Monday, October 31, 2011
Sidney's Work
This is a post of pictures only. We thought you might enjoy some samples of what Sidney is up to. The first picture is a letter to Mom and Dad. She wrote it and put it in the dresser. The second is her skeleton from learning about skeletons in school. Note where helmets and pads are.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Visits to EG
I (Kimber) have been to Equatorial Guinea (EG) four times this year. I have more more trip in two weeks. My first trip was in early April to help out with a hazard review of a couple of processing units. That trip was right before the MS 150. As a matter of fact, I returned to the US on Thursday and rode in the MS 150 on Saturday and Sunday. I put up an earlier blog post about the MS 150. In preparation for that though I rode a borrowed bike in EG one Sunday on an adventurous and tough ride.
The bike I borrowed was a small women's bike but it was bigger than any of my bikes at home. I could still ride it but I had to be careful. Also, the gears I most needed didn't work well so sometimes I would just come to a stop in the middle of a shift. Oh well.
The ride started at the Marathon compound. We then rode about 4 miles on pavement through two round-abouts to a dirt trail. Now one is very careful on the pavement and always happy to make it off the pavement alive. Cars have no respect for bikes there and it is a bit of taking life into your own hands. And you ride as fast as you can through the round-abouts. The steady up hill started once we got off the pavement. The road was gravel and actually in good shape considering it is a road to several quarries. I managed to ride tot he lower quarry but it was a hard ride. The climb is from sea level to about 2400 feet in 6 miles. I didn't realize the incline until we turned around and I didn't pedal for 3 miles. Only applied the brakes. And although the climb was hard, the heat was killer. I think the temperature ended up being about 110F with the humidity factored in. I was really beat by that. And you didn't want to stop because then the bugs piled on.
I did survive the ride and would like to do it again. Maybe on a cooler day. Maybe some day I will make it the 1000 feet higher to the upper quarry. Something to look forward to.
As if that wasn't enough of a day, I participated in something called a hash that Sunday afternoon. A Hash is an organized walk or run (depending on what you are in the mood for). You have no idea the route before you start but the walk will be about 3 miles and the tun 5 to 6 miles. The trail is marked by a set of volunteers and they lay false positive trails as well. So you could follow what you think is the correct trail and have to turn around at the end of it to find the correct trail again. The walkers have a few false trails but the runners have many in order to get them their mileage. Also, when you see a route marker you are supposed to shout “On On”. If it is a false route you shout “On Back”. It is rather comical. Here are the three volcanoes that make up Bioko Island. The largest and darkest is the volcano just outside of Malabo.
There is an organized break in the middle for beer, water or soda. I go for the water but many go for the beer. They seem more relaxed when they finish. Afterwards is a bit of a ....... session. The Hash leader calls up various groups of people, say first time hashers, people who will be leaving EG, the trail marking group, etc. When called you must sit on a block of ice, sing a song, and chug a small glass of beer or water. Then put the empty cup on your head. Of course as you can predict, if there is anything in your cup, you have to chug another cups worth. Lets just say I was tired after all that. The whole thing ended with a bite to eat. What an adventure.
After that, I took the opportunity to support a colleague from Texas City who has helped organize a weekly Non-Denominational service on the compound each Sunday. When he is on rotation, which he was while I was there, he provides the message. It was a real pleasure to worship with him and the other men there. I think I was the first “sister” they have had. I will always look for those guys on my visits to give an encouraging word.
Right before I left I also ate at a restaurant call Hot Rock. You can order their specialty which is some sort of meat or fish that you cook at your table yourself. They bring the meat along with a piece of granite that has been in a 600F oven for 9 hours. You then cook your own meal on this rock. Be warned, don’t touch it. I ordered a steak which was fantastic. My colleague ordered prawns which were also great.
Here is a picture of the EGLNG Jetty. It is often referred to as one of the wonders of the world. It is an amazing feat of engineering and extremely impressive.
My second trip to EG was a two day trip. I didn't get to do anything exciting except arrive, work, eat, sleep twice and leave.
