photography

More on the Bent Oak Winery

/ Roadtirementvintage / 13 Comments

We had a great tasting experience the other day at the Bent Oak Winery. Located in what apparently is an older commercial strip building, the winery has a rather small entrance lobby, but it opens up in length in the tasting room.

The entrance lobby

Another view of the tasting room

 

 

 

 

A variety of seating is offered. There are traditional tables and chairs, high tables with barstool type seating and several couches with coffee tables for your glasses. Our seating consisted of a beautiful heavy wood picnic sized table with individual cushioned bench seats. Our hostess, Joan, was a most helpful and friendly sommelier. For a tasting of five different wines the Bent Oak presents each one at a time, with sufficient time between pours to enable a true appreciation of each wine, leading to a very relaxing experience.

One of our pours.

The tasting list

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our tasting of whites started with the ’18 Chardonnay CA Chalk Hill, followed by the ’19 Viognier TX High Plains. The 3 reds led off with the ’18 Pinot Noir Reserve CA Russian River. Next came the ’19 Sangiovese TX High Plains. We finished our tasting with an exquisite ’19 Aglianico TX High Plains.

Joan took our picture! See the actual oak branches on the walls? Bent oak, that is…

We enjoyed a bag of handmade sweet/spicy pecans for munching between our samplings. Across from us sat a couple of nice young men. We enjoyed talking with them, discussing what varieties of wines we enjoyed the best. Joan was taking part in our conversations, adding wonderful and informative details. Sher and I decided on a bottle of the ’18 Chardonnay CA Chalk Hill and a bottle of the ’19 Aglianico TX High Plains to take with us. As part of our tasting, we both received a complimentary wine glass with the Bent Oak logo etched on the glass. We will most likely go back here while we are enjoying our time in the Austin area.

 

Remembering Granddaddy Rex on Armistice Day and Honoring Veterans Day

/ Roadtirementvintage / 22 Comments

Granddaddy’s French helmet, red cross armband and other personal effects.

On November 11, 1918 the Armistice between Germany and the Allies was signed, ending the War to End All Wars. The guns on the Western Front fell silent. My grandfather, Rex R. Forsyth, was in France that day still serving in Section 625 of U.S.A.A.C. (United States Army Ambulance Corps) while attached to the French Army. He volunteered, learned to drive the Model T ambulances in the Allentown, Pennsylvania fairgrounds, and was soon shipped overseas. His unit was part of the Allied Army of Occupation and was stationed during 1919 at Kaiser Wilhelm’s castle in the Black Forest.

Shown is Colonel Bertrand, 162nd French Infantry, pinning the Croix de Guerre on the coat of Rex Forsyth. Note that the helmet Rex is wearing is shown in a photo above, and also note in the right background that you can see the front end of one of the Model T Ford Ambulances.

My grandfather was a true hero. On May 2, 1918 members of U.S.A.A.C. Section 625 were awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery in action on April 17, 1918, having crossed a “zone violently bombarded by the enemies artillery” to continue to remove wounded from the battlefield. Our family is so fortunate to have his diary and photo albums of never published photos.

Armistice Day was officially authorized by Congress in 1938 to honor the veterans of WWI. In 1954, after both WWII and the Korean War, the original Act of 1938 was amended to replace the word “armistice” with “veterans”. November 11th has been Veteran’s Day since then, with the exception of a few years in the early 1970’s.  Regardless, remember all veterans and thank them for their service to our country.

 

Skip Rock Distillery Snohomish

/ Roadtirementvintage / 41 Comments

One of the last places we took in before our return to Indiana was a local distillery in Snohomish. The Skip Rock Distillery is known for its premium quality liquors. Their diverse product line includes two kinds of potato vodka, three award-winning rums, several whiskeys and an assortment of fruit liqueurs.

The street view

Some of Skip Rock’s award winners

 

 

 

 

 

The tasting room in downtown Snohomish is just off of the 1st Street main shopping area. The old brick building houses the street level shop and the actual working distillery. Our host told us that a remodeling project is coming, which will include a full cocktail bar.

Tasting menu

Six flights ready

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our son-in-law’s parents have also joined us and all of us visited the tasting room. We all had a flight of four samples. It was quite the experience having samples of everything from fruit liqueurs to gin to potato vodka.

Where it all happens

All thoroughly enjoyed the new tastes to our palates. In addition to tasting we did among us purchase some of the fruit liqueurs. These small local distillers are such a treat for several reasons. Normally, like Skip Rock, they produce premium products. In addition these small local businesses are the lifeblood of the town’s economy. We enjoy supporting local businesses.  Here is Skip Rock’s website.

A fun wine and beer walk

/ Roadtirementvintage / 27 Comments

We had a most enjoyable wine and beer walk at the Mill Creek Town Center this evening. There were 10 stations, most had three wine samples, a couple had different samples of beer.

The Mill Creek Town Center is an upscale shopping and entertainment area. It includes restaurants, shops, banks and art galleries.



The Birds of Mukilteo Lighthouse Park

/ Roadtirementvintage / 21 Comments

 

Like us, this gull enjoyed just watching the water

One thing you can always count on at the Mukilteo Lighthouse Park is seeing birds. We mean seeing lots and lots of birds. When we visited we saw crows, pigeons and of course different species of gulls. We saw them everywhere.

Staking claim to a picnic table

Stretching its wings

 

 

 

 

 

It was interesting to note that these birds were so used to people, dogs, and moving vehicles. When we drove through the parking lot birds were in the unoccupied parking spots, but kept the drive lanes clear.

What???

The picture above shows the public boat ramp and twin docks. So what is the deal with the birds here? What is wrong with the right dock, or what is so appealing to be on the left dock? The gulls were still boycotting that right side dock when we left.

 

Diamond Knot Brewery and Alehouse

/ Roadtirementvintage / 6 Comments

After we toured the Mukilteo Park it was off to the Diamond Knot Brewery and Alehouse. Maybe “off to” is misleading as the Brewery is next to the Historic Lighthouse on the waterfront, and only about 100 yards from where we were watching the water. The Diamond Knot Brewery occupies a massive building that formerly was a bus maintenance facility.

The entrance to the Brewery

The on tap menu board

A look at the bar: nice old counter seats!

 

 

 

 

 

Detail of the seasonal decorations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being a brewery we of course had to order a flight of four. We chose three IPA’s and one Lager for our flight. We found all four of the brews were quite tasty. These were all smooth, free of bitterness and worthy of consumption. We tend to like beers with lower IBU numbers. ABV%? We like 6.5 to 8.5. That covers a lot of beers!

Sampling a flight of beers is fun!

And as is our normal activity at a brewery, winery or distillery, we had to try the DKB bar food. We were not really that ready for a full meal. Maj opted for Fish and Chips without the chips. These 1/4 pound wild caught cod pieces were coated in beer batter and bread crumbs for a crunchy texture and delicious taste. (Maj now has a new favorite fish!) We also ordered the Elote Mexican Street Corn dip with spicy cream sauce and warm chips. Delicious!

A quarter pound of fish per piece!

This Street Corn dip was absolutely delicious

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really enjoyed our time at the Diamond Knot Brewing Company. The food and beer was great. The staff at this pub was very nice and efficient. Our server took very good care of us, and we also had a nice conversation with the manager as well.  We’d give a 5 star rating here.