On Wednesday October 10th, my son Andy and I arrived at Buffalo airport for our trip to Fort Lewis, WA to welcome my son Pete home from Iraq. After clearing airport security, we had about 40 minutes, so we stopped in one of the airport eateries for a beer and a hot dog. After finishing, we rushed to our gate where they were waiting for us. While fumbling for our boarding passes, they airline folks asked if we were the Harts. We said “Yes” and they said “Just get on!”. After a two and a half hour layover in Atlanta and a few more beers, they above scene repeated itself as we rushed to catch the flight to Seattle. We arrived in Seattle, got our luggage (including my cooler with carefully packaged wines), picked up the rental car and headed for Fort Lewis, where we met up with Pete and a few of his buddies outside the Main Gate. They followed us as we finally made it to our Hotel in Tumwater about 10:55PM, just before the deadline for checking in (whew). We hung out in the hotel room, having a few beers, until about 1:00AM and finally went to bed.
The next morning, Andy and I drove to Fort Lewis for the “Official Welcome Home” ceremony for the 3rd Stryker Brigade.
Note Mt. Rainier in the background
This was the event our trip had been planned around and it was very moving. 3,500 soldiers in formation on a helicopter landing strip with Mount Rainier as a backdrop. These troops had seen a lot of combat in their 15 month tour, having lost 50 soldiers killed and many more wounded. One of the highlights of the ceremony was having the wounded soldiers called forward from a reserved section of the grandstand to join their units. Many of these had been brought in from military hospitals across the country, just for the ceremony. It was very moving.
The wounded joining their units.
Following the ceremony, a reception BBQ had been set up in the helicopter hangars that was catered by Teddy Bear BBQ http://teddybearbbq.com/ribchamps/index.htm and http://opbbq.com/opbbq/index.htm. For the amount of food they were serving, it was very good (ribs, pulled pork, cole slaw, etc.) and very well organized.
Me, Pete and Andy after the ceremony
After the grand tour of Pete’s barracks, Pete and his friend Matt changed into civilian clothes and we headed out for a big weekend, as they had a pass for the rest of Thursday through Sunday night.
It seems as though locations in the area are designated by exits on US-5: Fort Lewis – Exit 120, our hotel – Exit 104 (Tumwater). Thursday afternoon found us at the Bar-Ba-Cue Inn (between Exits 122 and 123). We relaxed, drank beer, played horse shoes in the yard off the patio, shot pool, played the juke box and had a lot of fun. In spite of the name, I didn’t get any BBQ, but when we did get hungry later we had some mighty fine tacos at $1.25 each. Later we were all invited to Pete’s Squad Leader’s home for a nice evening. He is a very nice man with a wonderful wife and charming 3-year old daughter. I can’t imagine spending 15 months in Iraq with a family at home. They made macaroni and cheese with bacon (very tasty) and had a bonfire in the back yard, where we sipped my home made Steuben Rose, which is Pete’s favorite wine. Pete being only 21, has yet to develop wine palate. He doesn’t like any red wine. In fact, before being deployed to Iraq, he went to a winery in Yakima and was astounded that they not only did not make Steuben, but had never heard of it. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day. The next morning I wandered over to the 7-11 next door to the hotel to obtain some staples for the kitchenette in our room and lo and behold, they sell wine at 7-11 in WA. I found a bottle of wine I could not resist buying – Jarhead Red – CA red table wine – made by Marines, for Marines. It was their only bottle – I would have bought a few more.