My third trip was to help out with some internal audits and building location studies. I took this opportunity to go hiking at the Monkey reserve on the south end of Bioko Island. It was during the rainy season but the weather for the hike was nice. It was surprisingly cool. I had only a t-shirt and shorts so I had to borrow a jacket. I think it might have been only 60F as the reserve is maybe at 4000 feet. The hike was quite pleasant. We walked for a couple of hours and saw several birds, beautiful plants, and butterflies. We also met this guy. He was minding his own business but very interesting. There were also wild begonias but the flower was much more like an orchid flower. We also saw some Turacos, although never a good view. We saw four but they were always in front of the sun so we couldn't see their color. I also saw an owl which is quite uncommon. Unfortunately we didn't see any monkeys. Here is a picture of me on the hike as well as a picture of one of the many millipedes we encountered. Yes they are big.
After the hike we had an incredible meal. The two guys i was with brought Brats for the appetizer. Then we had grilled steaks with mushrooms and onions, baked potatoes with all the fixings, and rolls. Everything was grilled or wormed up not he grill. There were even chives for the potatoes. It was the most amazing food I have had in EG.
We drove all of the rest of the way around the island on the way home. Unfortunately the weather was quite bad by then with pouring rain and thick clouds. So in actuality I didn't get to see much more of the island. But it was a fine way to spend a day and I hope to get to do it again sometime.
My last trip was just these last two weeks. I went to help with a larger audit as well as finish by building evaluations. I got to go offshore in this trip and have inserted a picture of me coming back in from offshore with the Caldera in the background. The area of the Caldera is where I hiked as described just before. I have also inserted a picture of the platforms. They are small platforms but it was nice to get to visit them and visit with the people who operate them. I also happen to see my first wild shark while I was out there. It was about 5 feet long and just below the surface of the B2 platform. I looked for whales all the way to and from the platform but did not see any. That was disappointing. But the day was lovely and view fantastic going out at 0630 and coming back at 1700. We could see Cameroon and Nigeria quite clearly as well as the three volcanoes that make up Bioko Island. Some of the pictures are crooked and that is because the boat moves a lot even though the seas are calm. So an off horizontal horizon is what I got.
This is a picture of Cameroon with the sun coming up. It is really nice to see Cameroon. The volcano there is much taller than the largest volcano on Bioko Island.
Here is a picture of part of the MEGPL Gas Plant from the sea. In front are part of one of the loading berths. The berths just appear to be buoys sitting at sea but they have lines running to them from shore to load methanol, propane, butane, and condensate. It is too bad there weren't any tankers in on Sunday when I went offshore.
I am looking forward to a quick trip in two weeks but there won't be anything exciting on that trip.
Here are two of the EG platforms. They are about 18 miles offshore and transportation is by boat. Many people go out just for a day because they are so close and we run a boat every day. The platform on the right is B2 built in the mid-2000s. The platform on the right is the original manned platform built in the early 1990s. The wellheads are on B as well as the accommodations. Most of the processing equipment is on B2.
My last trip was in November right before I went over to Poland. It was a brief trip, 8 days total and I went offshore again on one day. I got to spend some time at the EGLNG plant which was good and I spent a lot of time with maintenance at MEGPL.
My flight in came over Cameroon and when I looked out the window, we were at the same height as the volcano summit. So here is a picture of Mount Cameroon from the plane window. A unique view. I also have a picture of the Punta Europa plant site which includes much of the operating and living areas. It just gives you an idea of what the area looks like from above.
The bike I borrowed was a small women's bike but it was bigger than any of my bikes at home. I could still ride it but I had to be careful. Also, the gears I most needed didn't work well so sometimes I would just come to a stop in the middle of a shift. Oh well.The ride started at the Marathon compound. We then rode about 4 miles on pavement through two round-abouts to a dirt trail. Now one is very careful on the pavement and always happy to make it off the pavement alive. Cars have no respect for bikes there and it is a bit of taking life into your own hands. And you ride as fast as you can through the round-abouts. The steady up hill started once we got off the pavement. The road was gravel and actually in good shape considering it is a road to several quarries. I managed to ride tot he lower quarry but it was a hard ride. The climb is from sea level to about 2400 feet in 6 miles. I didn't realize the incline until we turned around and I didn't pedal for 3 miles. Only applied the brakes. And although the climb was hard, the heat was killer. I think the temperature ended up being about 110F with the humidity factored in. I was really beat by that. And you didn't want to stop because then the bugs piled on.
