Our date this past Saturday was quite memorable. Like I had mentioned Christopher and I went to Ten Spoon Winery just outside of Missoula to assist in their fall grape harvesting. When we arrived that morning there were a few dozen people already drifting about the lanes of grapes, so with scissors in hand and humble hearts we met with one of the vineyard managers and they directed us in our endeavor. We followed a group of grape cutters to a row of swansons, used for dessert wine is what they told us. They explained to us the color they wanted in the grapes we were going to keep and place in the bright yellow sorting bins. The weather was absolutely perfect Saturday morning, sunny and breezy, just warm enough to not need a jacket. Christopher and I snipped away for about an hour, filled about two bins full of grapes, and I even went home with a battle wound to prove it. I accidentally cut my thumb with my scissors while trying to garner a cluster of awkwardly hanging grapes. O well, our saying goes “It’s not an adventure unless one of us is bleeding/hurt”. I do believe I will make a full recovery.
Around noon we made it to lunch at a new place in town. This is always a important part of our dates, we try not to go eat out at the same places over and over again. So needless to say we’ve almost ate at every restaurant in Missoula. Really. You need a review, just hit me up. This time we ate at Market on Front a cafe that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner 7 days a week right off the hip strip. They serve artisan style sandwiches, gourmet locally grown salads, and don’t forget about their coffee bar. I had a flank steak salad, and he had the special of the day, apple-wood smoked turkey, bacon, red onions, spinach, with a habanero jam. Delish!
Our day ended at the Honey Festival on campus at the U. We sampled lots of raw honey from vendors all over northwest MT. Ate some honeycomb. Watched a campus professor do some nerdy science experiments. Talked with Miss Honey USA about the importance of teaching kids about nature in the classroom. Made candles out of beeswax. And lastly bought our own bottle of honey to take home.
We weren’t able to make it over the the Old West Autumn Fest in Frenchtown, I do hear it was quite entertaining though. Maybe next year.
Coming Friday, preview of our Fire Lookout Rental Date…
datenightwesternmontana 