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The Cruise--Details

I didn't include more details in the prior "The Cruise" post for two reasons. 1)  I didn't think anyone would be interested; and 2)  This trip didn't include much of the normal topics:  good beer, good coffee or John-style travel. But there are details, which may be useful to some people contemplating how such a trip is put together. On the first day of the trip, we drove three hours to pick up my mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  At 85, she isn't comfortable driving for long distances and hadn't flown for many years. We then drove 3 1/2 more hours to Chicago, where we checked into the Wyndham, where you can get a room that includes the cost of parking for up to 12 days.   We were up early on the hotel shuttle to O'Hare, where we then boarded the a non-stop American Airlines flight to New Orleans. Here, we checked into a Hampton Inn near the port.  My mother was pretty tired, so Julia and I went out for a Cajun dinner and live music.   Rememberi...
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After leaving the Blue Ridge, we descended rapidly into lower elevations and higher temperatures.  I was still a few days ahead of picking Julia up in Raleigh, so I picked a half-way spot near Greensboro, North Carolina.  The campground choices didn’t look great from a cost/benefit point of view. Instead,   I elected to stay over for free at Grove Wineries using my Harvest Host membership.

I knew that I wasn’t on the Blue Ridge anymore when I set up the Brew Hut thermometer.  94 degrees! Some people love it hot; I’m not one of those people.  Callie is one tough dog; she doesn’t seem to mind it hot or cold. With Callie safely secured in the Brew Hut with the screens open and ample water, I entered the air-conditioned luxury of the Grove Winery’s tasting room.

The young woman working  in the tasting room also happened to be a Harvest Host member.  She and her husband had traveled by trailer from Alaska to North Carolina. They stopped at many Harvest Host locations along the way.  In the end, they both found employment at Grove Winery and Vineyards.

I have quite a bit of experience tasting West Coast and European wines, but almost no experience drinking East Coast wines.  I was very pleasantly surprised with the whites but especially liked the reds.  Not normally part of the tasting, there was a bottle of the 2011 Cabernet Reserve open. It was amazing.  I ended up buying a bottle of that and also a bottle of a red blend called Block B (2013).  I will try my best not to open them until Julia arrives.

For the rest of the afternoon and early evening, Callie and I hung out on the shaded patio.  I caught up on some reading and made use of the free wifi.



By 7 pm, the sun was starting to go down.  However, the temperatures stayed above 90 in the Brew Hut until about 8 p.m.  It was just too hot to cook, so I ate some crackers with cheese and drank my last cold beer.  Then I chugged two large glasses of cold orange juice and a bottle of kombucha.  You would think I would be up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night,  but I must have been dehydrated because I had no trouble sleeping until dawn.

Staying for free is its own reward, but I was ready for air conditioning.  Next stop:  Raleigh, North Carolina.
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