Great Use of a Rainy Day

Had the day off today due to some switching with the schedule. When I woke up to rain I was a little disappointed since I wouldn't be going on a hike with a 100% chance of rain for the day. (As I was told later though, if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes - and change it did, constantly). I spent the morning with some of the animals. Abbey got a walk and Princess, again refusing a walk, got a long petting session. JuJu was still upset from being separated from her mother so I sat with her for a while too. Got a goat massage by her climbing on my back. It's actually pretty nice. And then she curled up on my lap for a while. I felt bad leaving her but it started to rain and I figured she should get used to spending time with her penmates, Arlin and Amarillo.

Checking to see if the rain stopped

Arlin, Amarillo, and JuJu

First voyage into the long grass

Spent some time searching for things to do and came upon Woodenville, a town 30 minutes north of Seattle that had a lot of wineries and tasting rooms as well as a small distillery. It took about an hour and a half to get there, which wasn't too bad. My first stop was the Woodenville Whiskey Co. They had free tastings so I got to try their whiskey, bourbon, and vodka. All were amazing, nice and smooth. The vodka was the most unique- it had a butterscotch scent and a subtle vanilla flavor. You could actually sip it straight and it was still fantastic.

It was cool to go to a small distillery. Funny being the only girl having a tasting.

Some excellent vodka.

From there I kept driving and stopped at an area with a few tasting rooms. I scouted them out and picked one to try, Goose Ridge Winery. The tasting wasn't free at this one, but if you bought a bottle of wine they waived the fee. I tried a couple nice, refreshing whites. The reds were more unique. I started with a blend and then ended with one they aged for an extra year. It was neat to try a few different ones since I still don't know what kind of reds I like. So far the blends are winning out.

On my driving I happened to see that Red Hook Brewery was also in town. I had heard of it before because they make a good gluten free beer (something that's not easy to do) and one of the girls had just gotten some of their IPA. I stopped by and decided to take the tour. While waiting I called Chris who informed me that I had to find a way to try the Chive beer. So with a mission in mind I headed in for the tour. Turns out it wasn't so much of a tour as trying out their beers and hearing about their beers and company. It was entertaining and the beers were great so I'd recommend it despite the fact that you don't learn much about the beer making process or get to see much. They give you 5 oz of 5 different types of beer. For $1, it wasn't a bad deal. Plus you get to keep the small glass. The Chive beer ended up being part of the tasting - a dark rich beer with a ton of flavor. Chris would have loved it. Unfortunately they only sell it at that particular location and in growlers. Not the best for transporting long distances after many months. After the tour I stuck around for dinner at their brew pub (even though the tour is only $1 I think they make up for it by catching people with how much beer they give them). The food was good, but not as good as the beer. On my way out I got a growler of the Chive beer and some of their pumpkin porter, which I was really impressed with. Even liked it (almost) as much as Wyerbacher so I was pleasantly surprised with it. All in all a great day out (though that will be the end of my days out with a price tag).