Tick-tock, let's shoot that Glock!

Inclement weather conditions—including too cold to stay outside standing in one place (BRRRRR!!), stormy rainy days, and then brisk, high winds (up to 30 mph)—have been keeping us from getting out for our marksmanship training with my new Glock. So it was almost hard to believe that we actually kept a date with our trainer, Eric, and didn’t reschedule.  We went out into the great outdoors to shoot live rounds instead of just playing with an empty gun!

Eric has a friend that owns property off the 395 with just about nothing around where he has a makeshift shooting range set up.  A perfect place to ensure we don’t have a regrettable accident. 

We started our session with a review of the four important gun safety rules:

1.       Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction
2.       Always keep your finger outside the trigger guard, parallel with the frame (“indexed”)
3.       Be sure of your target identification and what is in line with the target
4.       Treat all firearms as loaded

With that out of the way, we started our shooting lesson, first reviewing how to hold the gun and load it.  We began by shooting from a supported position with the gun resting on a table.  Here we are showing you how it’s done!  First some instruction ...



Then some shooting!



I wish I could say my first shot was a stunning success … but, not exactly!  I did hit the target every time I shot the gun, but not really on center where I wanted to.  My biggest problem was that I would anticipate the shot and at the very last second slightly lift the gun which meant my accuracy was off.  We really practiced that so I could get it right. 

Then we transitioned to standing upright and shooting without any support.  This was just a little more difficult mostly because we did have a little bit of wind which meant your arms were slightly weaving.  But, I actually did better standing.   

 

Here’s my bulls-eye shots.

 

Now for a little bit on Gary and his bulls-eye shots.  Gary is very accurate but needs to practice his gun handling more while I’ve got the gun handling down and need to work on my accuracy!

 

Here's Gary's bulls-eye shots!

The target was "patched" before he took his turn shooting which is why it has all the little strips of tape on it!

 

We shot only 50 rounds today to contribute to this pile of empty shell casings.  You can tell there’s a lot of practice taking place here by the size of the pile!

 

Now for your obligatory history lesson!  This woman is my frontierswoman heroine! 

Annie Oakley (August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926), born Phoebe Ann Moses, was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's "amazing talent" and timely rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, which propelled her to become the first American female superstar.  This photo of Annie Oakley was taken around the 1880s so she was between 20-30 years old.

Perhaps Oakley's most famous trick was her ability to repeatedly split a playing card, edge-on, and put several more holes in it before it could touch the ground, while using a .22 caliber rifle, at 90 feet.

She joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in 1885. At 5 feet tall, Oakley was given the nickname of "Watanya Cicilla" by fellow performer Sitting Bull, rendered "Little Sure Shot" in the public advertisements.

She left the Buffalo Bill show and in 1902 began a quieter acting career in a stage play written especially for her, The Western Girl. Oakley played the role of Nancy Berry and used a pistol, a rifle and rope to outsmart a group of outlaws.

Throughout her career, it is believed that Oakley taught upwards of 15,000 women how to use a gun. Oakley believed strongly that it was crucial for women to learn how to use a gun, as not only a form of physical and mental exercise, but also to defend themselves. She said: "I would like to see every woman know how to handle guns as naturally as they know how to handle babies."

1 Samuel 17:45-47 // Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.  "This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands."

More Fine Wine, Good Food and Great Friends--Day #3

It's Day #3 in Sonoma and we're raring to go ... well, not really!  We're a little slower today because we did imbibe a bit too much the day before (like who couldn't have prophesied that?).  Gary started his day off (the same way he started every day we were here) with a Jacuzzi and steam room trip.  I, on the other hand, stayed in bed.  Then we all met in the hotel's breakfast room at 9:00 a.m. to enjoy our complimentary breakfast and to reconnoiter to figure out our strategy for the day, which Paula had actually plotted out for us in advance ... of course!  Today only three wineries are on the agenda with our last one a food and wine pairing at St. Francis Winery.

We're ready to rock-and-roll off to the first winery, Kunde, for both a tasting and a guided tour of their aging cave.  Kunde had beautiful grounds as you will see from the photos below. The first one I pulled off the Internet.  The second one is a close up of the pond that you can't see in the first one.  To the left of the pond would be the umbrellas you see in the first photo (or the pond is to the right of the umbrellas in the first photo).  The third photo is a close-up of the pond floor.