I did survive the ride and would like to do it again. Maybe on a cooler day. Maybe some day I will make it the 1000 feet higher to the upper quarry. Something to look forward to.
As if that wasn't enough of a day, I participated in something called a hash that Sunday afternoon. A Hash is an organized walk or run (depending on what you are in the mood for). You have no idea the route before you start but the walk will be about 3 miles and the tun 5 to 6 miles. The trail is marked by a set of volunteers and they lay false positive trails as well. So you could follow what you think is the correct trail and have to turn around at the end of it to find the correct trail again. The walkers have a few false trails but the runners have many in order to get them their mileage. Also, when you see a route marker you are supposed to shout “On On”. If it is a false route you shout “On Back”. It is rather comical. Here are the three volcanoes that make up Bioko Island. The largest and darkest is the volcano just outside of Malabo.
There is an organized break in the middle for beer, water or soda. I go for the water but many go for the beer. They seem more relaxed when they finish. Afterwards is a bit of a ....... session. The Hash leader calls up various groups of people, say first time hashers, people who will be leaving EG, the trail marking group, etc. When called you must sit on a block of ice, sing a song, and chug a small glass of beer or water. Then put the empty cup on your head. Of course as you can predict, if there is anything in your cup, you have to chug another cups worth. Lets just say I was tired after all that. The whole thing ended with a bite to eat. What an adventure.
After that, I took the opportunity to support a colleague from Texas City who has helped organize a weekly Non-Denominational service on the compound each Sunday. When he is on rotation, which he was while I was there, he provides the message. It was a real pleasure to worship with him and the other men there. I think I was the first “sister” they have had. I will always look for those guys on my visits to give an encouraging word.
Right before I left I also ate at a restaurant call Hot Rock. You can order their specialty which is some sort of meat or fish that you cook at your table yourself. They bring the meat along with a piece of granite that has been in a 600F oven for 9 hours. You then cook your own meal on this rock. Be warned, don’t touch it. I ordered a steak which was fantastic. My colleague ordered prawns which were also great.
Here is a picture of the EGLNG Jetty. It is often referred to as one of the wonders of the world. It is an amazing feat of engineering and extremely impressive.
My second trip to EG was a two day trip. I didn't get to do anything exciting except arrive, work, eat, sleep twice and leave.My third trip was to help out with some internal audits and building location studies. I took this opportunity to go hiking at the Monkey reserve on the south end of Bioko Island. It was during the rainy season but the weather for the hike was nice. It was surprisingly cool. I had only a t-shirt and shorts so I had to borrow a jacket. I think it might have been only 60F as the reserve is maybe at 4000 feet. The hike was quite pleasant. We walked for a couple of hours and saw several birds, beautiful plants, and butterflies. We also met this guy. He was minding his own business but very interesting. There were also wild begonias but the flower was much more like an orchid flower. We also saw some Turacos, although never a good view. We saw four but they were always in front of the sun so we couldn't see their color. I also saw an owl which is quite uncommon. Unfortunately we didn't see any monkeys. Here is a picture of me on the hike as well as a picture of one of the many millipedes we encountered. Yes they are big.
After the hike we had an incredible meal. The two guys i was with brought Brats for the appetizer. Then we had grilled steaks with mushrooms and onions, baked potatoes with all the fixings, and rolls. Everything was grilled or wormed up not he grill. There were even chives for the potatoes. It was the most amazing food I have had in EG.We drove all of the rest of the way around the island on the way home. Unfortunately the weather was quite bad by then with pouring rain and thick clouds. So in actuality I didn't get to see much more of the island. But it was a fine way to spend a day and I hope to get to do it again sometime.
My last trip was just these last two weeks. I went to help with a larger audit as well as finish by building evaluations. I got to go offshore in this trip and have inserted a picture of me coming back in from offshore with the Caldera in the background. The area of the Caldera is where I hiked as described just before. I have also inserted a picture of the platforms. They are small platforms but it was nice to get to visit them and visit with the people who operate them. I also happen to see my first wild shark while I was out there. It was about 5 feet long and just below the surface of the B2 platform. I looked for whales all the way to and from the platform but did not see any. That was disappointing. But the day was lovely and view fantastic going out at 0630 and coming back at 1700. We could see Cameroon and Nigeria quite clearly as well as the three volcanoes that make up Bioko Island. Some of the pictures are crooked and that is because the boat moves a lot even though the seas are calm. So an off horizontal horizon is what I got.
