Our neighbors tonight
RV travel
Century Farm Winery
Sher and I had a wonderful stop at a winery outside of Jackson, Tennessee. The Century Farm Winery, located on a beautiful estate provided a warm welcome to this well established and well known business.
The tasting procedure was different than most: you get three free tastings, charges for tasting only come into play if you have more than three. We certainly enjoyed the wide variety of wines that we tasted. All of the wines are made on site
We purchased a chilled bottle of their Nashberry fruit wine. This wine is made from a blend of their blueberry wine and blackberry wine. We both zeroed in this wine during our tasting. Absolutely delicious!
As a bonus, our host offered tastings of their two “wine slushies”. One was Sangria based while the second was a Peach Bellini. My was that Peach Bellini something. What a refreshing treat.
The next time you find yourself in West Tennessee head to Jackson and the Century Farm Winery. This 150 year old family business is worth a visit, and there is room to park you RV as well. This is the link to the winery website.
Out in the world again
Sher and I are fully vaccinated. Whew. The CDC advice for folks like us has been very encouraging, and we were able to enjoy going to a winery with our son and his fiancé near Columbus, Ohio.
The Wyandotte Winery is a well established family owned winery with a pleasant and comfortable facility. Tasting was easy, with a dollar per taste cost. We also added cheese and cracker and meat and cheese plates to munch on and accompanying our sampling.
We enjoyed the tasting and bought a couple of bottles and even got a couple of glasses for our collection. But mostly we enjoyed being out in the world again. Seeing and interacting with people is something we haven’t done in, well, a while now. And of course it was wonderful to see our son and our grandkids who we haven’t seen in well over a year. Before we headed to Ohio we also visited another son and his family. There we were introduced to our newest grandson who was born December 20th. What a treat to hug family again!
Sunset over the desert
There are few things on Earth that are more stunning than a colorful sunset view of the Sonoran Desert. This image was taken west of Tucson, Arizona.
Dolly in bronze
Dolly Parton’s statue is located on the courthouse yard of Sevierville, Tennessee, her home town. The statue was placed in 1987, and shows Dolly as a young lady before she gained international fame and fortune.
Sevierville is right next to Pigeon Forge, where Dolly World and Dolly Parton’s Stampede show is located.
Beauty and function
Seattle’s Puget Sound is home to 13 working lighthouses
The Alki Point lighthouse is an operational fully automated facility operated by the US Coast Guard. It is the southernmost of the 13 lighthouses on the Sound. This is a beautiful structure when seen from any angle, and is often open for free tours. Sorry, you can’t take your dog to this one. We got this shot on a cruise from Seattle to Tillicum Island.
White Ibis teenager
You can tell this White Ibis is a “teenager” by the coloration of its feathers. When fully mature, it will have all white plumage. The brown mottled plumage on its neck shows it is immature. The pink color of the legs and beak will also turn bright red when full grown. We didn’t see Mom or Dad, so who knows what teenaged mischief this one was up to. We captured this shot on a trip to Naples, Florida.
Pay attention…for real
Yellowstone, beauty with some danger
They mean it!
The geysers cover the walkways with steam
Bison in Hayden Valley
Yellowstone National Park is 3500 square miles of Earth’s magnificence, mostly in Wyoming but there are parts in Montana and Idaho. We would recommend a trip to Yellowstone. Keep in mind that during “peak tourist” season there are thousands of people in the park. You’ll still be able to enjoy the park, the geothermal features, the scenery and the wildlife.
Monster machine
This thing was LOUD when in operation!
A couple of years ago Sher and I were visiting our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in the Austin area. We found an RV park reasonably close to the family’s home. This campground was at the time in a major expansion project.
The pictured trench digging machine was in use during working hours. The dolomitic rock was not exceptionally hard, so no jack hammering was required, but this trenching machine really was loud and shook the ground if you were within about 40 feet or so. I did enjoy watching this machine operate.
Remember the Alamo… and other stuff
We’ve been to San Antonio a couple of times. Once was over New Years and was it cold! However, San Antonio is a wonderful spot to visit. The River Walk gives you a chance to stroll along the river and have a great meal. You can also take a fun boat tour of the river. There’s lots to enjoy along the River Walk.
View of the River Walk from a pedestrian bridge
It was a nice warm day to explore downtown
The Alamo, a special place
The Alamo is just one of the many historic sites to explore and enjoy. Be advised the Alamo is one of the most important and revered places in Texas. No pictures are allowed in the edifice. And men, be sure to remove your hat upon entering.
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