Winery Tour; By Bike

Jhoan and I went to Kingsville, bikes in tow, my Mom in the front seat, and Jhoan’s sister and brother-in-law following nearby. We were heading out to a Windsor Eats event in the county, where several wineries are located. You see, this area in Ontario is on the same latitude as the major wine producers in California and Europe. I think the one major difference is the fact that we get winter temperatures, making the ice-wine an incredible success in this area.

The windsoreats.com crew are motivated to promote the locally run/produced/staffed/grown food in the region. This bike tour was their baby, and in all honesty, I was skeptical.

A quick rundown of the day’s events.

Beginning at Aleksander Winery, we had some white wine as the Mayor of Kingsville mingled with the crowd, taking pictures under the large willow tree located in the back of the property. Loads of bikes were leaning, layin, or standing, waiting to embark on the 25km bike ride which would bring us to two other wineries before returning for dinner.

Upon arrival, I recognized a local musician, and all-around great guy, Mark Muzzin. He, with his wife (Isabella?) do a heap of work at the winery on a regular basis, feeding tours and giving tours, while tending to winery matters also. He gave me a sneak peek of what we’d be eating when we returned. I was speechless. Locally fed/grown veal with pasta (all sauce made from tomatoes and spices in the area), original seed Peaches and Cream corn on the cob, and a melange mix of salad from local greens. Everything on the menu was from less than 10 kilometers of the winery! Awesome!

As we mingled, Chico the bike tour guide was racing around the parking area to test EVERY BIKE to make sure the tire pressures were up to snuff. He filled loads of tires, including mine. What a supremely great idea and gesture to make sure everyone had the easiest ride possible.

We hit the open road, riding the furthest leg of the ride to Pelee Island Winery. When we arrived, we shopped a little bit, ad then began our tasting/tour of the entire workings of the winery. We must’ve tasted at least 6 wines (1 ounce pours are the norm) while moving from production room to room learning about how they make wine, why wine has numbers associated with it, and what the labelling means when you buy VQA wine.

It was interesting, informative, comfortable, and enjoyable all around.

We moved from Pelee Island Winery, a SLIGHT bit tipsy, to the last stop on the trip before returning. Mastronardi Estate Winery had been blessed by the weather gods, because we were able to get a vineyard tour, seeing the grapes, learning about how they are capable of raising the temperature in the vineyards when a cold snap hits (fascinating and almost unbelievable). We tasted four wines, I believe, and they had a rosee that was maybe the best thing I tasted on the entire tour! Beautiful.

When we returned, tired, hungry, and proud of our investment/purchases, we sat down to the meal which was absolutely everything you would imagine it to be. We ate outdoors, under a large white tent, tasting MORE wine (two reds and two whites) and recounting the nearly perfect day of family, love, exercise, libation, healthful local eats, and new friends. Pina and Adriano of Windsor Eats were untouchable in the vein of hosting an event so well-intentioned with people and companies who were SO WELL PREPARED! It went without a hitch.

My mother kept up with the crowd of cyclists, some racing for some reason, and she was riding a one-speed cruiser bike! I can’t say I would have been as capable without gears. I was lucky enough to coast through the ride with Jhoan most of the time, although I tried to stay behind with my Mom on the last two legs of the ride to create a bit of a draft for her. I don’t think I helped one bit, but I wanted to try.

Now to the finish. Yes I had to leave a tad early to rush to work in Windsor (30 minutes away), but this immaculate event was not a one time thing. They have another in September! It’s located at some other wineries in the area (Viewpointe for sure).

The kicker…the entire thing…the meal, the ride, the tours, the tastings cost each participant only $20. TWENTY BUCKS?! That’s practically FREE for what we got! I cannot say enough about this brilliant event, as it may be the best local outing I’ve ever been on in the region. Period. It was that good.

All that said, there is some video that I shot while on the tour…and you are welcome to watch some. It was windy, so the sound cuts out a bit at times, but you can still learn from what I taped.

And on the tail end of this high, I am off to spend a weekend on Pelee Island! I’m going with Dan and Jenna, and Tristan and Hilary. I will laugh so hard this weekend, I may get sick on myself.

Enjoy the videos.

Me and the Olympian: Scott Russell

Well, I saw film tonight, getting ready to sleep, of Scott Russell (Windsor boy) screaming or howling and growling after throwing a javelin. Yes, in Beijing. It was bizarre to see, because I had never seen him in action since he left Windsor to go to Kansas University in the US. I knew he was doing shot-put, maybe even discus, and now I see a guy with a reddish beard post-fling, and I’m thinking, “Was that dude in red and white? That might have been Scotty.”

