With the memory of sparkling wine tipsiness fresh in my mind and the sugar-rush from mega lemon meringue pie fuelling my steps, the next part of my family’s Rutherglen adventure saw us drawn back to what Rutherglen does best: wineries.
At All Saints Estate I tried valiantly to find a red wine I loved, but had to admit to remaining a white wine girl at heart. I usually stick with dry whites, but A.DazzlingLady recommended I try the All Saints Moscato. You know what? It bedazzled me. It was like alcoholic grape juice, fresh and crisp, supremely refreshing, and sweet without being at all cloying. I would have happily drunkenised everyone’s share had I not been on antibiotics.
But alas, drugged I was, and so I took my steadfastly sober self off to ask for advice from Grandmother Willow.
Photo courtesy of Whispering Gums
And Grandmother Willow sang unto me:
Que que na-to-ra,
You will understand,
Listen with your heart,
You will understand.
Our hearts told my family and me that, considering we’d been out and about since early morning, we deserved a quick rest at our hotel before dinnertime came around. Knowing that I’d soon be leaving, there was a certain acuteness, a piercing cloudlessness in the happiness created by sitting on a big freshly-made bed with my parents, silently but comfortably together, working on a blog post on my laptop while Mum played Words with Friends on her iPad and Dad nutted out a newspaper Sudoku with his pen.
I’m going to miss my family so much I can’t even think about it.
For dinner that night, we headed out to Poachers Paradise, where we found ourselves surrounded by those mythical beasts that exist only in small-town pubs: the genus Mealus Humongous-as-Headus.
Don’t believe me? Look at the size of my Dad’s mixed grill:
Being more vegetable-inclined myself, I opted for the Pumpkin and Three-Cheese Lasagne, comprised of roasted pumpkin, three cheeses, spinach, and basil layered with napolitana sauce. This vegetarian lasagne was quite delicious, being neither too creamy nor oily but sufficiently cheesy and pumpkin- and herb-filled to make me smile.
Over dessert of Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce, E.TeacherLord and A.DazzlingLady presented my parents and me with two riddles which, days later, we still hadn’t figured out. I’m going to give you one of these at the end of this post, but only if you promise on the life of your nearest tree not to cheat by googling the answer.
Unfortunately the very nature of time ensures that it passes, and all-too-soon my brother and A.DazzlingLady were bidding my parents and me farewell as we began the drive back to Canberra. On said drive, we tried what was purported to be the “best coffee on the Hume”, I discovered the fun that is cruise control, and we stopped again at the Long Track Pantry, this time for lunch.
Mum and Dad both had a lamb curry that lacked curry flavour but was a good lamb casserole (language matters, folks!), and I swooned over the delicious and spicy Middle Eastern Chickpea and Red Lentil Soup. My Dad’s Pink Lady Apple Cider was also magical.
And so it came to pass that our wonderful weekend of shenanigans at Rutherglen came to a close. It was joyous to meet A.DazzlingLady, and one day I’ll return to drink all the Moscato at All Saints. All of it.
Question Time (remember: no cheating. No one in my family looked the answer up, so nor can you. Figure it out yourself, and great pride shall ye feel):
Thin I am fast,
Thick I am slow,
I do not grow,
Wind is my foe.
What am I?
I would have guessed you like Moscato. Do you also like a Riesling?
Glad you had a good visit with your family!
Funnily enough, not really, and I’ve never really liked Moscato before either. I’m usually a Chardonnay or beer girl!
Great post Hannah … I love reading your stories about our times together (and will love reading ones of your overseas times soon too!).
We were given another clue, a few days later, to that puzzle: My life is measured in hours.
And I love having your photos to use in my posts!
xoxo
Pink lady apple cider sounds like a vessel of lovely dreams!
I’m going to be thinking long and hard about this riddle, because I am positively terrible at riddles. I’m glad that I’m commenting early on, so I don’t have to read the answer in someone else’s comment:)
Sweet sweet yummy moscato (especially moscato d’asti) is my absolute favorite!
I would bathe in Pink Lady apple cider, if I only owned swimmers.
We can drink moscato together one day! Or just beer. Or water. I like water too. As long as it’s with you.
I must keep an eye out for this delicious moscato of which you speak. Oh, and alas, I am no good with riddles, so I await the answer in your next post!
I think riddles are like cryptic crosswords for me: sometimes my head’s in the right place and it all “clicks” straight away, and other times I have no idea what the stupid clue means.
Travel is so exciting, but leaving loved ones is hard. Having happy memories of time with them will be a strength and comfort for you. I am very seasonal with my drinks and much prefer red wines in winter. They are so warming. And that top photo of E Teacher Lord is hilarious, esp as you and ADazzlingLady don’t seem to even notice him. I regret to say that the photo amuses me more than the riddle – will mull it over but I think I just need to hear the answer!
You are very wise, Johanna, and it helps that I know you speak from experience
In truth, not only did I not notice my brother striking that pose, but I had no idea Mum was taking this photo! I think you can see in my body language how I was yearning for more wine (with my head) but trying to stay away (with my torso)
What fun you all had! And that first pic of the three of you is funny. Your expression differs from the other two quite a bit!
I think my brother was the only person who realised this photo was being taken! (Or perhaps he didn’t, and that’s how he drinks wine normally
) I think my expression represents wanting wine without being able to drink much of it. Boo!
