Category: Geography

Rainy Tuesday at Coppola’s Rustic

Drove in the mist and rain. Lunch at Rustic which is an inviting restaurant at the Coppola winery in Geyserville. Perfect spot to stop since we were told that Napa Valley wineries don’t serve food – so as not to compete with restaurants.  As if you need another reason to drive north past cute, colorful Calistoga and wind through the roads at the foot of Mt. St. Helena into the heart of Alexander Valley.  Francis, (as every staff member refers to him), also owns another winery down in Rutherford – which has gone by several names.  Originally Inglenook, rercently Rubicon, it will be once again known as Inglenook with plans to restore the name since the quality has always been highly regarded.

Back to Rustic, which features an authentic Argentine grill known as a parrilla giving diners the anticipation of  delicious wood smoke flavor!  We also learned of a featured event called a tavola, which means “to the table.”  The chef prepares a variety of dishes and sends the “to the table.”  No ordering off no stinking menu – trust thy chef (every Tuesday).

Rustic was  preparing to host an “American Mulefoot Pig and Wine Dinner” the following night.  A local Heritage Pig Farmer, Amy Grabish was slated to preside over the night’s feast.  Too bad we had to be on our way.

Four on site Bocce courts, a swimming pool and movie gallery make this place unique.  Although the rain kept any of that from being possible, that is ok.  We came for the wine and food and were treated to a warm welcome.   It’s an offer we couldn’t refuse!

2/7/2012

Reading now…

When at O’Hare flying standby, good things CAN happen!

I bought (yes paid City of Chicago taxes ++) Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses.
It turns out to be the first in his Border Trilogy. Why do I love trilogies?
Now I’m reading the second book, The Crossing. Gorgeous, quiet story so far. Love the Wolf!
Book #3, Cities of the Plain, is being made into a film in 2012.

Just be warned, he also wrote No Country for Old Men – the film was bleak and brutal (not sure I could READ something like that!), and also, The Road – which veteran readers say contains exceptionally disturbing violence.

Oh well, the HORSES sure are Pretty!
http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/

“Life on The Mississippi”, Mark Twain

Be good and you will be lonesome. Mark Twain

Just finished…I found this book enjoyable, but it lacks in the sharp humor and hilarity that makes “The Innocents Abroad” a favorite of mine. Life on the Mississippi is detailed in the telling of how and why Samuel L. Clemens chose to sneak aboard a steamboats, and work his way to become a river boat pilot. He truly loves the endless variety of people, scenery and extraordinary stories that flow along with the waters of the great river. In its 60 {Chapter I – LX} Chapters, Twain creates detailed chapter titles and subtitles to help us track his journey and musings: Here are some highlights!
Ch. I-II – Some Geography. Some History. It’s all good.
Ch. III Boy Stowaway – clearly the seeds of Huckleberry Finn were planted here.
Ch. XI A Somnabulist Pilot – Spooky and still believable.
Ch. XVI Racers and Racing – The boats steal the show.
Ch. XVII Gambler – What would a Riverboat be without a good Gambler story?
Ch. XX Thunderous Crash – Here you will read the heartbreaking irony of how Twain’s little brother Henry’s fate was tied so closely and tragically with Twain’s own.
Ch. XXI and Ch. XLV The War Begins – “All day long you hear things “placed” as having happened since the waw; or du’in the waw; or befo’ the waw….”
Ch. XXXI – The Dead House. The Hidden Money. A tale of dark treachery – and they sound like Hardy Boy’s titles.
Ch. XXXIX – Ice as Jewerly – Describes an early ice-factory in Natchez, MS!
Ch. XVL – Cock Fighting – A “must-have” in this kind of book.
Ch. XLVII – The Gilded Age – The title of one of Twain’s later books.
Ch. LIII – Boyhoods’ Pranks Again, Tom and Huck were really born right here.
Ch. L: Describes how he came to use his nome de plume after the “real Mark Twain”, a Captain Isaiah Sellers a highly revered old riverman, used to use it when writing notes about the river’s condition. Samuel Clemens mocked Sellers in his first published newspaper article. Clemens makes a sad apology to the man here as maturity makes feel the sting of his words, but it is sadder because the hurt was done.

So, there you have it! Stay tuned for my Samuel L. Clemens Book Chronology because I reckon I’m gonna read ’em all. How can you resist a man who once said, “Be Good and You Will be Lonesome.”