Monthly Archives: May 2021

Fresh off our trip to New York we headed off to Hood River for a day of wine tasting. Normally we just do this trip for Theo’s birthday in October, but since we joined wine clubs at both Marchesi and Syncline we have no choice but to travel up the Gorge more often since we have club pickup events in both October and May! It is also nice that my birthday is in May so Theo and I get to celebrate our birthdays with matching trips.

We have always enjoyed wine tasting in the Hood River area, and in the early days of our adventures would visit about four wineries over the course of our day. However, now that we belong to two clubs and in the age of Covid appointments are required everywhere, we just visit Marchesi and Syncline (our club wineries) taking extra time to just have a relaxing day. We have always kept the day somewhat simple in that we pack a lunch (usually bagel sandwiches) so we do not have to worry about finding a meal anywhere. If the weather is good we will head down to the river between stops and eat our lunch their while enjoying the view.

Below are a few photos of our day for you to enjoy!

After six months, now that we are both fully vaccinated, Theo and I flew off to New York to meet our grandson Cody. Frankly, I am not sure there is anything I have looked forward to more in my life than this. There is just something special about being a grandparent that you simply cannot explain without experiencing it yourself. If you know me you know I am not a terribly emotional person, but when I found out that I would finally be a grandpa I cried. Enough said.

I got to spend two and a half weeks in Brooklyn, NY with our grandson. Pretty much the entire time I was a babysitter and freaking enjoyed every single minute. Ryan and Hillary were both working hard from home and needed their rest. Cody would wake up at around 6am, Hillary would get up and feed him, then hand him to me and say “go see grandpa!” Sweetest words one could ever hear. Hillary would then go back to bed and Cody and I would pack up in his stroller and go for a really long early morning walk around Brooklyn. I walked Cody a lot during the time I was there putting in 10+ miles a day. We would frequently go to Prospect Park, one of New York’s large city parks, where I would start to teach Cody how to enjoy birds (you had to be there). There was not one thing I did not enjoy about caring for Cody and that included reading him nap-time stories, rolling around the flow with him, listening to his music playlist (over and over), and yes, even changing his diaper. It was a sad day when I had to return home.

Not a day goes by when I do not think about going back to NY to hang with Cody. May that day come soon.