Best Birthday Ever

My sweet husband coordinated the best birthday getaway I could have imagined. I've been wanting to take a day trip to this winery--http://www.chateauelan.com-- that is about 15 miles north of our house. They do tours and tastings, and I thought it would be something fun to do on a Saturday afternoon.

Well, Joel surprised me with an overnight stay at the inn on the winery grounds! We drove up on Saturday and checked in. Then we had lunch at a very authentic Irish pub that is next to the winery building (the pub was acutally built in Ireland and shipped to the U.S.). They even had authentic condiments from Ireland, including this one, simply labeled "sauce." For some reason we were amused enough by this to take a picture.

Then we went on the winery tour. This is the cask room where they store the red wine while it ages.

I enjoyed some time just hanging out in the room

And then we had a wonderful dinner!

This is the winery "chateau"...we'll probably go back for the day in the fall to see the vines when they are almost ready to harvest.