So, last weekend I let my hair down. Also known as, mama got super drunk! It was the weekend before hubsy’s birthday and he decided that he wanted to spend it going to a couple winery tours/tastings. His parents also have a cabin nearby, so it was decided that Saturday morning we would drop Holden off at their house and they would watch him and meet us in the evening at the cabin.
Well, being the dumbass that I am, I decided that it was IMPERITVE that I come home to a clean (Ha! especially funny as my house is never, ever, EVER clean) house. So, I spent all day Friday and half of the night scrubbing toilets and showers and sweeping and vacuuming and doing backlogged laundry. One smart thing I did, however, was pack up the car late Friday night so we wouldn’t have to worry about that Saturday morning.
Well, the car was all packed and my house was all clean but for some reason all that didn’t seem to matter Saturday morning when I forced myself to roll out of bed at 6:30 after a measly 4 hours of sleep. But, I managed to nurse, pump, shower, get myself dressed, get Holden dressed and pack up the rest of the last minute things (toothbrushes, baby monitor, etc) in efficient time. Surprising fact: We left at 8:15, just as I had planned! I know, shocking is it not??
We stopped for coffee and gas (yes, that is the order of importance) and arrived at my in-laws to drop of the spawn. We then made our way up the road – with a quick drive-thru stop at CFA – toward Dahlonega where we arrived at our first Winery – Three Sisters. It was gorgeous: The vines laid out in neat rows, hung with pendulous grape clusters, the butterflies flitting around and the sky was so very blue!
We arrived a few minutes before they opened at 11, so I walked around a bit snapping photos and just awing over the vines and flowers. When we walked through the doors at 11 on the dot, I was greeted by a cuddly kitten, where I promptly dropped my purse & camera by the door and scooped her up into my arms! (Hubby was not amused – but NOTHING takes precedence over a snuggly cat IMO)
Drinking wine at 11 o’clock in the morning with a purring kitten in your arms? AWESOME! We got to try 8 yummy wines and got to keep our wine glasses as a souvenir. Our helper, TJ (a college student) was just awesome and really enhanced the experience for us. I am so jealous of him, because he gets to take home the leftover wine – can you say MY DREAM JOB?
The original plan was to hang out a bit, walk around Three Sisters after our tasting and then head over to Wolf Mountain to explore a bit before the tour, but hubs decided he wanted to add in a third winery. So, we went down the road to Blackstock Vineyards.
As soon as we got there, I (of course) immediately ran over to the vines to snap pics. I was on my knees, taking pictures of the grape clusters when I almost got run over by a truck. Maybe I should pay more attention to my surroundings than the picture opp? Nah…
Blackstock was super-busy and was probably my least favorite winery we visited. The tasting lady was nice, but there were only two of them and tons of people so you didn’t get any individualized attention and not a lot of info on the wines. We tasted 8 wines and enjoyed a cheese plate. There were a couple of the wines that we enjoyed, but we didn’t think they belonged at that price point, so we didn’t purchase any bottles. The cheese was delicious!
At the end of the Blackstock tasting, let’s just say I was feeling pretty good. I mean, besides the odd glass of wine or beer or margarita here and there I hadn’t drank at all for 15 months and I had just had probably the equivalent of 4 glasses of wine! The view from the deck was gorgeous, and I would love to enjoy lunch there one day to just enjoy the view! But, we had the tour to get to at 2, so we had to hurry on to Wolf Mountain.
Wolf Mountain seemed to be the largest winery we visited. We had to park in a lot at the bottom of a hill and walk up to the winery/restaurant. We had to pay $30 each for the tour and tasting, which was the most expensive of the three. I have to say, I was severely disappointed with the tour. The guide (one of the owners) was extremely pretentious, and you could tell he wanted to get it over with so he could get home to the UGA game. I got no new information and the tour through the vineyard wasn’t that at all. All in all, the tour was a huge let down and waste of money, I would not recommend it.
We did get to taste the most wines here – I think we ended up tasting 11 in all, including 4 sparkling. I must admit, I was a tad saddened that we didn’t get a souvenir wineglass, especially as it was the most expensive tasting. If I was going again, I would do the cheaper tasting that didn’t include the sparkling wines – it would be a much better value.
About 5 wines into the tasting at WM – as I was starting to feel quite nice – I noticed a couple with a baby H’s age on the other side of the bar! So, of course I did what any drunk mother would do: I ran over there to say Hi and show a picture of my baby! It was funny, because their little girl was wearing the same brand of cloth diapers that Holden wears! Small world! I’m sure I totally freaked them out (her mainly), but she gave me her name to find her on Facebook. She has yet to approve my friend request, but here’s hoping!
After the 11th wine tasted… making, probably, the equivalent of my second bottle I was fairly (and by fairly, I mean completely) toasted and feeling awesome! I stole a taste of some grapes, chatted up a wedding party & then got a little crazy! Don’t worry, there wasn’t anyone around at the time… at least, I don’t think… Aren’t nursing bras and fluffy post-baby tummies super-sexy?!? Hey! I wear my wrecked body proudly!
Unfortunately, that awesome feeling faded into nausea super fast when we got lost on some twisty-turny mountain roads. However, some fast food put my tummy right and we met up with Rob’s parents at the cabin, where I paid dearly for my deep imbibing.
You know what’s really awesome? Having a HUGE, tannin headache and there being NO analgesics in the house. None. So, I went to bed about 10:30. And was woken up by Holden at around 230 and felt like I was going to die. I made Rob go downstairs and bring me up some more water and scour the cabin to see if there was ANYTHING I could take for The Headache From Hell. Just rolling over to nurse Holden was torture. Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer. I gave in and drank the rest of the bottle of Holden’s cotton candy flavored acetaminophen.
Not even 5 minutes later, as I was lying on my side nursing Holden, I had to run to the bathroom to vomit. And vomit. And vomit. And have a stink bug try to jump on me.
You know what’s really, REALLY awesome? Having your MIL come upstairs to check on you after you’ve hurled your guts out. No, that’s not embarrassing at all. But, she was really nice and by the time I woke up Sunday morning she had run to the store and brought me back some ibuprofen for my head. Which, surprisingly, felt almost completely better when I woke up. But, the thought was really, really nice!
I honestly don’t know how I used to drink like a banshee every single weekend before Holden was born. I mean, we’re talking a pitcher of margaritas and a few beers every single weekend. (My neighbors are a really bad influence) I guess, though, that ship has sailed. I DO NOT want to go that route anymore, it is way less fun to nurse a hangover when you have a little one to care for.
But, all in all, I had a super amount of fun. And would I do again? You bet your ass I would! But! I would definitely take time out to eat, drink a lot of water (and emergen-c) and maybe not feel the need to down every drop of each sample!
Sweetly Stolen Moments 