Girls Weekend - Jackson Hole, WY - July 2016

Cara, Sarah, Kristina, Jodie, and Shawna

Shawna was invited for a girls weekend in Jackson Hole at Jodie's house, along with some of the other Denver Book Club gals - Kristina, Cara, and Sarah.  Shawna was able to fly out there on points but arrived late on Thursday night due to delays.  Kristina and Jodie were waiting up for her with a glass of wine.  Jodie gave a tour of the house which is stunning with great views of the Tetons - Shawna call it a mini-Aman!  After drinking a glass and catching up, we went to bed.

Jodie's House

View from Jodie's House

Sarah arrived on Friday morning so after breakfast, Kristina, Jodie and Shawna left to pick up Sarah at the airport and then went stand-up paddle boarding on String Lake in Grand Teton National Park.  We had stopped in town and grabbed some salads and drinks for lunch.  The lake was gorgeous with the mountains in the immediate background.  The weather was also awesome!  It took a few minutes to get accustomed to the paddle boards but then quickly got the hang of it.  We boarded over to the other side of the lake stopping a few times to take in the scenery.  At one point, Sarah fell in as she tried to swat a wasp and Kristina fell in as her board caught on a log in the water.  Thankfully the lake is quite shallow so it was easy to get back on the board.  After boarding, we ate lunch along the lake, relaxing in chairs that Jodie had packed.  At this point, we had to head back to Jodie's house so we could meet up with Cara who was arriving early evening.

Stand-Up Paddle Boarding on String Lake

Hanging out at the Lake

We decided to stay in for the evening so we could enjoy Jodie's house. Jodie had set out some cheese and crackers for an appetizer so we ate those while drinking wine and catching up with Cara.  Jodie then made burgers, a salad and sweet potato fries for dinner which was all very yummy.  We ate dinner on the patio and soaked in the views of the mountains!

Dinner at Jodie's House

On Saturday, we had all the best intentions to go for a hike.  There was quite a bit of smoke in the area due to forest fires nearby so we opted to wait it out a bit for the smoke to dissipate.  We went into town and had brunch at Persephone Bakery where we had a yummy sweet potato hash.  Following brunch, we walked around town, ducking into a few stores and galleries.  At this point, we decided to go for a hike.  Sarah was not feeling well so we dropped her off at home and the rest of us went over to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and took the gondola to the top of the mountain.  Unfortunately, once we got there, it started to rain and it was crazy windy - we tried to wait it out for a few minutes but since it didn't look like it was going to get any better, we took the gondola back down and hiked for about an hour at the base of the mountain.  The weather was just fine at the base - par for the course with mountain weather!

Jackson Square

On Top of the Mountain

After cleaning up back at Jodie's house, we went to dinner in town at King Sushi.  Sarah was still not feeling well so she didn't join us.  The sushi was great in spite of the fact that it's a land locked place - we shared edamame, crispy rice, two sashimi dishes, and two rolls.

Sarah, Kristina, Jodie and Shawna

On Sunday, Sarah and I had to leave for the airport mid-morning while Kristina and Cara had to leave in the early afternoon.  We went for an hour hike along the hillside near Jodie's house and then relaxed at her house while we waited for the shuttle.  Jodie packed us a few snacks for the plane which was super helpful since the food options at the airport were quite disappointing.  No one wanted to leave - Shawna even contemplated hiding somewhere in Jodie's house!  However, the awesome weekend had to come to an end - it was so great to hang out, laugh and take in the beautiful scenery!

Weekend at Possum Kingdom Lake - July 2016

Dodds Clan and Frank at Possum Kingdom Lake

Shawna had a girls weekend in Jackson Hole that sadly Keith was not invited to.  So, Keith used the opportunity to "keep in the will" and headed to Texas for the weekend.

Margaret and Keith

He flew in from Spokane after touring that area for work during the week.  The Southwest flight was delayed almost two hours, so Dick used that opportunity to make fun of our favorite airline!  It was immediately to bed and then up at 7am so we could head to the lake.  We picked up Frank along the way and then stopped at Market Street in Fort Forth to pick up baguettes.  It was fun passing through Palo Pinto and seeing the exit for Worth Ranch.  We arrived at Possum Kingdom at about 10am, with Margaret and the kids (Owen, Josie, and Lily) having arrived about ten minutes prior.