I called Randy Buckner to confirm about Saturday’s get-together and get a recommendation for some good local seafood (well, after all…). Pete and Matt met us at the hotel and we headed for Anthony’s Homeport in downtown Olympia. A very nice restaurant, located in the harbor, with a wonderful view of the many moored sailboats and distant mountains. We started off with Dungeoness Crab Cakes that were absolute heaven – best I’ve ever had. The crabmeat was pressed together without anything else – just a delicious breaded coating, browned in butter. Next up was shrimp cocktails (very small, tasty shrimp served on a bed of finely sliced celery) and New England Clam Chowder, which was the only item that was somewhat of a letdown. (I’ve made it at home and had it in Maine so often I’m probably spoiled, but the clams and potatoes were chopped way too fine. Pete ordered fried oysters, Andy ordered smoked salmon fettuccini and Matt and I each ordered Alder-planked salmon. These were all perfectly prepared and we relished every bite. The boys asked me to order off the wine list, deferring to my judgement. For Andy & Pete I chose 2005 Hogue Riesling over the Ch. Ste Michelle, as the waiter informed us the Hogue was dryer with more acidity. This was a very nice Riesling, palate cleansing acidity, true to varietal character and paired nicely with their dinners. For our salmon, Matt and I shared an Oregon Pinot Noir (sorry - I neglected to note which one, but I chose the lighter bodied version of two that were on the wine list) and it was a superb match – cherries and good acidity.
Following dessert of chocolate mousse and coffee, we walked a few blocks to a tavern on 4th Avenue that Matt was familiar with from before they went to Iraq. This place, and the area in general, was so far removed from Anthony’s as to be on another planet. Over the next 6-8 hours, as the DD, I limited myself to nursing 2 light beers before switching to coffee. I couldn’t decide if I had entered the Twilight Zone and gone to ‘60s San Francisco or if it was just early Halloween. A few doors down was a Christian biker coffee shop, where folks were constantly hugging each other around their choppers. While mingling with the crowd in the bar, I met a guy who smelled so bad you couldn’t get near him. He informed me that he was a Vietnam Veteran and had been homeless for 10 years. He seemed to be bragging about it. Rather than have one band play a few sets, 3 different bands each played one set on the stage in the rear of the bar. The first band played that loud, screaming, jumping up and down noise that I can’t even call music (hey I like loud Blues, but….), so I migrated back to the front of the bar and watched the baseball playoffs. As the evening wound down, Pete and Matt had hooked up with some friends and left with them, so Andy and I went back to the hotel.
Saturday morning, we slept in. I made eggs and toast and Andy went for a walk in the nearby woods, taking a few interesting pictures. About 4PM Pete joined Andy and I for the much anticipated Bucko’s BBQ & wine dinner. In spite of a last minute family emergency, Randy & Carole went ahead with the event and it was truly memorable. We pulled into the driveway of their beautiful home, just as the other guests, Clint Hall & his wife and Jo-Ann & Carl Henderson arrived. Randy was sitting on the front porch (in true Okie fashion) waiting for us. After the introductions were all made, we migrated to the deck for some wonderful munchoids and a few wines.
2007 Kim Crawford SB - Marlborough This was almost breathtaking. Light straw, crisp and minerally, the unmistakable cat pee in the nose (my first exposure to this) and a long finish. Very nice indeed. I bought a bottle of the '06 some time ago and I think I’ll be taking it out of the cellar soon.
Hart's '04 Sparkling Cuvee My home made blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that we used as a “Welcome Home” toast to Pete.
Hart's 2006 Vignoles
The view from the Buckner's porch
We then toured their astounding hilltop home with the front window view of Mount Rainier in the foreground and Mount Saint Helens off on the horizon. After perusing the wine cellar, we sat down for Bucko’s BBQ dinner. Applewood smoked beef brisket and pork ribs, pork & beans (nice – very little seasoning) and finely chopped cole slaw (not grated) were served family style. Randy informed that he had been cooking since 6AM on his huge smoker (a very nice piece of equipment that I believe he had custom made). Truly delicious! I brought along a bottle of Chef Carey’s BBQ sauce that I had made, but meats were fine on their own. In spite of the dinner conversation eventually migrating to presidential politics, we all remained well behaved and didn’t throw rib bones at each other across the table.
It was also interesting to learn that Jo-Ann hosts a local food TV show (Seattle). The first two wines with dinner were 2 WA Syrahs from the same maker, but different vineyards and vintages and were tasted side by side:
1998 McCrea, Ciel du Cheval, Red Mountain (Clint)
2004 McCrea, Boushey Vyd, Yakima (Bucko)
These were very similar, both in character, and finish, with the 1998 showing more complexity, a smokiness and bit more acidity, while the younger wine was a bit more fruit forward. These were a good introduction for things to come.
