This August my grandmother turned 80 years young. And I mean young. This woman looks far younger than her license says she is, and can out last anyone when it comes to shopping, dancing, beading, you name it. In honor of her big day, she, my 4 aunts, my mom, my sister, my cousin and her husband, and I all traveled to Sonoma Valley, California, for a weekend of wine tasting and catching up. It was neat getting to see all 'The Sisters' together again and getting to spend time with everyone. It was far too short a time but hopefully we will all get together again soon.
Everyone arrived on a Friday afternoon/evening. My mom, sister and I arrived later than scheduled due to a delayed flight. We missed our flight from LAX to Santa Rosa by 5 minutes and ended up having to hang out at LAX for 8 hours until the next flight. I spent 8 hours at LAX and didn't see a single celebrity. And I totally expected LAX to be a really cool airport - it's not. At all. And did I mention I didn't see a single celebrity?! Anyway, once we arrived we spent some time eating and laughing before it was time to get some rest before the wine tasting the next day.
Saturday was beautiful weather. My awesome cousin/trip planner extraordinaire Richelle had scheduled 2 wine tastings for the group that day.
Winery 1
My mom and the birthday girl. Doesn't Grandma look great?!
Aunt Cari, Aunt Peggy, and Aunt Elaine
Richelle and her husband, Ben
Aunt Anne and Ashleigh
Aunt Cari and Me
The whole gang (minus Ben who took the picture).
Winery 2
Riding in a cart getting a tour of the winery. We learned a LOT about wine and grapes that day.
Mom tasting grapes.
Mom and Aunt Peggy
Ben, Grandma, and Richelle
That evening we presented Grandma with her gift. One of the aunts bought a Pandora bracelet for Grandma and each of us chose a Pandora charm that meant something to us and/or her. It was a happy tearful time as she opened each one. Everyone had put a lot of time and thought into picking out the perfect charm so it was a very meaningful gift.
My Uncle Ian, Grandma's only son, joining us via Skype during this time. I can't imagine why he didn't join 9 ladies for a weekend of wine tasting. We missed you Uncle Ian but it was great to see you on Skype!
After everyone presented their charms, my extremely talented Aunt Anne presented a poem she wrote full of memories from their childhood. Everyone was a mess of tears by the end.
As you can see, there were a lot of great memories in that poem.
Aunt Anne
The next day we split into two groups to go to two different wineries. My group went to a winery (Medlock Ames) that is organic and completely run by solar power. It was a neat tour and a beautiful property.
Before we left though, Aunt Elaine had a bit of a run in with a wine truck in the driveway. The wine truck definitely won.
Aunt Elaine and Mom
After each group finished their tour we met up at the Medlock Ames tasting room for dinner from the food truck, more wine, and some cool music. It was a really neat and chill venue, and if you are ever in the area I highly recommend it.
Strike a pose, Ash.
Aunt Peggy and some random guy's dog. He walked by our table and handed him off for a bit. Aunt Peggy is a dog lover, and I guess he knew. The rest of us thought it was strange but Aunt Peggy loved it!
Aunt Anne, Grandma, and Mom
Ashleigh and me
Aunt Peggy, Aunt Cari, and Aunt Elaine
The Sisters.
The next morning I left super early to board what was supposed to be an early flight so that I could get home for Connor's birthday, which was that day. Instead my 6:30 am flight got delayed to 9:30 am, which would have made me miss my connection in Dallas to Longview. So, instead I was put on a bus to San Francisco where I then boarded a plane to Dallas. Of course by the time I made it to Dallas there were no more flights to Longview until the next morning. So my brother picked me up from the airport and then Dad and JoJo brought the kids to meet us half way and take us back to Longview. It was a long day but I did get to see Connor on his 3rd birthday! And for those keeping track, I flew 6 times this summer, and the only itinerary that didn't get jacked up was the flight back to Angola. Go figure. It's a charter flight though, so it doesn't really count.
Happy Birthday Grandma!
-Amanda
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