Saturday, July 18, 2009

DAY 1:
THE TRIP AND THE SET UP
FINGER LAKES WINE FESTIVAL 2009


So Ben Casscles and I loaded up the van Thursday, after we spray painted the new booth accessories for hours in the hot baking sun. We had to make sure we had the new banners, the table leg extenders, the dump buckets, the cash box, extra credit card receipts, triple copy sales books, cork removers, Dixie cups, syrup, balsamic vinegar, and many other sundry items.

Then I went to bed and awoke the next morning only to realize we were short two cases. Quickly labeled two cases (we were out of labeled wine) and then ran into the shower to get ready.

There, I was greeted by the largest and most aggressive spider I have ever seen. It came from across the bathroom and into the shower and was coming right at me! I hate spiders. It was the size of a Buick! I hit him with spray and washed hm down the drain. He hung on for dear life, fighting going down the drain. I felt kind of bad. But when I relented, he started coming right at me again. Bye-bye!


Chris was late and we got in the heavily weighted van and left. Chris was his usual talkative self. He put on his ipod earphones and tuned out. He's a really good guy though. I had brought a VHS movie player, and plugged it in and drove the four hours watching The Lion In Winter, which Chris found boring. I loved it. So much for shared movie taste.

The most annoying thing was the smell coming from the back of the van where the painted parts were, which gave off a lovely aroma. When the windows were closed, and we ran the air conditioner, we didn't notice it so much. But any time we let in fresh, outside air, we noticed it much more so. Awful!



We met up with David Jackson, who is our sales director, at Watkins Glen. David's a great guy. He's doing his darndest try try and bring the winery into the modern era. And to grow he's right, but Luddites like myself, Dominique and Ralph are resisting. However, David is not to be denied. He'll eventually win. We set up the booth, bought some burgers, and headed up the west side of Lake Seneca in the rain to sample wines.





We stopped at many of our favorite wineries, as well as Finger Lakes Distillery and for the beer at Wagners.


Not a bad first night.

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