Girls Trip to Grand Junction

 There's nothing better than a girl's trip. When it's with 9 people you don't know, and 4 that you rarely see it can be a little anxiety inducing. You know me though... come hell or high waters, I'm always looking for a good time! So, when I was invited to go to Grand Junction, CO for a winefest for a High School girlfriends 40th I jumped on board. Why not??? We packed 3 SUV's full & off we went. After a 3 hour drive, and a quick hotel check in, we headed to 'Vineyard Row' I call it and started the tastings. I am new to this so here's a quick idiots version tutorial. You go into a tasting room. They are usually free for 4 tastings, sometimes a nominal charge like $5. You are supposed to start with the whites, move to blushes then reds, and end with dessert wines like Moscato's and Ports. We visited 4 Vineyards that day. One nice man even pulled grapes off the vines for us and taught us how to crush them on the roof of our mouths with our tongues to test their readiness.

Wine Tasting outdoors on the patio at 'who knows where'

Well, you do the math. No lunch... 4 Wineries... 4-5 tastings at each....NEED FOOD NOW! We headed to a local Brewery (do you see a theme forming here?) for dinner and afterwards moved outside for a circle of new friends having drinks and chatting. 

after dinner circle at the Brewery

Me - Heather - Beckie. High School Besties!!

After a liquor store stop, meeting at the Hotel bar for later night drinks, and the single girls heading to another local bar, I had tapped out and headed to my room to get ready for bed. Here comes the fire alarm at 11:30 PM. Ever been at a hotel when a fire alarm goes off? Some people should really grab a robe.

Next morning was early wake up, quick breakfast, and catch the shuttle to the Wine Fest at 9:00. After standing in line for about an hour we were ushered in, given a bag to carry our purchases, and a wine glass for the tasting! There were tents every where. It's hard to carry a purse, a bag full of bottles of wine and a wine glass, so we opted to buy the wine glass holders which are the pink things hanging around our necks. Don't call me a lush, it freed up a hand!

When my bag got too heavy, Heather and I went to check in our purchases for later pick up and ran across this lovely little warning...

Don't you dare give my wine away... I worked hard for it!

It was very fun expanding my wine knowledge. Learning what I like and don't like in a costly manner. Buying wines to set aside for Thanksgiving, Anniversaries, etc. I learned a lot and had a really great time reconnecting with my friends. 

 That night was 40th birthday dinner celebration for Heather. We were able to eat at the Hotel Restaurant which could seat all 14 of us at one table. It was a long dinner, but fun conversation made it seem shorter. Happy Birthday to my girl Heather!

Birthday Girl Sandwich

After dinner we crossed the hall to the Karaoke Bar where the BYU vs UTAH game was conveniently being played. (I'm no dummie. I had been scoping that out since we checked in) Yes we were the obnoxious group of girls who wanted to sing 5 songs. Oh well, the crowd seemed entertained by us, and I was able to keep an eye on the game which was my ultimate goal.

Karaoke Trouble

 It was a successful weekend. No one went to jail, or got left somewhere. I truly felt like the 'responsible one' in the group which was new for me. I think I have finally met my match with these ladies! I came home with a small gaggle of wines which I can't wait to experience again. Got one chilling right now to go with my lasagne dinner. It's the one on the left... Gewurztraminer.

Cheers!!!