Friday - golf

Dave and I met Jesse at the River Ridge Golf Course yesterday right after lunch. I was disappointed to find out, when we got there, that there were no trolleys available for us to use.  The boys didn't have a problem with walking the course, but I wasn't dressed for walking, so I left them to their game and went exploring. (by exploring, I mean shopping....)

my son showing a flash of annoyance at his dear mother following him around with her camera...

thank you Jesse and Dave....

Dave doing a few stretches before starting out

Off they go

I found a great shopping area and a Trader Joe's to while away a few hours while they were golfing.  It was a cloudy, cool day here - shopping was a very pleasant diversion.  As a result, Dave now has a full supply of those chocolate biscotti he loves to dunk in his morning coffee and Chico's is a little bit richer.

After I got back to Beluga I took Lewis for a little ball session and then settled down to getting Christmas reservations sorted out.  Big surprise - almost every where I wanted to go was already booked.....
I won't bore you with the details, but we're all set at a campground just outside of San Diego.  It has some small cabins for rent, so Dave and I and Jesse and Erin will have a nice holiday together.  Didn't go exactly as planned, but we have to be a bit flexible - a hard thing for me!

Jesse dropped Dave off after a relatively successful day on the golf course and we got ready for our special dinner at King Estate Winery, south of Eugene.  Jesse drove on the very jiggy road, it seemed like forever.
What a wonderful place this is.  Entry driveway curving up through meticulously tended vineyards with
lavender and rose bushes in the center of the lane.  They use sheep grazing between the vines for weed control, raptors to take care of any rodents, nothing to disturb the scene.  As we approached the restaurant/tasting room, the scent of wood burning in the fireplace welcomed us on the cool, damp evening.  Promises of things to come.    Dinner was, as expected, stellar.  The chef offered an amuse buche of one perfectly cooked shrimp sitting on a smear of white bean puree and spiced tomato confit.  Salmon on a bed of garlic sausage, white beans, tiny onions and a soft boiled egg - the description doesn't do the meal justice.   Jesse and I had filet mignon in a pinot jus with fingerling potatoes and sauteed spinach/carrots.  Not mundane in the least.  Erin's huge veal chop sat on a mixture of carrots, parsnips, butternut squash and had an interesting, slightly sweet sauce.  I admit, I was too busy devouring mine to taste hers, but she was happy with it.  Blend everything together with a couple bottles of their 2006 Pinot Noir and we were happy campers.  I won't even mention the desserts, except to say that DAVE ordered and ate a piece of estate grown blueberry pie.  Friends of Dave know what an occasion that must have been!

Now you know why I didn't get the blog out last night - burp...

entrance to the restaurant/tasting room

I didn't take any pictures at the table because I understand it is in bad taste to pull out a camera during dinner.