A wine dinner with new friends and some random ranch shots.

Last night I was invited to attend a "wine dinner" with some new friends. They all relocated here from places like San Fran, CT, MA, etc. and met each other decades ago. One is/was a nuclear physicist, another a teacher turned ski instructor, another worked in the investment field, and one is a fly fishing guide. Very fun and diverse group. The evening started with a drink at Calico, a very popular local Italian restaurant and bar. 

Then we moved a few blocks up the road to the home where the dinner took place. The view of the Tetons from the deck was beautiful, and we nibbled on French bread rounds with an assortment of meats, olives, sun dried tomato and artisanal cheeses. Each couple brought 1 or 2 bottles of high end wine to share, and the hosts and their friends were all wine aficionados, avid skiers and world travelers. One couple had just returned from a month in Chile and Argentina, hiking and fishing. Some happy marriages indeed.

The hostess (in glasses) made a fantastic blackberry marinade for the pork tenderloin and did all the cooking AND grilling. She also grows her own veggies in a back yard garden. Even the broccoli was delicious, with whole cloves of garlic in it... everything nicely presented on square plates.

 

After finishing a bottle of white, we moved on to reds and this little gem from Chile, a big bold Bordeaux blend, over $100 a bottle. What a treat! After 14 weeks here, I'm still finding plenty of fun things to do and meeting great people. I think I'll stay another 6 weeks ;)

 

On to a new topic, I finally took a few interior lodge photos at the ranch and then today while I ate my lunch on the lodge's front porch, got a nice image of the front lawn, corral area and Tetons without snow! Sometimes, I can't believe I really live here. A new group of guests arrives today, only 18 of them, and beginning this week, it's adults only at the ranch. Woo hoo! In two weeks, breakfast time gets bumped up from 7:30 AM to 8 AM. That's good because the sun is coming up so much later now...I prefer to wake with the sun and not get jarred awake by an alarm clock. Been there done that after 15 years working in an office.

Stone fireplace, log walls and furniture, original artwork and bronzes, fresh flowers, beautiful rugs, mounted animal heads, wagon wheel chandeliers... pretty cozy eh? Soon, there will be fires in the lodge fireplaces at breakfast time too. Ah, ranch life...