Tom Plant

 

On Sunday, August 31st, Laura and I flew to Seattle and boarded the Star Princess. We left Seattle on a postcard perfect day and headed north into Alaska's Inside Passage. We spent all day Monday at sea, and then woke early Tuesday to explore our first port-of-call, Ketchikan. Once again we were blessed by the weather Gods. The sun broke through as we were visiting the incredible rain forest. We saw pink salmon, reindeer, a bald eagle, an owl and breathtaking scenery. Afterward we strolled through town and had lunch at the Alaska Fish House. If you're a fan of The Deadliest Catch, you'll be interested to hear we ate crab caught aboard the Time Bandit.

 

 

The following morning, the sounds of excited conversation woke us from our sleep about 6am. We looked out the window to find we were inside the Tracy Arm. As this was our first visit to Alaska, I can't begin to describe the excitement we felt seeing icebergs float by. We threw on some clothes and headed to the deck to take in the sights. Sawyer Glacier was absolutely magnificent. That afternoon we docked in Juneau and headed for the famed Mendenhall Glacier.  As impressive as it was, it was heartbreaking to hear it's receding at the rate of hundreds of feet per year. At this rate it won't be long before it's gone completely. From Mendenhall, we visited Glacier Gardens. The site of a previous devastating mudslide has been restored to incredible beauty. The owners took many of the trees that had been uprooted, stuck them in the ground roots up, and turned them into planters. We took a glorified golf cart tour of the grounds and they are magnificent.

 

 

In all honesty, the best was yet to come. We arrived in Skagway Friday morning and boarded a bus with Peter Lucchetti. Not only was Pete a wonderful tour guide, he is a talented artist and regaled us with recitals of Robert Service poetry. The weather was uncooperative for our trip to the summit, but the time spent with Pete was a treasure. We had lunch in Skagway's charming downtown and then took off to see a sled dog camp in Dyea. We were warned that the dogs get excited and start barking loudly before they pull you on a wheeled sled and they weren't kidding. Once the dogs begin to move, they're completely silent. After the sled ride, we heard from a musher and then saw the six week old puppies. Just adorable.

 

 

We spent Saturday at sea and pulled into Victoria, BC on a sun-drenched afternoon. We headed straight for the magnificent Butchart Gardens. They are indeed a labor of love and a sight to behold. Our cruise came to an all to sudden end Sunday morning. We rented a car and drove to Kirkland, WA to spend the night with my sister and my niece and nephew before heading to the San Juan Islands for two days. This is a trip we won't easily forget.

 

I put together a slide show. There's a beautiful musical background that somehow didn't get  transferred.

 

 

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Active Rain Ambassador  (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

Subscribe in a reader

 

 

My mouth started watering when I first heard about Southern Stuffer. I love Cajun and Creole food, so Laura and I decided to stop in for lunch a few weeks ago. Kristina welcomed us and we settled in to look at the menu... oh boy!Crawfish Etouffee, Jambalaya, Seafood Gumbo, Po' Boy sandwiches and a whole lot more. We had a nice visit with Kristina, had a delicious lunch and now look forward to our next visit!

After lunch we met chef Byron. We learned they serve up live jazz every Friday night starting at 6:00. As they they at Southern Stuffer, they're putting love on the plate.

 

 

 

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage    

Active Rain Ambassador   (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

 

Subscribe in a reader

Without fail, if we're in town, Laura and I head to Old Town Temecula every Saturday for the Farmers Market. I mistakenly thought it was just a summer event. Much to my delight I have found out it happens year 'round. Our last visit we brought home fresh baked bread, passionfruit, eggplant, peaches, kettle corn and more. I love the smells and colors and really enjoy watching people interact with the vendors and with each other. I know what I'll be doing tomorrow morning!