This is a picture of Cameroon with the sun coming up. It is really nice to see Cameroon. The volcano there is much taller than the largest volcano on Bioko Island.Here is a picture of part of the MEGPL Gas Plant from the sea. In front are part of one of the loading berths. The berths just appear to be buoys sitting at sea but they have lines running to them from shore to load methanol, propane, butane, and condensate. It is too bad there weren't any tankers in on Sunday when I went offshore.
I am looking forward to a quick trip in two weeks but there won't be anything exciting on that trip.
Here are two of the EG platforms. They are about 18 miles offshore and transportation is by boat. Many people go out just for a day because they are so close and we run a boat every day. The platform on the right is B2 built in the mid-2000s. The platform on the right is the original manned platform built in the early 1990s. The wellheads are on B as well as the accommodations. Most of the processing equipment is on B2.
My last trip was in November right before I went over to Poland. It was a brief trip, 8 days total and I went offshore again on one day. I got to spend some time at the EGLNG plant which was good and I spent a lot of time with maintenance at MEGPL.
My flight in came over Cameroon and when I looked out the window, we were at the same height as the volcano summit. So here is a picture of Mount Cameroon from the plane window. A unique view. I also have a picture of the Punta Europa plant site which includes much of the operating and living areas. It just gives you an idea of what the area looks like from above.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Norway
I (Kimber) recently returned from a quick trip to Norway. It was wonderful to get back to Stavanger although it also makes me a little sad. We left there just at 1 year ago. This trip was short, only three and a half days. I arrived Tuesday and went straight to work. Wednesday started with a bit of rain, but that was the only rain for the entire trip. Stavanger had their summer while I was there. It was fantastic. I didn't need a jacket at all.
I played sand volleyball with the girls on Wednesday. there is an indoor court in Sandnes. The girls play every Wednesday and I played every week before we moved. We have a hilariously good time with at least one of us (frequently me) collapsing in laughter each week. It is the best stress relief. I was very limited in my ability to play this time as I am still in the boot following my surgery. But I got a few hits and served frequently. The two pictures show the team from last week. The lighting wasn't very good for picture taking. We vary between four and eight players each week. Some are very good players, particularly the ones who play every week.
I ate dinner with Cheryl, the wife of the pastor of the church we attended in Stavanger on Thursday and then went to a bible study with a few ladies. It was wonderful to see Cheryl and hear about her family and the church family. And I needed to get my batteries refilled.
Friday was the nicest day of the week. I didn't bother bringing my jacket to work. I then met friends for dinner and a nice walk around the lake. It was of course a treat to see my dear friends and spend time with them.
I tried to check on the swans that live near where we used to live. I was not able to find them this trip. I didn't have time or ability to walk over to close to where they live. So I don't have an update on their family.
I also took a few more pictures of the new Marathon offices. The Norway office will move to their new digs over the Thanksgiving weekend. I have inserted some pictures below. Of course one includes the reference Condeep in the background. Another is taken from the pier that Kirk and Sidney used to fish from. The building is getting very near completion.
I played sand volleyball with the girls on Wednesday. there is an indoor court in Sandnes. The girls play every Wednesday and I played every week before we moved. We have a hilariously good time with at least one of us (frequently me) collapsing in laughter each week. It is the best stress relief. I was very limited in my ability to play this time as I am still in the boot following my surgery. But I got a few hits and served frequently. The two pictures show the team from last week. The lighting wasn't very good for picture taking. We vary between four and eight players each week. Some are very good players, particularly the ones who play every week.
I ate dinner with Cheryl, the wife of the pastor of the church we attended in Stavanger on Thursday and then went to a bible study with a few ladies. It was wonderful to see Cheryl and hear about her family and the church family. And I needed to get my batteries refilled.
Friday was the nicest day of the week. I didn't bother bringing my jacket to work. I then met friends for dinner and a nice walk around the lake. It was of course a treat to see my dear friends and spend time with them.
I tried to check on the swans that live near where we used to live. I was not able to find them this trip. I didn't have time or ability to walk over to close to where they live. So I don't have an update on their family.
