Traveling Pants

Having a 14 year old son is tough.  Cheering from the sidelines at his basketball games has taken on a whole new level.  I will be the first to admit I am not the perfect spectator.  I cannot be like Roger Federer's wife in the stands.  Believe me, I wish I could. But that's never going to be me.  I am like Nadal's ENTIRE family at one time during any given situation.

I've been told I can be loud.  I even bought a white noise machine for my office at work just to appease the folks that have to sit near me.  It has helped.  They tolerate me a little more now...

So this past weekend we traveled to Aiken, SC for a little AAU Basketball tournament.  Not a long trek, but we decided to make a weekend out of it.  Friday night I arrived at the AMAZING cottage I found on airbnb.com.  I made my way to the first game of the night at 8:30 and took in what was my first AAU event.

These are 14 year old boys.  Parents are SO not cool.  I got an ear-full once I got my son and his friend in the car after the game.  Mom...quit yelling during the game!  Don't call me "P".  (Patrick is a mouthful when you are excited!!) Don't take any pictures of me!  If you posted any pictures of me,  you better delete them.  Ugh.  Kids.

What's a mom to do???  Have a glass of wine.  The carriage house we stayed in had it all.  A cute little patio off of the front complete with a tiny bistro table for me to relax at and enjoy a glass of red.  Friday night was a late night so I opted for an oldie but goodie in the Trader Joe's Owl's Lair Mendocino County Red Wine.  If you have not picked up this little treasure, you really should!  At $8.99 a bottle you really get a very good wine.  The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.  Made for a very nice evening on the patio.

Saturday morning offered up more instruction from the kids about how/when to cheer and volume levels.  Unfortunately, there was not much to cheer about so I made it off the hook fairly easily.  We were back at the cottage before noon and I decided to do a bit of exploring.  Aiken is a very cute town known for its equestrian history.  I was able to walk from our cottage through the city proper and was able to determine where we would go for dinner later.  Dinner consisted of another new wine find for me.  The Arsonist Red Blend.  As I have mentioned before you put the work spice in the description and I am going to have a hard time passing it up.  A blend of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, this blend does bring the spice.  From Matchbook Wine Company located in Zamora, CA, they celebrate varietals that thrive out in the warm Dunnigan Hills climate.  Hmmm.  Definitely worth taking another look!

Looking forward to our next excursion!  Sip on my friends!