May you always find new roads to travel; new horizons to explore; new dreams to call your own.

     ~Unknown

Have you ever had a perfect day?  The kind of day you hate to see end? That was Sunday for me.

A friend and I started the day out at a winery.  It was a little off the beaten track, but the setting was absolutely gorgeous.  To get there we took a ferry across the river bisecting the area and then followed the road winding through the grape fields until we came to the tasting room. Now I don’t have a particularly educated palate when it comes to wine, but the tasting showed me what I did like and, of course, I had to buy a bottle 🙂

The sun was warm when I stepped out of the car.  The sky that lovely clear blue not often seen in the Pacific Northwest.  My friend knows the owner of the winery and I was soon swept up in conversation with him and learned more about wine making than I ever thought possible in a short time.  The whole time he was chatting he was pouring samples of the various wines available – starting with the whites and moving through the reds.  I learned what “legs” meant when applied to the wine, how to sip and identify the undertones and notes of the vintage and that most reds taste bitter to me.  I had a great time.

Once we made our purchases we got back in the car for the next adventure.   Our drive wound through farm country and quiet back roads.  It was a real pleasure to be a passenger and not have to concentrate on driving for once.  We were scheduled for a tour of a Frank Lloyd Wright home.  Like wine, I know little about architecture, but I have heard of Frank Lloyd Wright.  I was interested in his design philosophy and how the home fit in its surroundings, but I found it more about nature and expanding the living space to include it than a comfortable place to spend time.  Low ceilings in some areas made me claustrophobic and the hard angles in the home made me want to add soft pillows.  Obviously, his designs were not for me *shrugs*.

No trip is complete without a visit to the local chocolate shop.  Seriously, who can pass one by without finding themselves inside debating the pros and cons of each selection?   Happy with my purchase and the mouth-watering goodies in my bag we toured the hamlet we were in and looked at some fabulous old homes.

We ended the day at a small bistro for dinner.  Everything offered was fresh that day.  I swear you could taste each vegetable used in the gazpacho! I won’t tantalize you with what I had – let’s just say it was a feast for my taste buds J.

I arrived home relaxed and with a smile.  You can bet somewhere in my current manuscript I will find a way to incorporate the sights, sounds and experiences of my day.  Why not let my characters indulge in the pleasures of a lovely day?  I am sure you would do the same 🙂