So I go online and I find the image and story above of Scott, which was extremely uplifting. A proud moment. Yeah, I know, I see the Olympics for what it is to the people running the show, but I still appreciate the skill, finesse, strength, ability and dedication it takes to be an elite athlete. And to see Mr. Russell there, representing Windsor and Canada was awesome.

How do I know Scott. Simple. He and his brother were twin towers in sports (basketball of course) at F. J. Brennan High School. I had to play against him. It wasn’t fun, because the guy is massive, and skilled.

Flash forward to the summer of grade 10, when I make the Ontario travel basketball team (Riverside) that tons of great players tried out for, all hoping to be among all-stars. John Mastromattei, and Bill Davis, and I (all from Catholic Central High School) make the team. We are now shoulder to shoulder with the guys we despise all year long. Of course we formed a friendship with one another, which was shocking at first due to the vitriol we had for one another all season, but it was a majorly rewarding experience.

Ron Crumb, J.R. Bias, Ron Andriash (spelling?), John Fletcher, Marvin Caston, and several others joined Scott Russell, knowing him as the huge guy (6′9”) in the middle…not so much as the future Olympian who weighs 269 pounds and throws a spear over 80 meters! The story of his trials and tribulations to get to the Olympics can be read HERE.

We roomed together, and we got along quite well, as he was an extremely quiet guy, and a dedicated athlete when on the court.

Having come home tonight from playing with some pretty wicked basketball players (at the University of Windsor Student Centre gym) and some great kids who make up the Windsor Filipino team who will be traveling and competing, I felt it was a good time to remember Scott in this blog. Tonight, playing with guys who I haven’t seen/played with in YEARS AND YEARS brought up the nostalgia of what it means to be on a team of extremely talented guys.

And after I saw Scotty on the TV I thought, “Shit, shouldn’t I know he’s there? I mean, I like this guy, and I want him to medal…so I gotta see how he’s doing.” From what I can tell, he’s still in the running, and I encourage you to follow his quest for a medal.

Good luck Scott!

Family/Friends Birthday Romp & iTouch

Simply put, I had a wonderful birthday. Turning 29 was supposed to be uneventful. I would have gone to my in-laws for dinner and cake, swimming and fun. It turned out that Jhoan had asked some close friends, family (from Windsor and out of town) to come to my in-laws and surprise me. It was unprecedented for me, and it was incredible. I was a little shocked at the faces of MY parents in the yard of my WIFE’S parents. Shane was there, and the brothers who could make it…

It was sausages and hamburgers, salads and brownies, swimming and storytelling, children chortling and grown-up laughter. I was (unexpectedly) gifted Chapters gift cards to spend on books, and I cannot WAIT to go shopping for the best of the best. Also, I got SOLID books from Jhoan’s sister Lyn, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and Under The Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. My mother also got me some slick books to read, which are always the kind that I need. Inspirational as all heck. I will let you know about them when I get into them.

Oh geez, and my brother Cary’s family got me some Tim Horton’s gift cards, which are so perfect…I don’t know what to say. I will chug that brown death like it’s my job.

So, I just thought it was worth sharing, because I was feeling so taken care of today, it was overwhelming. So much work goes into this kind of thing, and from Jhoan, to Lyn, to my mom pitching in to help, it was a flawless day. Heard from several friends, and was flabbergasted at the plethora of birthday wishes on my Facebook Wall. Very unexpected.

I must say that I scored an Apple iTouch from Jhoan, who swore she was not going to get one for us…however, it is slick, and it will be used endlessly for blogging and many other functions while on the go. Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome…the only hitch has been that I had to pay $10 to get the software update just to get “iPhone” applications (as if they are made for one and not the other). That was the only “not-cool” thing about it. I mean, this thing must’ve cost over $300, maybe $400 and they want $10 MORE so I can put “free” online applications onto it in order to find movie show-times and to use a Scrabble Dictionary twice a year? Apple, get it together. I mean, everything else you do is mostly wonderful, but This. Is. A. Cash. Grab. I want my $10 back because it SHOULD be included in the purchase price. Plain and simple. You KNOW everyone is going to get apps for the thing, and you play it off like, “Oh, ohhhhhh, you want….you want apps from the iPhone?! (deep breath in between teeth) yeah…well…that’s not what we thought…we thought you’d just want it to be simple and stuff…without the cool free online gadgets and all that…yeah…(another deep breath in from the side of the mouth) maybe if you have $10 we can do the “upgrade”…”

Quit playin’ Apple. You know we all want the applications, so make some consumer-consciencious decisions here and pretend you actually MAKE HUNREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS because you cornered the market on audio/video/phone devices, okay? Thanks Steve Jobs. Thanks.