I also took a few more pictures of the new Marathon offices. The Norway office will move to their new digs over the Thanksgiving weekend. I have inserted some pictures below. Of course one includes the reference Condeep in the background. Another is taken from the pier that Kirk and Sidney used to fish from. The building is getting very near completion.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
California
I (Kimber) attend my first ever girls weekend. It was in Sonoma California during the grape harvesting festival. I flew to San Fransisco on Thursday. The weather was lovely but the Golden Gate Bridge was socked in by fog. I fortunately had seen it before so I wasn't too disappointed. But I did get this cool shot of only the top of the bridge above the for from the Sausalito side of the bridge (rather than the San Fransisco side).
Here is also a picture of all the ladies who attended this girls weekend. Some I knew before the weekend and others I did not. Some have attended previous weekends, but this was my first. From left to right we are, Kmber, Melissa, Jen, Theresa, Sharon, Rita, and Jessica.
The back story was provided by Theresa and is copied here.
"Theresa and Jen grew up together in the little town of Shelby, Ohio. They were inseparable in high school and now it's their dad's who are inseparable! Then came college. Theresa deserted Jen in her last year of high school for the "big city" of Evansville, Indiana, where she met Rita. Rita and T became great friends through the Newman Center. Meanwhile, Jen survived senior year without Theresa and went on to Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Theresa graduated from UE and went to work in good ol' Findlay, Ohio, home of Marathon, conveniently located just 30 short minutes south of BGSU. One fall, Jen and Theresa road tripped to Milwaukee to see Rita in her hometown where she'd moved back to teach after conquering UE. (I believe this is the first documented actual meeting of Jen and Rita. It could have also been the road trip Jen took to visit T at Evansville, but I can't remember if that was before or after Rita graduated. I must be getting old, my memory's not what it once was!) Anyhow, back to the story, Theresa and Jessica met when Jessica (who’s an engineer) was visiting her sister whom Theresa worked with in Findlay. Meanwhile, Jen became a certified pain and torturist, I mean physical therapist, and moved to Boston. There she met Melissa who was working at the same facility as Jen (Melissa's an occupational therapist). Jen and Melissa became great friends. When Jen decided to get married, T and Melissa met as they were both in the wedding. During the planning of the wedding, we decided we needed a vacation after the whirlwind planning. The first girls weekend ensued with a cruise to Cozumel! Fast forward a couple years and Theresa starts working in HES&S and Kimber (an engineer also in HES&S) moves to Findlay. Their offices are right next to each other and the rest, they say, is history. I believe there was a meeting between Jen and Kimber while Theresa was living in Findlay but can’t remember for sure. So, Jen and Melissa are both happily married now and decide to take their husbands on a vacation to an island (Jamaica, I think). While there, they run into this couple from Minnesota who are in Jamaica to get married but don't have any witnesses! So, Jen and Melissa and their husbands are the witnesses. With that, Sharon is now happily married and part of the annual girls weekend group! Fast forward a couple more years, and T is now living in Texas. She's reconnected with the Koutny sisters even becoming an honorary member of the fam to join in on the family’s Alaska vacation!, and has gotten Kimber to move to Houston too (by way of Norway). So, Rita (who now is a nurse practitioner and is living in Minnesota – but really needs to move to Houston, hint hint!) comes to visit T in Houston for a Gaelic Storm concert. Kimber (and a few others) decides to tag along for this concert of a band she's never heard of and gets to meet Rita in the process. To escape the dreary Ohio winters, Jen and her family road trip to Texas (they should really just move to Houston!) to visit T and meet Kimber and her family when we have a barbeque one night. And that brings us to the California Road Trip/Sonoma Weekend when you’ll get to meet anyone you’ve not already met!"
We all stayed in a wonderful house in Sonoma. The house had three bedrooms and two baths. It had a fully equipped huge kitchen. There was a pool, beautiful landscaping, a putting green and bunk house. We had plenty of room and it was a much better deal than rooms in a hotel. The only issue we had were yellow jackets. They would leave you alone unless you had recently touched food.
Our arrival Thursday left us all too tired to cook. So we found an incredible Italian Restaurant in Sonoma called Mama Tanino's. Kimberly and her husband Gaetano are the owners. Gaetano is Italian and has been a chef at several popular restaurants in large cities. Now he has settled down with Kimberly to create amazing Italian food in Sonoma. Kimberly was a perfect hostess and made us feel so comfortable. We stopped back in later in the weekend to say hello and get some more fabulous Italian dessert.