Keith and the Kids

It was fun being back at the lake - it had been a few years since Keith had been there.  We unloaded the car and quickly walked down to the lake to jump in.  The rest of the day was spent in the water; jumping from the dock, swimming back and forth to "spider island" three times (spider island is a floating dock just off shore from a house across the slough).  We also used a couple of floats combined on the dock to turn them into a slip-n-slide that enabled us to slide into the water.  Lunch was cheese and bread and dinner was pork tenderloin.  Amy then arrived to pick up Lily who needed to go to her grandparents - Keith was able to chat with Amy who he had not seen in many years.  We wrapped up the day with wine on the back patio before driving home.  For the way home, Keith joined Margaret's car and all stopped by Dairy Queen in Mineral Wells.

Owen, Josie and Lily

Keith slept in on Sunday - the blackout curtains really helped.  He did some work before we all drove to Dallas for brunch at Wayward Sons - it was Keith's first time to eat there for a brunch.  The food was delicious and Graham was able to chat with us a bit.  The afternoon was spent sending save-the-date emails to everyone for the 50th anniversary event in Scotland next summer.  Before heading to the airport, Keith went to see Peter and Jordan (Jen and Michael were not around) and chatted for an hour.  Jordan reminded Keith that she would be visiting us in Scottsdale next year!

Dick took Keith to the airport for his flight back to Phoenix. 

Weekend in North East MD - July 2016

Keith aka Swamp Monster

Chris and Athena spend the summers at their place in North East, Maryland so we planned a weekend with them and Kim and Tom and all the kids.

Athena, Kim, and Shawna

Keith arrived late on Friday night so we did not get up until 8am on the Saturday morning.  It is only an hour drive to Chris and Athena's house so we made it to the house by 10:30am.  While the house is old, it was recently gutted and updated because of a water pipe burst a couple of years ago.  The house is amazing - very bright and open.  It has three bedrooms, one of which has 2 sets of bunk beds for the kids.  The house is on the Northeast River and Susquehanna River, so while it is freshwater it still has tides.

Keith and Tom

Athena and Kim

Kim and Tom arrived only a bit after we did - so we popped our first beer shortly thereafter!  Chris went to pick up the boast and we departed about noon.  It was a twenty minute ride to Sandy Point Island where we anchored.  Lunch was fried chicken from the gas station - while we joked about it the chicken was really quite good!  We spent the afternoon in the water right off the island - drinking beer and playing with the kids.  Keith got a spa treatment as the kids loaded all of the seaweed on Keith's body - he looked like the swamp monster!  The finale of the day were swim races to the boat - with Ryan winning $100 from Shawna based on a bet she made.  We returned to the house, cleaned up and then had a delicious dinner - steak on the grill courtesy of Chris and multiple salads made by Athena.

Grace, Riley, Lachlan, Ryan, Kaley

Keith Water Skiing

On Sunday morning, Keith and Chris took the kids out on the ski bob for a couple of hours, then Chris took Keith and Kim out on the water skis.  Kim, Athena and Tom also took turns kayaking. Shawna was quite content relaxing and opted not to participate in any of the water activities!  Lunch was at Wellwood where we had a couple of pitchers of beer as well as a crab feast and after lunch, we stopped by a local ice cream stand for dessert.  We returned to Chris and Athena's house and packed up to head back to Baltimore.  We had a great time and would love to return again next summer!

Crab Feast

Anniversary Weekend in the Willamette Valley - July 2016

Enjoying Wine at Penner-Ash

Our original plan to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary was to spend the long weekend at the Inn at Perry Cabin on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  Once Keith received the job offer for Scottsdale, we decided to stay on the west coast, but knew that we wanted to escape the heat of Phoenix.  We had never been to the Willamette Valley so we booked a flight to Portland for the July 4th weekend.

View from Stoller Winery

Shawna picked Keith up at his office in Scottsdale at 3pm so we had plenty of time to drop off the rental car and get to the gate - there were alerts that there were long TSA lines.  Fortunately, we did get through quickly with plenty of time for the flight.  It was an easy 2.5 hours to Portland as we watched several Entourage episodes on the iPad in the air.  Upon arrival at the airport, Keith realized that he had failed to reserve a rental car - so Shawna came to the rescue with her Hertz app and got us a super-cheap car for the weekend.

It was less than an hour drive to The Allison Inn in Newberg, our hotel for the weekend.  The hotel is only seven years old and has a very clean, simple aesthetic.  The room was huge with a large bathroom as well.  When we arrived, there was a bottle of wine in the room waiting from the manager - but Shawna looked around the room and immediately picked up the phone.  No one answered so she popped out of the room to speak to someone at the desk and was back in 5 minutes.  She had arranged a bottle of wine and cheese plate to be in the room upon arrival but the hotel had failed to deliver.  Within 15 minutes the wine and cheese arrived - but there were no crackers with which to eat the cheese!  We asked the guy to bring us some bread or cheese - he seemed surprised that we needed a delivery mechanism for our cheese!  :)  He returned with some bread and we enjoyed a really nice bottle of wine in the room before bed.