I want a quarter of the mixed grill, half of the lasagna and all of the sticky date pudding please.
Riddle – too hard for me …… My first thought was a balloon but that’s too simple…..
None of us thought of balloon! Believe you me, we came up with far less plausible ideas than that. I kept thinking of things that fit three out of the four clues perfectly, but not one of them.
Is it a cloud? That’s the first thing that came to mind…
No, but that’s a good guess! We all thought of fog and smoke, too, but no dice!
I so want that mixed grill. BADLY
So many delicious eats! And girl, I have no idea about the riddle, haha!
Looks like you had a fabulous time away with your family! I’m definitely thinking that some weekend trips around the place are in order.
Alas I have heard that riddle before and so feel it would be cheating to comment with the answer …
I’m terrible at planning weekend trips myself, so am always delighted when someone else does the organising and I get to go along!
Wait. I have to plan out my next, what, year? Ooops.
We keep talking about going away but unfortunately as things stand at the moment if it wasn’t for the weekend we wouldn’t have things like clean clothes and a livable (note I didn’t go so far as to say clean) home. One day soon …
I have the feeling that a whole year will actually be easier to deal with than a weekend, at the start at least when there are no set end dates and deadlines. Looking forward to it, even if I only experience it from this end of the computer
That top photo is so brilliantly funny that I recommend looking at it whenever you are missing your family. I am sure the sadness will be lifted by laughter, especially when you contrast your brother’s face to the solemn concentration of you and A.DazzlingLady. The image / memory of you happily blogging by your parents (especially the Words with Friends and Sudoko, firm fixtures within my family too) is more poignant – but remember, family travels with you, always. And they are there to come home to.
I am going to ponder that riddle at length!
Thank you dear Kari, you have made my heart feel that little bit safer. Truly, truly, thank you. xo
I love that photo too, particularly because I had no idea it was being taken and only discovered it when my Mum tagged me on Facebook! Oh, Facebook…
Is that your brother draining the glass in the first photo? He reminds me of Archie! I think if I was presented with that mixed grill I would feel very overwhelmed. Your green plate has a lot more appeal. I’m not good at riddles at all. I’d love to hear everyone elses answers xx
That is indeed my brother, E.TeacherLord! I’m quite chuffed that he reminds you of Archie, hurrah for attractive relations!
My brother plays guitar, too, actually!
i love wineries so so much. they’re so much fun. how cool is it that you get to drink wine with sheep near by? very
Funny, I’d never thought of it like that! There are usually sheep or kangaroos somewhere nearby, wherever I go
Oh I LOVE a nice little moscato tipple – If you ever see Two Hands -moscato – Brilliant Disguise (think it’s a 2007?) It’s lovely – plus low alcohol and sparkling… I think it is right up your alley (plus the bottle is super small so you can just have a little!)
Ummmm riddle? Nope I’m not very smart…. are you going to gift us the answer?
That sounds perfect! I definitely like low-alcohol and little-bottles. I just wish I was allowed to drink straight from a little bottle of sparkling like I can with beer
Have to admit, I’m delighted by the fact that no one else has yet been able to figure out the riddle. Makes me feel better about my own failure.
Oh what fun! Moscato is what my sister can handle as well while I get into the more earthier, hard stuff (aka red wine).
That riddle is really a brain teaser….I’m barely being able to concentrate after lunch now….ugh. Will try later when brain is functioning again.
I normally dislike sweet drinks, but this moscato was just lovely! I just can’t get on the red wine bandwagon, but I do think it’s partly to do with the fact that it’s served at room temperature. I like my wine crisp and cold.
Love the first picture of your brother! Looks like he is trying to get every last drop of wine from his glass
Cruise control is the best thing ever invented! Makes highway driving so much more relaxing without the need to keep checking the speedo to make sure you don’t speed.
Even though my own car is only a 2009 model, it doesn’t have cruise control, so I was ridiculously delighted to try it out in my parents’ car. THE ACCELERATOR MOVES BY ITSELF WHAT?!
What a cool trip my friend, it sounds like so much fun
Lovely photos of food food and willow tree!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Hehe I am very much a white wine girl too, though I do like a nice glass of shiraz with a beautiful piece of steak!
And haha for some reason, my eyes kept getting drawn to the sheep on the right instead of the tree in your second pic…
Baa-ram-ewe! Baa-ram-ewe!
No answers here! Lovely to be tripping with your family. Was your brother mucking around or does he always finish a drink like that?
I’d like to say he was mucking around, but with my brother, you never know…
something with fire me thinks..
Those are some fun captures:) take care and wish you a good trip!
I’ve thought it over and over and I just can’t come up with an answer. I’ve always been terrible at riddles though.
“How is a raven like a writing desk?”
Your hair wants cutting!
My husband, who works in a fairly dull job, recently learned all about “incubating.” The idea is that you have to give your brain time away from a problem in order to actually come up with a creative solution. So, you take a walk, listen to some music or play with your dog while your brain mulls over a problem in the background. I am about to go make a pot of soup. Whilst I cook I will “incubate” on this riddle. I’ll come back to you if I get it. If I don’t, at least I’ll have some soup to console myself with.
I love that idea of incubating. It definitely works sometimes! You have about 12 hours before my next post goes up with the answer…