We had a van and driver for winery touring and wine tasting on Friday. We visited 5 different wineries and I can't remember what order. I have inserted a few pictures below though. Here are three pictures from the Deerfield winery. We sampled all the wines they offered (it was good this winery was last as we were all very happy at this point). The tasting room at Deerfield in in the cave. Below are pictures of the wine making equipment outside the cave. then a picture of a cask in the cave. The casks are stamped with the type and age of the wood (say Red Oak) and the winery the wine is being produced for. Deerfield produces their own wine as well as wine for smaller wine makers. Finally a picture of many casks in one section of the caves.
Also on our drive around, the driver provided history and information about the area. One thing he pointed out were the hills in the picture below that are in the movie Bottle Shock. Bottle Shock was filmed in 2008 and is based on a 1976 wine competition where a Califonia wine defeated a French wine in a blind taste test. Although based on a Napa valley vitner, the movie was filmed in Sonoma.
Another winery had this beautiful pond and flood control walls pictured below.
After the winery tours, we munched on cheese, crackers and veggies for dinner.
Saturday found us up before dawn to go on a hot air balloon ride. We had to leave the house at 5:30 to drive for an hour to the rendezvous point. We met the balloon pilot and helpers before driving another hour and a half to the valley where the balloon ride would occur. Here is a picture of the van and balloon and basket. The road was extremely windy and the driver an expert at driving it. So since we were all in the back of the van we were a bit shaky on our arrival.
So now the picture below is as close to actually going on the ride as we got. the wind was very light and the weather beautiful. However the wind was blowing in the wrong direction and would have blown us out of the valley and potentially to poor landing spots. These other two balloons arrived before us and had inflated and loaded before they called off. So we watched some equally disappointed people offload from the two balloons pictured. Then we watched them deflate. We were all very disappointed but respectful of the call the pilot made. Of course then we had to repeat the drives to the valley to get home.
Saturday afternoon was a tasty lunch of chicken and beef tacos as well as salsa, dip, and cheese made in our fancy kitchen. then we went into the festival in town and enjoyed Sonoma. We also celebrated Theresa's birthday.
Sunday found us leaving at various times. The rain started early Sunday so we were happy to get to the airport and that our previous two days were so nice. We had a blast and were sad to say goodbye and enter reality.
Here is also a picture of all the ladies who attended this girls weekend. Some I knew before the weekend and others I did not. Some have attended previous weekends, but this was my first. From left to right we are, Kmber, Melissa, Jen, Theresa, Sharon, Rita, and Jessica.
The back story was provided by Theresa and is copied here.
"Theresa and Jen grew up together in the little town of Shelby, Ohio. They were inseparable in high school and now it's their dad's who are inseparable! Then came college. Theresa deserted Jen in her last year of high school for the "big city" of Evansville, Indiana, where she met Rita. Rita and T became great friends through the Newman Center. Meanwhile, Jen survived senior year without Theresa and went on to Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Theresa graduated from UE and went to work in good ol' Findlay, Ohio, home of Marathon, conveniently located just 30 short minutes south of BGSU. One fall, Jen and Theresa road tripped to Milwaukee to see Rita in her hometown where she'd moved back to teach after conquering UE. (I believe this is the first documented actual meeting of Jen and Rita. It could have also been the road trip Jen took to visit T at Evansville, but I can't remember if that was before or after Rita graduated. I must be getting old, my memory's not what it once was!) Anyhow, back to the story, Theresa and Jessica met when Jessica (who’s an engineer) was visiting her sister whom Theresa worked with in Findlay. Meanwhile, Jen became a certified pain and torturist, I mean physical therapist, and moved to Boston. There she met Melissa who was working at the same facility as Jen (Melissa's an occupational therapist). Jen and Melissa became great friends. When Jen decided to get married, T and Melissa met as they were both in the wedding. During the planning of the wedding, we decided we needed a vacation after the whirlwind planning. The first girls weekend ensued with a cruise to Cozumel! Fast forward a couple years and Theresa starts working in HES&S and Kimber (an engineer also in HES&S) moves to Findlay. Their offices are right next to each other and the rest, they say, is history. I believe there was a meeting between Jen and Kimber while Theresa was living in Findlay but can’t remember for sure. So, Jen and Melissa are both happily married now and decide to take their husbands on a vacation to an island (Jamaica, I think). While there, they run into this couple from Minnesota who are in Jamaica to get married but don't have any witnesses! So, Jen and Melissa and their husbands are the witnesses. With that, Sharon is now happily married and part of the annual girls weekend group! Fast forward a couple more years, and T is now living in Texas. She's reconnected with the Koutny sisters even becoming an honorary member of the fam to join in on the family’s Alaska vacation!, and has gotten Kimber to move to Houston too (by way of Norway). So, Rita (who now is a nurse practitioner and is living in Minnesota – but really needs to move to Houston, hint hint!) comes to visit T in Houston for a Gaelic Storm concert. Kimber (and a few others) decides to tag along for this concert of a band she's never heard of and gets to meet Rita in the process. To escape the dreary Ohio winters, Jen and her family road trip to Texas (they should really just move to Houston!) to visit T and meet Kimber and her family when we have a barbeque one night. And that brings us to the California Road Trip/Sonoma Weekend when you’ll get to meet anyone you’ve not already met!"
