Brandy and her mother have birthdays that are two days apart. They have always celebrated their birthdays together. Until this year. Brandy lost her mother this last year to cancer. This is the first time her birthday has come around and her mother has not been here to celebrate with. I knew how difficult that would be for her, so I determined that she would have reason to celebrate this year. I did this as much for Brandy's mom, Brenda, as for Brandy. Shortly before Brenda's passing she thanked me for being her daughter's friend and sounding board. She recognized how difficult her illness was for her daughters and knew that they each needed someone to talk with...vent to...etc. so it was important to me that Brandy be able to celebrate rather than mourn.
Unfortunately, calendars and events required that we wait almost a month, but this weekend Brandy and I headed to Fredericksburg, TX, to tour some of Texas' wine country. We left Friday evening after a long week of working. We had a hotel room reserved in Kerrville for Friday and Saturday nights which would give us all day Saturday to tour the wineries and rest from our "travels" before heading home on Sunday. We didn't arrive at our hotel until after midnight but were very pleased with our accommodations. I must say that I slept like a baby. It's a good thing, too. We got up early Saturday morning, had breakfast, and were at the first winery by 11:00 a.m. All in all we toured 7+ wineries, had tastings that numbered in the double digits, walked through historic downtown Fredericksburg (where we actually shopped in a "five and dime store") and basically relaxed, talked and celebrated our friendship.
One problem we encountered...lunch/dinner. We at Silver Creek Biergarten about 3:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. By about 4:30 we were both sick. I began to feel "hot" and having people around me made me feel claustrophobic. Brandy was feeling ill as well. So, we returned to our hotel...where suddenly I was freezing. I ran a bath as hot as I could stand it, crawled into the tub and fell asleep. I slept for about 15 minutes or so before I woke up...crawled out of the tub and lay down to rest "for a few minutes." I awoke 14 hours later! But whatever "bug" we had picked up had passed by then. We got up and dressed, had breakfast and headed home. It is, after all, a 4 1/2 hour drive. We made it home a bit after 3:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon to prep for a new work week. It was a great trip with a good friend. I am glad we made it. It was a joy to celebrate Brandy's special day with her and to honor her mother and their relationship.
Grape Creek Winery (where we got a private tour)
The Fermentation Room
Storage Barrels
Wine Cellar
Dooley's Five and Dime
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