We arrived about 10 minutes before the next cave tour, so we didn't start any tasting.  Instead, we wandered around their retail area.  Here are a few photos from their nicely arranged displays.

On the way to the cave tour, we walked by their viticultural demonstration areas that include a number of different grape vines:

 

 

There's such a difference in the scenery from this time in the winter and our last time in this area which was in the late spring.  The hills look so barren and brown now while in the spring, the vines are covered in green leaves and grape clumps. Now all the grape vines are dormant and all grape growers are in the process of pruning them back.  Here are two photos from our trip the previous year in the spring to show you the comparison:



 

It's time to enter the cave where Kunde stores and ages their wine.  First, I'll show you a map of the cave layout so you can see the different underground paths.  We entered through Tunnel A (bottom left) and walked all the way to the VIP room.  The cave is 1/2 mile long and 32,000 square feet with a 6,000 barrel capacity.  The cave maintains a natural temperature of around 58 degrees.

 

Here is a shot looking down one of the alleyways of the cave showing the stacked barrels.



 

I love the look of these two barrels with the wine dripping down the barrel cover and side. Makes me thirsty just looking at it :).



 

This is a photo of their VIP room.  They hold weddings and special events here.  You're looking down a long table towards a lighted, natural stone/rock arch inset.



 

I asked our tour guide to take a group photo and he happily obliged.  The first photo he took was while we were all moving towards the photo opp area.  He said he loves to take photos with movement.

 

And for the final product ... here we are in one of the barrel alleyways.

 



They did a great tasting for our group seated on the outdoor patio.  It was such a magnificent day in Sonoma -- perfect for an outdoor tasting. 

 

Background on Kunde Winery:  For over a century, five generations of the Kunde family have farmed their 1,850 acre estate in the heart of the Sonoma Valley--a truly remarkable legacy in the modern age of California winemaking. A fervent, forward-thinking vision of land stewardship and sustainability began over 100 years ago, and has been shaped with each successive generation.

 

Today, Kunde Family Estate is still family-owned and operated with a hands-on team of 4th and 5th generation family members at the helm. Moving forward, they remain committed to innovation and state-of-the-art facilities, while also maintaining a deep, personal commitment to sustainable winegrowing and preserving the land for generations to come.

 

Next stop, Chateau St. Jean.  For some reason we just weren't interested in their wines.  One couple purchased a tasting and just about all of us shared it with them!  I was glad we shared because I really didn't care for any of the wines I tasted at Chateau St. Jean (too dry), although they had lovely gardens (see photos below).

Background on Chateau St. Jean Winery:  With its gracious style, elegant architecture and inviting gardens and tasting rooms, the winery is the quintessential Sonoma winery. Founded in 1973, Chateau St. Jean has long been recognized as a leader in Vineyard Designated wines.

 

The founders brought together the finest vineyards, the best equipment and a highly-talented staff, creating wines that received immediate critical acclaim.  In 1999, Chateau St. Jean was the first Sonoma winery to be awarded the prestigious "Wine of the Year" award from the Wine Spectator Magazine for its 1996 Cinq Cepages Cabernet Sauvignon, a Bordeaux-style blend of "five varieties".

The winery received high acclaim again when it received the "#2 Wine of the Year" from Wine Spectator for its 1999 Cinq Cepages Cabernet Sauvignon.
 

It's time to move on to our last tasting for the day, and it includes a food pairing at St. Francis Winery.  But first, it's photo opp time for our group, and the Gorilla was primed and read to do us justice!  Here we are in front of St. Francis ready to eat and drink:

 

While we waited for the seating to begin, we wandered around their retail area, enjoyed a glass of white wine, and tasted some interesting nuts.  We sat outside while we waited for all the guests who reserved a seat at the pairing table and enjoyed the beauty of the gardens and the sunshine.

 

The gardens included this statue of St. Francis which Mike hammed around with.  I caught him just as he was exiting stage left.

I only took a photo of our first course, Roasted Winter Vegetables with Preserved Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette which was paired with a 2012 Viognier, Wild Oak Vineyard. This was simply stunning tasting.  I don't really care for Brussels sprouts because they often taste bitter, but these were scrumptious.