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Active Rain Ambassador (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

Subscribe in a reader

Last night was very special at The Wine Company. Owner Jim Lilly was able to get Steve Anglim, owner and winemaker of Anglim Winery in Paso Robles to talk about some of his wines while we sampled them. Steve knows his stuff and makes superior wines. We tasted "Cameo", a white Rhone blend, Viognier, 2005 and 2006 Pinot Noir, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon.

It was such a treat to hear about the wines from the winemaker's perspective. Steve clearly has a passion for what he does and it shines through in his wines. He made me long for a return visit to Paso Robles.

Steve Anglim & Jim Lilly

"Professor" Steve

Steve's wares

Pauline from The Wine Company

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Active Rain Ambassador (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

Subscribe in a reader

This is one of the views from Calcareous Winery on Peachy Canyon Road in Paso Robles. It's one of the reasons Laura and I love the area so much. In fact, we've visited there three times in the past two months.

Paso Robles has a rich history. Jesse James went there to visit relatives and recover from a gunshot wound in the city's mineral baths. Today, wine dominates the area. In fact the number of area wineries doubled between 1993 and 2002. There are well over 100 wineries there now.

When we arrived Friday July 25, we were treated to an unexpected surprise. The California Mid State Fair was underway and from across the street we were able to hear Steely Dan performing live!

Saturday was devoted to sight seeing and wine tasting. We began the day at Tobin James Winery, which is quickly becoming a favorite of ours. We met Tim and we knew we had made a friend.

I love Zinfandel and Laura loves sparkling wine, and the ones from Tobin James are excellent. While on Hiway 46 East, we also visited Chumeia, Derby Wine Estates (formerly Laura's Vineyard!), Meridian and EOS.

After lunch we headed west on Hiway 46 to Vineyard Drive. We wound up heading down some dirt roads, but the payoff was worth it!

We had been told that Fratelli Perata was definitely a place to visit, and are we ever glad we went! Carol Perata runs the tasting room, is a wonderful host and poured us some of the best wines we have ever tasted. It's a very intimate room, with a wonderful mural on the wall that shows their homeland and their family.

Right down the road was L'Aventure, a boutique winery that produces a small amount of excellent wine. We wanted to return to Carmody McKnight and we were fortunate once more to have winemaker Greg Cropper there to meet us. We also had the pleasure of meeting Marian McKnight, the 1957 Miss America and co-owner of the winery.

We returned again last weekend and got way off the beaten track. Our adventures took us to Templeton, where we visited Bella Luna Winery. On the way there while taking a detour, we ran across the most unusual planter I have ever seen.

Yes, that's a Jaguar. The words "Slow Down!" are underneath the rear bumper. I had heard Turley produces an excellent Zinfandel, so off we went. Again, we were not disappointed.

Another place that came highly recommended was Dunning Vineyards. Bob Dunning was there to greet us and we sampled his hand crafted Rhone style wines.

We were nearing the end of our journey. A wrong turn took us to Jack Creek Farms, Where we had cider slushies and a taste of homemade fudge. Yummy!

Just a few more stops to make... we turned left on Vineyard Drive and stopped by Four Vines, producer of one of the best Petite Syrahs I have tasted.

Just up the driveway from Four Vines, we discovered Zin Alley and met owner and winemaker Frank Nerelli. Frank makes one of the tastiest Zinfandels I have ever tried as well as a delicious Zinfandel Port. From there, we were off to Peachy Canyon Road. Peachy Canyon is a beautiful road that winds through the hills of Paso Robles. We thought we'd never get there, but we arrived at Minassian-Young. Up on a hillside with a lovely breeze, we enjoyed a few more fine wines. We were told that on our way to Calcareous, we should first stop across the street for a visit to Nadeau. They have some top shelf wines on display in their tasting room.

Their wines were also excellent, and with that visit finished, we had one last stop. There's a picture of the view from Calcareous at the top of this post. They are in the process of building a new tasting room and event center which should open soon. This was a great way to finish off our trip. The scenery was gorgeous and the wine fantastic. In case you're wondering, we took a few bottles home.

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Active Rain Ambassador (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

Subscribe in a reader