The weekend before...

Thanksgiving!

So Thanksgiving is next weekend, and this weekend was just as hectic. A few side items to note before I get into the heart of the weekend. First of all, Texas Tech was a complete disaster this weekend. If you didn't see the game, Oklahoma totally walked all over them. This highly anticipated game was the biggest joke ever and wasn't even worth watching after the 1st quarter. Tech didn't even have a chance, and yet, somehow, Oklahoma is only #3 to #2 Texas. If you ask me that's a rip off for Oklahoma.

So this weekend... Six of us went out to the Texas Hill Country and did a wine trip weekend. It was awesome! We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Fredericksburg called Das College Haus. It was awesome and very beautiful. The first day we went to five wineries. Now, this was a bit much. Not becuase of what you may think though. It wasn't the 'drunk' aspect, as much as it was combining too many different types of wine throughout the day. While the tastings were fun, I think most of us were feeling a bit sick at the end of the day. We went to Grape Creek Vineyard, Torre De Petra, Becker Vineyard, Sister Creek, and Woodrose Winery. On the way to Sister Creek we stopped at this little place off the beaten path to eat lunch. It was called the Alamo General Store and Cafe, and it was awesome. Something you'd see out of Diners Drive-in's and Dives. And the burgers were wonderful. It's also practically the only place to eat anywhere close to Sister Creek. Sister Creek is located in Sisterdale, TX just south of Fredericksburg, TX and has a population of 25. The wines here weren't so great, but Betsy did get to buy herself a wine barrel! It's going to make a cool addition to their back porch. Woodrose was also and okay winery but the wines were only so-so.

The second day we went to only two wineries. We all felt this was a better idea. First we woke up and the girls did some shopping in Fredericksburg while the boys went to the store to get some stuff for a picnic lunch. After that we went first to Lost Creek Vineyard. This is home to buddy's select wine. They just finished rebuilding after the 2006 floods, and the new building is beautiful. We hung out here for a little while and bought a bottle of wine to relax on the deck. Then we headed to Stone House Winery. It's a toss up between Flat Creek and Stone House, but I think that I like the property of Flat Creek best, but the wines at Stone House. Seriously, almost every wine was wonderful! This turned out to be an expensive place to go. But we did a tasting here, then we ate lunch and proceeded to finish off 3 bottles of wine.

Needless to say, the weekend was awesome and now I have a LOT of wine to drink. Check out the pictures here!

Weekend Update

A few fun things happened this weekend. First I went to the UT/Baylor game. I must say, as much as Baylor was playing terrible this year, for the first half of the game UT couldn't seem to get their game together either. It was starting to look like a repeat of last week, only last week Tech was actually playing well, and this week UT was just coming down to Baylors level. At one point the score was 14 to 14, and Baylor looked like they might actually have a chance to win the game. Fortunately for UT, after an interception pass by Baylor, the UT players seemed to realize that they needed to wake up, just a little, and put forth some energy if they wanted to win the game. And win they did. We left in the third quater, just after UT failed to hit a field goal from the 2 yard line. Both teams looked terrible, but eventually UT decided to play and dominated the game. I forget the final score, but it was something around 50 to 21. Though I will say though, for all the hype that UT has been getting for the last few months, they certainly are not playing like a #1 team... if they were playing like a #1 team, then they would have never allowed Baylor to get 21 points on the board.

After the UT game, a few of us went to Waterloo for some beers and to watch the Penn State/Iowa game. Fortunately for me, I left during the first half and didn't have to watch the last 15 seconds where Penn State let Iowa take away their chances at a National Title. Of course, many claim that no one in the Big Ten could take down a Big Twelve team this year, but for now, it appears that we won't even get that match up. Chances are Penn State will still have the chance at the Big Ten title, and a good bowl game, but most likely Tech or Alabama or UT or Florida will face off against each other and take home the National Title.

But enough about football. Onto something more exciting. The Crutchfield Ground Loop Noise Isolation that I ordered last week, finally came in. And let me tell you, it works great! I'm so happy that I can play my IPOD and charge it at the same time without feedback noise. I would suggest anyone that has this problem, to order one of these things online. It's very small, and until Mazda does a recall to fix this issue (which I'm told they are actually working on), this is the best you're going to get.

Also this weekend, I had the chance to visit Flat Creek Estate Winery. It was my first wine tasting ever, and it was so much fun! Of course they have this little guide there to tell you how to describe your wine, but I just defaulted to "i like this one, or i don't like this one." But hey, baby steps. I bought a bottle of their Super Texan red wine, and a bottle of their Port wine. While I'm not much of a Port person, I thought it would be fun to have at the house one day when I have some company over for games. Though I suppose that would require me to purchase a dinning room table, but one thing at a time. I'm getting off track. Anyway, this is a beautiful winery and I would recommend anyone who has a few hours free one afternoon to go up there and check it out. The wine tasting is only $5 a person or $10 for the 'diva' tasting (aka - you get to sample the port and take the glass home with you), and they have even opened a new bistro where you can enjoy lunch!

Lastly, I'll be in Mexico this weekend, climbing at El Potrero Chico! Jen is flying in from Colorado for the weekend, and it should be a great group going. Look for stories next week!

349 to 163

349 to 163, 52% to 46%, 62 million to 55 million... no matter how you look at it, yesterday history was made. I think by the time election day came around, we all expected it to happen, but everyone was a little cautious to get excited. For me, and probably most of the world, the defining moment came when they called Ohio for Barack Obama... of course followed by Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, and New Mexico... big swing states that helped him clinch the victory and bring him into the spotlight as the president elect... and first African-American President. Now for me, I don't really see race as so much an issue, as I think it will be nice to have someone in office who is a little younger, a little more in touch with the people, and a much much more motivating speaker than G.W. Bush. After all, that last part won't be too hard. I'm excited about the policies and the change that he will attempt to bing about in Washington. And I am excited about the initial impact that he has already had on the country. Stocks are rallying, people care a little bit more, and voter turnout was in record numbers. Of course we can't give him all the credit for this, but surely he had a big impact.

Though as happy as I am for Barack Obama today, and for our country. I can't help but hope a little, that John McCain stays around Washington and does his part to help this country pull out of the recession we find ourselves in. No one ever said that John McCain was a bad man, he just wasn't the right man for right now. Perhaps 8 years ago would have been different. Now Sarah Palin.. well, that's a whole other subject that we don't need to get into right now.

For now, we can be excited about our future and the future of this country. The first 100 days in office start in about 2 months, and then we will see if this man, Barack Obama, truly has what we believe he has... the ability to make this country strong again.

"out of many, we are one" - Barack Obama, election night speech, 11-4-08

Two posts today... oooh

I just had to post this, becuase it's really... interesting. Yea, I guess that's the best word to describe it. Freak Bike Accident.

New Car

So here is a picture of my new Mazda 3 Hatchback. So far I love the car. There are a few issues with the AUX jack when you are trying to play from your IPOD and have it charging at the same time, but I'm working on a few solutions for that right now. If everything works, i'll post what I did to correct the ground noise feedback problem. Apparently it is a common problem with the Mazda's, as well as most other new cars with AUX jacks. So beware!