On to kinder, more level-headed thoughts.

Tell a loved one how much they mean to you. I heard it a few times today, and it was quite revitalizing.

And how could I forget…my brother’s Star Wars video has gotten quite the response! 12,000 views as of today (3 days since posting) and comments like crazy! Too awesome. Just so cool! Many thanks to Laughing Squid (Scott Beale) for posting this in the first place, especially after I sent him the link to the movie on a Twitter post…which is not the channel to go through for this sort of thing…so, extra thanks then, I guess. Now it has been re-posted to a few sites, namely the Geek Dad Blog on Wired.com, which is just jaw-dropping, as my brother Mark really had no intention of putting this thing online at all. Maybe eventually, but not without some prodding, it might have found its way to Youtube. Rodd, our other brother, however was prompt and golden for getting it onto blip.tv where the quality is money-in-the-bank.

My brother Mark makes a movie!

Honestly, this short video makes my head spin. My brother Mark made it at home, with his wonderful kids Alex and Noah. Little Noah is a Star Wars lunatic, and is steadily playing with his light saber and various toys associated with the movies. So, to further this love for the series, my brother decides to pour (likely) a hundred hours into this project. I know it was less, but it would’ve taken me MONTHS! I still have no idea how he has the patience to put somethign like this together, but it is mind-bogglingly good.

The gifts in my family absolutely stun me. It makes me want to collaborate with them every time I see them.

Another gifted family member, my brother Rodd, has a post on his site about our talented brother Mark, on his blog The Clever Sheep. It’s similar to this, but it’s got another nice insight.

I recommend turning the volume up, so as to hear the shy lines spoken by Noah and Alex.

To see some other versions of sweded Star Wars movies…go here…it’s a nice starting point. Or here, here, or here…

Thoughtfullness

Jhoan and I have friends in Toronto. A particular pair of friends who we are steadily trying to find ourselves near as often as possible. They are talented, creative, funny as hell, humble, trustworthy, selfless, resourceful, and THOUGHTFUL! I hate putting words like this in one sentence like the one previous, because I find that they leech meaning away from one another when the reader simply skips from one attribute to the other. But, I don’t stack these compliments lightly.

Dan and Jenna have a list of accomplishments (as a “friend couple”) that are as close to a “how to” of friendship as anyone can be. The following is simply one of them.

A little while ago, Jhoan and I went to the Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia. Driving from Windsor to…well, anywhere east or north is a lame, flat, deflating trip. There is nothing to keep the eye wandering. Nothing to excite or busy the ocular nerve. There are no service centres for the soul. The McDonalds and Tim Horton’s can only do so much. Very, precious little to be precise. And so when I took Dan and Jenna up on their invitation to tell them when we were passing through Toronto, I did. I called to see what was what. Were they in? Were they out? We were keen for a visit with our friends, and we really hoped they would answer the phone and draw us from Highway 401 like a swami coaxing a cobra from his boring basket.

They not only invited us over to see them for a few minutes, but Dan helped me drag our bikes (which we traveled with) from the back of the car, up 20-some steep Toronto stairs, which he then locked to the railing. When we unloaded our highway malaise, they were eagerly preparing a meal. They had friends (neighbours) coming over for dessert soon. But they asked us to stay for dinner (which could be made and eaten before the neighbours were due). It consisted of Dan’s “famous potatoes” that he had made only once before, and they chopped, fried, boiled, blanched, stirred, and mixed without letting us touch a thing. Asparagus, chicken a l’awesome, and the delectable mashed potatoes followed by an angel-food cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. They got to use several of their wedding shower gifts for this one meal.

It was a hot dinner, with friends who we almost never get to see. It was a detour from the drone of the pavement under the car, and it was the most understated piece of magic we never expected.