The Allison Inn

On Saturday, we headed out of the hotel and grabbed Starbucks for breakfast as our first stop.  We then drove about 20 minutes to Wilsonville to see a property Keith's company is buying.  We "shopped" it for 30 mins and then left in time to be at the first vineyard for opening at 11am.  The vineyards of the day were:

• Ponzi - really modern building with a great view of the hills.  We sat outside and shared a wine tasting plus had a cheese plate.  The Pinot Reserve was delicious.

Ponzi Winery

• Rex Hill (sister of A to Z) - this vineyard is right off the main road so not as nice a view.  We shared a tasting standing at the counter in a more traditional style tasting room.  We particularly enjoyed the La Colina '13 Pinot.

• Duck Pond - we visited this one earlier than expected because a traffic jam motivated us to leave the road.  While just off the road, it had beautiful flowers and a blues band playing outside.  We each had our own tasting here and had another cheese plate which came with some delicious warm bread.  We really liked the Pinot Noir Blanc which had an interesting taste for a white.

Duck Pond Winery

• Argyle - also off the main road, it has modern barn decor and is known for its sparkling wine.  The person serving the wine was very friendly and we liked the sparkling rose and the sweeter Riesling - we both had our own tasting here as well.

After four vineyards, it was time for a nap so we headed back to the hotel.  Following the nap, we each had a 90-minute massage - Shawna at 3:45 and Keith at 4:15.  Shawna's was a "top 5" massage.  We relaxed a bit more before heading to dinner at Jory, the hotel restaurant.  We wanted to start with cocktails outside but it took 25 minutes for them to arrive so we just transferred the tab to the table and sat down.  There was a bottle of Cameron wine chilled on the table with a card from Keith's parents wishing us a happy anniversary - very impressive!  The wine was a very nice Chardonnay from the region.  For dinner, we shared the buratta, pork belly, and the halibut.  The food was tasty but service was very slow.

Dinner at Jory

On Sunday, we opted to have breakfast at the hotel - the weather was beautiful so we sat outside.  Keith had the yogurt parfait and Shawna the veggie hash.  Then, it was off to the races again to see a few more vineyards:

• Sokol - the architecture here is a clean Scandinavian style with stand-up tastings.  We particularly loved the Dundee Hills Chardonnay so bought that, the Riesling, and the Dessert Wine to be shipped to Scottsdale.

• Stoller - this was recommended by Sarah so we had to stop here.  It was super-busy so we did not get great service but we sat at a high-top table with a super view.  We ordered two types of cheeses and crackers which seemed to be very expensive until we got them - each was a large block of cheese as well as a large package of crackers - not as nice of a cheese tray as the wineries from the first day.  

Stoller Winery

• Erath - While this is a larger vineyard, the tasting room was small and a bit more of a traditional style.  We shared a wine flight which was served in mini-carafes which we could then self-serve.  

Erath Winery

• Alexana - our wine server was a young Italian guy who was really friendly.  It was a modern room with a great view, though the outside deck was a bit small.  Here we bought Chardonnay, Riesling and an Argentinian Pinot to be sent to Scottsdale.

• Penner-Ash - Shawna saw this one was on the way back to the hotel and it had been recommended by the person at Argyle for their Viognier.  While the Viognier was OK, the rest of the wine was delicious and the view was the perfect way to close out the day.  We shared a tasting, bought three wines to ship home, and then Shawna bought a bottle of Rose for us to drink while sitting on the Adirondack chairs on the grass looking at the view.  Glorious.  

Penner Ash Winery

After an exhausting day of wine tasting, we went back to the hotel for another nap.  That evening, we enjoyed a seven course meal with wine tasting at the Painted Lady which is a highly recommended restaurant in town.  The hotel drove us there and back so that we would not have to drive after drinking so much wine.  The restaurant is a small, two story Victorian house and while the decor inside is fancier than we like (aka white table cloths), it was intimate and nice.  The food was very good and spaced apart so that we never felt stuffed.  It was a great meal to end the weekend.

On Monday, we slept in and had breakfast again at the hotel - this time we sat inside as it was cloudy outside.  Keith had the parfait again while Shawna had the omelette.  We then relaxed in the room before heading out at 11am to drive back to the airport.  Shawna flew back to Baltimore while Keith flew to Seattle to see some of the properties there.