We all stayed in a wonderful house in Sonoma. The house had three bedrooms and two baths. It had a fully equipped huge kitchen. There was a pool, beautiful landscaping, a putting green and bunk house. We had plenty of room and it was a much better deal than rooms in a hotel. The only issue we had were yellow jackets. They would leave you alone unless you had recently touched food.
Our arrival Thursday left us all too tired to cook. So we found an incredible Italian Restaurant in Sonoma called Mama Tanino's. Kimberly and her husband Gaetano are the owners. Gaetano is Italian and has been a chef at several popular restaurants in large cities. Now he has settled down with Kimberly to create amazing Italian food in Sonoma. Kimberly was a perfect hostess and made us feel so comfortable. We stopped back in later in the weekend to say hello and get some more fabulous Italian dessert.
We had a van and driver for winery touring and wine tasting on Friday. We visited 5 different wineries and I can't remember what order. I have inserted a few pictures below though. Here are three pictures from the Deerfield winery. We sampled all the wines they offered (it was good this winery was last as we were all very happy at this point). The tasting room at Deerfield in in the cave. Below are pictures of the wine making equipment outside the cave. then a picture of a cask in the cave. The casks are stamped with the type and age of the wood (say Red Oak) and the winery the wine is being produced for. Deerfield produces their own wine as well as wine for smaller wine makers. Finally a picture of many casks in one section of the caves.
Also on our drive around, the driver provided history and information about the area. One thing he pointed out were the hills in the picture below that are in the movie Bottle Shock. Bottle Shock was filmed in 2008 and is based on a 1976 wine competition where a Califonia wine defeated a French wine in a blind taste test. Although based on a Napa valley vitner, the movie was filmed in Sonoma.
Another winery had this beautiful pond and flood control walls pictured below.
After the winery tours, we munched on cheese, crackers and veggies for dinner.
Saturday found us up before dawn to go on a hot air balloon ride. We had to leave the house at 5:30 to drive for an hour to the rendezvous point. We met the balloon pilot and helpers before driving another hour and a half to the valley where the balloon ride would occur. Here is a picture of the van and balloon and basket. The road was extremely windy and the driver an expert at driving it. So since we were all in the back of the van we were a bit shaky on our arrival.
So now the picture below is as close to actually going on the ride as we got. the wind was very light and the weather beautiful. However the wind was blowing in the wrong direction and would have blown us out of the valley and potentially to poor landing spots. These other two balloons arrived before us and had inflated and loaded before they called off. So we watched some equally disappointed people offload from the two balloons pictured. Then we watched them deflate. We were all very disappointed but respectful of the call the pilot made. Of course then we had to repeat the drives to the valley to get home.
Saturday afternoon was a tasty lunch of chicken and beef tacos as well as salsa, dip, and cheese made in our fancy kitchen. then we went into the festival in town and enjoyed Sonoma. We also celebrated Theresa's birthday.
Sunday found us leaving at various times. The rain started early Sunday so we were happy to get to the airport and that our previous two days were so nice. We had a blast and were sad to say goodbye and enter reality.
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