Our discourse is always goofy, and light, and fun. We heard a song that Dan wrote and recorded in Halifax for Jenna about a rock ‘n’ roll ham…yes…a piece of ham that plays music…that ran for nearly 11 minutes. Also during this visit, he gave me DVD copies of his brilliant and hysterically funny (Chritopher Guest-esque) video series called Jim Dupree: Enthusiast. I have been wanting copies FOREVER. Jhoan and Jenna discuss everything lady-like. I heard them discussing locavores and community-grown food, because of the dinner ingredients having come from local origins. Dan and I try to make words, containing the word speck, (like re-speck-t and in-speck-tion) until we can’t think of anymore, which is what leads the ladies to ignore us in the first place to continue on with real discussion.

Our friends remind us that we are constantly invited to visit, almost perpetually so, and that we should move to Toronto. We sullenly decline, as we love them, and we roll out with our bikes, strap them to the trunk, and disappear back west, to Windsor.

A week or less went by. We got a shipment in the mail, from Amazon. Upon opening it, very curiously, there was a book inside. A book we hadn’t ordered. The 100 Mile Diet by J.B. MACKINNON and ALISA SMITH. Jhoan and Jenna had been discussing this book during our visit and Jenna had ordered it and had it sent to our hose with a note to Jhoan, telling us it’s worth the read, as per her discussion. No expectation. No hint. Just a gift in a brown box that screamed, “we care about you”.

These are the types of things that make me shake my head in amazement. Their thoughtfullness permeates and gets into your clothes, into your brain, and reminds me of how people treat those that they truly care about. Jhoan is the other great example of this in my life…but for Dan and Jenna having only been our friends for a few years(?) it is incomperable.

What’s more is that this is one of so many moments that they have gone overboard for our comfort, enjoyment, inspiration, inclusion, and even career advancement hopes. We are lucky. We know it. They know it. We have told them several times. I hope you have friends like these.

Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics

I’ve been anticipating these games, as I do every two years, because of the choreographed national pride it beckons from everyone. It’s great to see people rooting for the athletes who’ve been training to represent their country of origin, although these lines are steadily being blurred more and more.

Funny enough, the blurring of these lines makes these games more of a test of human ability than a national display of physical hierarchy. I like that development. I like seeing those paradigms shifted.

“What the – was that Chinese-lookin’ person representing Canada?” is the kind of thing I can see the generation or two before me saying as they watch the 2008 games, and it makes me laugh a little, assuming that there are people (shut-ins) who are unaware of the fabric of Canada, and just how incredibly diverse it is.

The thing that got me writing this, the reason, the main thrust was about the hubbub being tossed around about the possibility of athletes wearing their political heart on their sleeve at the games. Joey Cheek (Olympic speed skating gold medallist) was refused entry into China because of his potential to make a political statement at the games in favour of his work with the group Team Darfur.

I think of the simple image, the powerful, indelible image of the US track athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos who made the gesture of the fist in the air. I think of how simple-yet-magnanimous this symbol was, and how it was “deemed a domestic political statement unfit for the apolitical, international forum the Olympic Games”.

The repercussions were harsh. The athletes themselves were targets of hate and anger after they returned home.

And I simply shake my head when I think of this. The Olympics are an apolitical event?! What? For who? These games have been used as olive branches, or roadblocks in political maneuverings from the beginning. And to think that the people in charge, the fatcats making big dough off of these games (IOC, Coke, McDonalds, Adidas, Nike, etc.), can say what is and what isn’t “couth” at a worldwide-staged event like this makes me audibly do a spit-take. “Ppppppffftt!”

Who are they kidding?

I have it from a good source, who I will not name, that was in the meeting room in Detroit with an unnamed mayor of Detroit and an unnamed mayor of Windsor over 10 years ago now…that the process was shown to be the corrupt money-grab that it is. At some point a long while ago, Windsor and Detroit wanted to make a bid for the Olympics to be held (for the first time) internationally, across borders, in Windsor, ON (Canada) and Detroit, MI (US). A great idea…before 9/11. When the big meeting began, the delegates sat at a big table and waited to see how this meeting would unfold. As I am told (which you can take with a huge grain of salt if you like) was that the Olympic representative simply stated to the group that if they were not prepared to pay outright, hundreds of millions of dollars to the “people that make decisions”, JUST TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE RUNNING for the games to be held in WIndsor/Detroit, that they might as well adjourn the meeting.

And that’s just what happened. Dumbfounded delegates collected their handsome breifcases, along with their jaws, and went their merry way back to business as usual.

As I was told, this was the story of the Olympic bid that never was…never existed…never happened.

