What an amazing weekend! J and J visited me at the right time. They crewed on Saturday morning's 6 ton crush of Sauv Blanc. It was great to have some extra hands because we clipped through that load much faster than we did the last and we did twice as much. It's always a nice to see crush through a new person's eyes and enthusiasm. Grown men turn into big kids when they get to be part of something fun and special. Also, being on the sorting table gives you plenty of time to chat and catch up with one another. It also makes the time go much faster. Saturday evening, J and J went over to the "night glow" which was part of the Prosser Balloon Rally and entered the drawing for a hot air balloon ride. They won! Isn't that exciting? Out of hundreds of people, those lucky ducks won. The problem was: it was a ride for one person. So brother and sister flipped a coin for who got to go. Big sister J, pulled rank so she got to go up. Bright and early on Sunday morning, we drove down to the Prosser airfield to claim the ride. It was a beautiful, crisp pre-dawn morning. Even though, there was barely any light out, the airfield was busy with activity. Balloon pilots and their crews were laying out their hot air balloon gear in neat rows. One by one, the balloons got filled with big fans and then as they filled up, the hot gas was next to fill the balloon and gracefully as a cloud, the balloons lifted up in the air ever so quietly. It was a true delight to see and experience this. J was excited about taking her first hot air balloon ride. I've taken one so I know the feeling of trepidation and wonder as you lift off the ground. It was fun to see the expression on her face since I could imagine what she was feeling. Her smiling face became smaller and smaller as she lifted high into the sky. Brother J and I stood waving from the ground, but we were quickly distracted by the 50th anniversary Mickey Mouse balloon. You could hear little children yelling, "it's Mickey MOOUSE!!! MOM! It's Mickey, it's Mickey!" After taking a whole bunch of pictures. We jumped in the car and chased J's balloon from the roads and followed to the landing site. And that was all before 8am! The rest of the day was spent wine tasting in Yakima Valley and Red Mountain. We especially enjoyed our time at Kiona vineyards. We also found time to hike in Richland. I was really sad to see them go on Sunday afternoon, but I'm glad we had a really amazing weekend.