actually say that we helped where we could, with the added bonus of having fun along the way; the fourth task completed.
Three days down, tomorrow is wedding day.
"Some family trees have beautiful leaves, and some have just a bunch of nuts. Remember, it is the nuts that make the tree worth shaking." ~ author unknown
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