Here is the rest of our tasting/pairing menu:

• Steamed Sea Bass w/a fermented black bean sauce paired with a 2011 red wine, Cuvee Lago (57% Cabernet & Syrah -- and yes, the chef actually selected a red wine with fish!)
• Smoked Sonoma Duck Breast w/ a green peppercorn sauce paired with a 2011 Zinfandel from Bacchi Vineyard and a Behler Estate Merlot.
• Grilled Bavette of Beef paired with a 2010 Zinfandel from Amann Vineyard.  The vines in this vineyard are old vines--about 80 years old. 
• And the grand finale was an amazing dessert that included a Peanut Butter Mousse with a dark chocolate ganache, red wine soaked blueberries and a pretzel crunch ... totally amazing!  This was paired with a lovely 2011 Port (which I bought, of course!).

Here's what Trip Advisor had to say about this food and wine pairing:  "If you do anything in Sonoma County at all, make sure you have time for a Food & Wine pairing at St. Francis.  Without a doubt this is the best Food & Wine Pairing we've ever experienced."
  
This was our chef for the food and wine pairing, Executive Chef David Bush.  Got his photo off their website.  He came out after our pairing and answered a lot of questions that all the guests had.



 

Background on St. Francis Winery & Vineyards:  For more than four decades, the wines have reflected the finest mountain and valley vineyards in Sonoma  County. The founder, Joe Martin, fell in love with Sonoma Valley and established St. Francis Vineyard in 1971, planting 22 acres of Chardonnay and the first 60 acres of Merlot in Sonoma Valley.  After achieving great success as a grower, Joe opened his own winery in 1979 with his business partner, Lloyd Canton.

 

In 1988 St. Francis partnered with the Kopf family, long admired for their historic family legacy in the wine and spirits industry and their commitment to quality. That legacy began in 1933 upon the repeal of Prohibition when Rudy Kopf founded the wine and spirits department of Macy's Department Store in New York, turning it into what was then one of the finest wine and spirits retailers in the country.

 

Their winery and stunning mission-style visitor center is in the heart of Sonoma Valley surrounded by estate vineyards. The center's bell tower houses a 1,000-pound bronze bell from the Marinelli Foundry in Italy.  It chimes every hour and can be heard throughout the valley (see below).





 

Back to the hotel to enjoy a Jacuzzi dip and reminisce about a perfect day before heading off into sleepy time land.

 

Next day, we all met for breakfast before we headed off into diverse directions for our journeys homeward.  But we had one last photo opportunity for the Gorilla.  This was taken in the courtyard of our hotel after breakfast.



 

Do we have another wine country trip planned?  You betcha ... November 2014.  We'll see our dear friends again, but this time in Napa (which is much more dangerous for me since I love Napa wines so much more than Sonoma!).  Gary and I will be driving directly from our six-month Workamper assignment in Colorado.  But we can't wait to meet up with these amazing friends again.  We love them dearly! 

 





1 John 4:7-14 // Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be  the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.  By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.  We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 

No More Waiting for White Winter Weather

If you live in the west coast region of the country, one thing is for sure ... we need rain AND we need a lot of snow pack!  To date this year, we have been experiencing one of the driest winters on record, and we also had some of the coldest weather in December. 

Finally, we were blessed with a wonderful wet system that dropped snow on the Sierras (maybe 8-12 inches) and in the valleys below (4-7 inches).  Yes, it's cold, but who the heck cares?  We NEED it desperately!  Not only that, but the snow brings with it some beautiful photo opportunities like these below taken in the Comstock Country RV Resort in Carson City where we are currently hunkered down.

Gary took this photo with his phone earlier in the morning before it started to warm up. 

The rest of the photos I took a little later in the morning when the temperature increased just enough to start slightly melting the snow.

 

I love the way the snow is slightly sliding off the top of this light and hanging off the edge. 

 

Here's Sadie who came out with me to help me take the photos.

 

 

What a difference a day makes!  This was a wet, heavy snow (as you can tell from the clumping in the photos above) which we could knew that evening while it was snowing because we kept hearing "thump, thump" on the roof of the RV all night which was the snow clumps falling from the trees!  The tree limbs were hanging over the bedroom roof (sadly!).  But, as I started off to say, what a difference a day makes.  One day later and look at the trees and ground now ...

 

1 Peter 1:24-25

"ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,
AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS,
AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, 

 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER."

And this is the word which was preached to you.