The Journey IS the Destination #3: Wino-ries

Friday, June 20th. This is really #6 if you're following along with the series but it's #3 if we're gonna stay in chronological order. I can't make it #3 and then backdate it for yesterday 'cause then you'll miss it. I didn't take many artsy wine pictures this year - lazy...did that last year. So here's a few shots of the family imbibing.

Ok - here's one vista shot. Never been to a winery in the Santa Inez Valley? They all look like this. Pretty. We met up with the youngest foursome of our group who couldn't wait for us old farts to get our act in gear and hit several wineries, including Artiste, Robbler(?), Casa-something, Firestone and Kalyra.

I'm admiring the cask-work. Thanks, Ashly, for providing all pictures in this post. I would have bought you a gift but you probably bought it for yourself already. Or Brenda got it. Aunt Ev, below.

Nice shot. We look like the cast of "The Colby's" or "Falcon Crest". Look at my brother in the chair on the left - "There is no wine until I suck it all down..and THEN - there is no wine."

SMILE. At the count of three, everyone say. "CRACTION!" (inside joke). Let's see...who haven't you met? Aunt Ev in the front row (2nd from left, she's my dad's youngest sister and married to Uncle Bob Nowak, white shirt off her left shoulder) and next to her is Bev (2nd oldest daughter in the Nowak clan, married to our hunting/fishing partner, Gary Schmidt - who's parents were close to my Grandma and Grandpa Ircink). I think you met Greg Nowak, another Nowak brother - in the middle, back.

See all those wine glasses? You get to keep them. So everyone who didn't need glasses gave them to Scotty and Ash as they're engaged and can use wine glasses. The real mystery is what happened to all those wine glasses...which I'll save for a post of its own.

Me, Scotty, Jason and Joe.

Joe & Brenda and me - at Tom Nowak's, another brother in the Nowak Clan.