2012-09 Great River Road Wine Trail

Ray and LeAnn headed south on Sunday to visit some Minnesota and Wisconsin Wineries which are part of the Great River Road Wine Trail.  It is a group of 9 wineries up and down the Mississippi river in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa who market themselves together.  Sunday was beautiful day in Minnesota as the temperatures rose into the mid 70's and was sunny and calm--perfect for traipsing through the vineyards. 

Our first stop was the Maiden Rock Winery and Cidery in Stockholm, WI.  This winery not only makes wine, but also cider and hard cider.  During our wine tasting we tried 2 different hard ciders, a couple of wines made at the winery and also some wines from other Wisconsin wineries in Green Bay and Bayfield.  The Maiden Rock Winery grows their own grapes, crab apples and apples for use in their wine and cider.  They use the apples in various wines and their cider.  You can also buy apples that have been picked on site, or pick some of your own.  We bought a bottle of Skeeter Bite Forest to bring home. I wish they had been launching the apples from the catapult while we were there, but it was all locked up
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We then went north to Prescott, WI and visited the Valley Vineyard.  This was located at the end of a dead end residential street, so if it wasn't for the signs indicating where to turn, you wouldn't think you were headed to the winery.  All the grapes had already been harvested, but we walked through the vineyard anyway to take some photos.  The vineyard is small, with about 6 acres, but multiple grape varieties are grown and harvested.  They had over a dozen different wines made by them available for tasting.  We enjoyed the variety of wines and purchased a bottle of the Sweet Elegance.  Most of wines in this region are combinations of various cool weather grapes (some developed at the Univ of MN) and sometimes blended with fruit or honey. 

Our last stop was at the Falconer Winery in red Wing, MN.  They have recently built a Bistro overlooking the vineyard and the view is wonderful.  They have a wood fueled, brick oven that they make specialized pizza (including one with grapes, which was very good.  To get from the tasting room to the bistro, you walk right through the winery which is full of various barrels and vats filled with wine in various stages of fermentation.

We then headed home after a full day of sightseeing, wine tasting, and relaxation.  A very fun way to spend a Sunday on a Minnesota fall day

2012-09 Parents and Family weekend at Drake

 Ray, LeAnn, and Ray's mom, Karren went down to Drake University in Des Moines to visit Kara over the weekend.  It was Parents and Family weekend, and included many activities on campus to do with Kara.

We arrived at Drake on Friday evening and Kara and some of her friends had set up a dinner at the Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewery.  Approximately 30 students and associated family members attended the dinner to kick off the weekend.

Saturday morning, we got up and did a 2K fun walk around the campus and finishing on the Drake track (home of the famous Drake relays).  Many Olympic athletes have raced around this track as part of the Drake Relays.  We did not threaten any of their times as we strode around the track.

Prior to the Drake football game, we went to a tailgate party outside the stadium, and consumed typical tailgate fare of hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, potato salad, brownies and cookies.  We then went into the stadium to watch the Drake Bulldogs take on the Morehead St (Kentucky) Eagles.  Both teams run a no-huddle offense with a lot of passing.  The pace of the game was very fast as there was no TV coverage to dictate clock stoppages.  The game was tied at 7-7 at half time, and unfortunately we had to leave for another event.  The second half was a much more wide open affair, as the final score ended up 28-25 in favor of Drake.

We left the game to go to the Sweetheart Sing in which the various sororities and fraternities put together short skits and songs in a friendly competition.  The theme this year was 90's music, so the kids got to sing and dance to a lot of the boy bands they had listened to at a young age.  Kara's sorority did a Spice Girls medley.  A total of 12 Greek Chapters presented their song and dance  numbers.  A lot of talented people were on stage for each chapter.  Kara was part of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and made her college stage debut.  Although her sorority did not win, they had a great time and we enjoyed the show.

Saturday night was destined for some shopping and refilling the fridge and snack drawer, and few other necessities (at least as defined by Kara)

Sunday morning, we went over the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house for a brunch, tour and opportunity to meet some of the sister's and their families.  The house is over 100 years old and was first owned by a brewery magnate, who later had to sell it to his wife during prohibition.  The sorority bought it from her, so has been under female ownership since the 1920's.  Up to 46 girls can live at the house in various combination of 1, 2, 3 and 4 person rooms.  The old carriage entrance is now a sun room, and some of the original doors and windows are still in use.  Copies of the original house blue prints are framed and hanging in one of the sitting rooms.  Kara is very excited about her membership in Kappa Kappa Gamma.

After brunch on Sunday, we did a little more shopping, getting Kara some business attire as they are required to wear business attire for various classes and school functions, allowing them to get used to wearing such clothing before they are required to for interviews or an actual job.

Our last stop was at Jethro's BBQ, a very popular restaurant and bar just a block off of campus.  It has been highlighted on various food shows in its relatively short history.  The food was good, and we got to see the end of the Vikings upset of San Fransisco on TV.

We said goodbye to Kara and then headed back home after a fun, eventful and very enjoyable weekend at her new "home" for the next few years.