Why Isn't Anyone Carding Me?

It was hot and sunny in Santa Rosa and we based ourselves at a Motel 6 with a pool. On that Friday, we spent my birthday touring Sonoma Valley, stopping at wineries I'd been to before and a couple of new ones as well. While at Kunde Vineyards, I remembered Leonard, the man who had given our girl's trip a tour last year in August. Len gave me a free birthday tasting, and then took a tour of the cave cellar with Jim, a retired ICU nurse, and ate fresh grapes from the vine in the vineyard. Later at Imagery Winery, we thought we had heard that your $10 tasting was free with a wine purchase. Kai's logic was why not buy a bottle and it would be like getting a $30.00 bottle for just a few bucks because we were going to spend $20.00 on the two tastings alone. After we picked out a white wine we both enjoyed, Kai received his bill for $51.00- two tastings and a $29.00 bottle plus tax. Whaaaaa? When we asked the girl to clarify, she then told us something about free tasting with 2 bottles purchase per person. Sheesh! Our scam totally backfired. Luckily, she had given us a pass to their sister winery for two free tastings. While I was ready to get back to the motel pool and beginning to remember why I don't drink much wine (giant headache) we HAD to go use our free pass to make up for the rookie purchase. At Benziger we met Greg, a kid from San Diego, who poured us free sips after free sips while discussing some of the best areas to rent in SD, and what freeways to avoid, and which beach communities were less touristed and so on. At the end, he asked obligatorily if we were ready to purchase anything we had tried for the last 45 minutes. We both looked at each other and said, "Ahh, no I think we have enough wine from the last place, right honey?" Later Greg.

At Kunde Gunde's, my great great grandmother's estate...

Not the most manly of wine drinks, the port dessert wine

After a wino nap back at the room on my part, we got ready for dinner. We spent my b-day night at an Indian restaurant complete with a hippie, white belly dancer. Not to pull a Seinfeld here, but, what's the deal with hippie white chicks getting into belly dancing? I've never been to a middle eastern restaurant and actually seen a beautiful authentic dancer, no Bollywood hotties, just soft white girls with ridiculously long hair and an affinity for finger symbols. I can't help but feel a little uneasy while trying to eat my dinner as this chick is flipping her hair, which is down to her ass, around in circles, and shaking her hips at my elbow. I mean, do I stop eating to watch her? Do I tip her? Do I get up to dance with her? It was considerably more awkward as there was just two other tables with patrons at them. One of which was the hippie's boyfriend who clapped ferociously after each number. Yes there was more than one. It was decided to just pretend she wasn't there and eat my birthday dinner while it was hot. We clapped when it was all over, and got back to the fun Bollywood music videos on the TV. After we were totally full, the chef came out to ask how everything was. We smiled and thanked him as it was very good. He then mumbled something about dessert, I shook my head, "Oh no thanks, were totally full...." My voice trailed off as he was already back near the kitchen ordering dessert to be brought to our table and scolding another waitress as our water glasses were nearly empty. Within one minute we had complimentary dessert on the table and refills of water. I glanced down my dress to make sure my cleavage wasn't out of control, it wasn't- so he must have telepathically surmised that I looked like a birthday girl in need of free dessert. 

Later back at the room I enjoyed the biggest, most chocolatey cupcake known to man that my loving husband had picked up for me. We got caught up on a few episodes of 'Sons of Anarchy' before falling into a Indian curry, wine, chocolate cupcake, & rice pudding induced coma.