This kind of story that can almost qualify as conspiracy theory to some of you readers does not surprise me in the least. I would not put it past this organzation to operate under these corrupt policies (secret that they may be). To paraphrase the historian and moralist Lord Acton, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Anyone in a position to weild the outcome of flow of that much money, the coin involved in hosting and earning from an Olympic Games in their country/city, is bound to be a bastard in the end. You know it. I know it.

So for those of you who are poo-pooing the idea of someone taking the podium, and from out of nowhere donning a flag representing Tibet in order to shine a brighter light on the subject of human right abuses, reconsider the event as a whole. This whole thing is a business. A giant, athletic show masquerading as a nationality-pride-bi-annual-glee-holiday. And folks, business IS politics. It oozes with it. And with politics comes statements, and disobedience, and displays, and demonstrations. And I expect nothing less than this from our athletes and more, if they feel so inclined, taking the opportunity to spotlight issues that the media has done such a piss-poor job of doing. Maybe if someone, a Canadian, makes a shocking display on the podium, the right questions will start being asked of our Olympic host, China.

Purging

It’s All Too Much.

A book by the dude from Clean Sweep, a show on TLC I haven’t seen in three years. Peter Walsh is his name. He’s great. Very convincing.

Here’s the thing; I cannot let go of stuff. I love cool stuff, or, I love things that remind me of something deemed worth remembering. So, as I’m sure many of you reading this are with me, what do we do? We get the thing (a ticket from a concert or Broadway play, a wedding giveaway, a map from a vacation spot you loved) and we…drumroll…put it in a Rubbermaid bin and stick it in a corner, or a closet, or a crawlspace.

Perfect! What a great way to honour this thing you felt was too important to recycle, or NOT BUY IN THE FIRST PLACE! I think when these actions are put into some kind of perspective, we get the sense that this is a very dumb way to go about collecting/honouring the few things we actually appreciate.

For instance, my father has given me some stuff from when he was in the American Air Force. Did I put it on a mantle with his military name tag, maybe a photo of him in his uniform? No, it’s in a desk drawer somewhere. Obviously, this is VERY special to me.

Facetious today, I know.

Within the pages of this book are the keys to realizing why we get attached to things, and why we SHOULD or should not be connected to them. And this book was a perfect thing for me to pick up. Kevin Kelly had recommended it, and subsequently, Merlin Mann had given it a thumbs up. I have an insatiable appetite for keeping stuff I shouldn’t.

On top of that, my wife also likes to keep EVERYTHING! Clothing, shoes, purses, lamps, receipts, picture frames, obsolete kitchen gear, and more. Between the two of us, we are buried in junk that we don’t really appreciate or use. It’s better defined as “clutter” rather than the image some people get of hoarders, stumbling through shabby shacks full of abused pets. We just can’t find things when we look for them (generally speaking) because we don’t have a “place” for things. Scotch tape could be anywhere at any given time. Why is this? Wouldn’t it be good to know where the Scotch tape is, whenever it isn’t in use? Sure it would! But the drawer that could be holding Scotch tape is being inhabited by the hobo batteries, listless glues, and wayward screws. This crap needs to go, or it needs to stay somewhere that it can be retrieved.

This has been the change.

Between the two of us, we have set aside mountains of stuff we are purging from our lives. We will be trying to sell these things at a yard sale soon. If they don’t sell, they go to the Sally Anne (St. Vincent De Paul or Salvation Army). Simple as that. They have been placed in these bins and boxes, and almost the action of finally letting the object slip through my fingers, or flitter away to the bottom of an already overstuffed bin makes the connection sever. Disconnect. Goodbye.

It feels so liberating! The rooms are already looking like the purpose they were meant for, which is one of the things Walsh suggests. Rooms need to provide the function you want them to provide. When they are overrun by things that are preventing that function, there needs to be a change.

If you’re afraid to invite company over to your house/apartment/hovel, then you are in the same position we were in, and you likely need to decide, “Do I want to live like this? Is this stuff helping me become/exist as the person I yearn to be?”

I am so pleased to see this stuff go! The books alone! I have so many books that I will never read again, and that I will never read for the first time because there are more current, more championed books that have been released in recent time.

I’m extremely proud of Jhoan for letting go of many objects that we had been holding for several years, and I am equally proud of myself for making the same decisions. Deciding to make room in my home, my brain, and my heart for better things. For things becoming of my ideal view of life. Our ideal view. Room for the joy of freedom from things.

Video Proof of Awesome Maisonneuve Magazine Box Set