A look on the Sunnyside

Brian and I were able to spend November stateside, and what a whirlwind trip it was! After accomplishing the small feat of time travel, stepping off the plane in Portland, OR thirty minutes before we left Shanghai, it was straight to dinner with some of my extended family. I'm so sick we don't have any photos! Darn you jet-lag brain (did I mention we didn't sleep on the flight?)! It was a great meal and fantastic to see everyone, especially my newlywed cousin and her husband. Then after dinner we pulled a Rip Van Winkle, right?

Of course not! After just a few winks we were up with the birds. Our friends Luci and Tom own a vineyard and were ready to harvest but their picking crew was double booked. So my mom, dad, Brian and I were out the door as Luci rounded up 12 or so of their friends and put us to work. We picked nearly 3 tons of 3 different varieties--a pinot noir I don't remember the name of, tempranillo, and a dolcetto. Three TONS! We were soaked thru with dew and sticky grape juice, but it ended up being the perfect cure for jet lag and an absolutely beautiful day. Certainly a highlight of our entire month home. I suppose the following pictures incriminate me as a less than 100% focused volunteer laborer (sorry T&L!), but it was too beautiful not to snap photos of the grapes and the gorgeous light as the fog cleared.

This is what nearly 3 tons of grapes looks like!

The day ended in perfect Tom and Luci style at their B&B. I've never been so happy to work for dry socks, a lunch feast, and, of course, good wine!