1995 Guigal Hermitage (Clint) generous bouquet, a bit of bricking around the edges, softer tannins and a long complex finish. This would have been my WOTN if it weren’t for:
1995 Pegau, CdP (Bucko) a very lively wine indeed. Deeply colored, generous bouquet and a very long finish hit everywhere in my mouth with well developed tannins, balanced with good acidity. Very nice.
All the above were a revelation to me, as I have had very little experience with Syrahs.
2005 Presques Isle Noiret I brought this wine as much for curiosity sake, as I know the variety is still almost unheard of, being a new hybrid variety released by Cornell. I like this wine and felt that on it’s own, it would have paired up nicely with the foods we were having for dinner, however, in all fairness, it did not belong on the same table as the previous wines and seemed quite lifeless in comparison.
As noted above, Pete does not like red wine, so to accommodate him, the following were opened:
Alsatian Gewurtz - 2001 Domaine Weinbach, Cuvee Laurence (Bucko) Deep gold, tropical fruits, good acid-sugar balance and a very long finish. This was Pete’s first Gewurtz and he liked it so much that he bought 2 bottles the next day when we visited wineries in Woodinville.
Hart's 2006 Steuben Rose (opened for Pete - see above).
Dessert was provided by Jo-Ann in the form a remarkable walnut and fig tart, which was accompanied by:
2 vintages of her Home Made Blackberry Port. The first was a pure version and the second had some Elderberry blended in and, I believe, oak aging. Both were very nice and a perfect match for the not-too-sweet dessert, but the latter, while it had a bit of haze, was more complex and had a longer finish. Very nicely done. Now Jo-Ann has me thinking about making Port. The bottles were finished with very creative labels. After dinner, Andy, Pete and Randy wandered off to where Randy keeps his guns. At one time or another, all my sons worked at the local Sportsmans Club, running the skeet and trap machines, but, in spite of being Marine, firearms never interested me. When we returned to the kitchen, Jo-Ann and Carl were getting ready to leave, so I missed the opportunity to take their picture.
The Halls.
Bucko doing dishes
We went back to the hotel and Pete and Andy left me there. Taking Pete’s car, they picked up Matt at Ft. Lewis and went to Mercer Island to meet up with Kirk, a friend that Andy met while interning at Disney World a few years ago, and spent the night there.
The next morning, I drove up to Mercer Island and met up with them. Andy and Kirk went to Seattle to see the sights, while Matt, Pete and I went to Woodinville to tour wineries. When we got there, my first impression was “Where the hell are all the grapes?”. I later learned that they all grow on the other side of the state and they’re shipped in. Just doesn’t make sense to me. Our first stop was Columbia, where we did the 5 wine taste for $5. They make no Pinot Noir, Gamay or bubblies, but they did have nice Riesling, Gewurtz, Merlot, Cab Franc and Cab Sav. We then migrated across the road to Chateau Ste Michelle. This is a beautiful winery, complete with peacocks roaming the grounds. Since this was the first time Matt had visited wineries, we decided to do the tour, after which we did the 5 wine taste thing again. However, this time, we somehow confused the pourers and we had 2 pourers, each pouring 5 wines each. Although they don’t make a PN, apparently they grow enough in the Columbia Valley to make a Blanc des Noir, which I purchased a bottle of, along with Gewurtz and Merlot. When checking out with our purchases, we realized that we had just finished sampling 15 wines each and none of us eaten anything all day, so I asked the lady at the cash register, who had also been our tour guide, to recommend a good place for a sandwich. On her advice, we went around the corner to the Red Hook Brewery. This was a much better choice than the McDonalds I had in envisioned. Over a few tall drafts (the porter is really good) we lunched on nachos and sandwiches, after which we were too tired and full to visit any more wineries, even though two more were planned. We made our way back to Mercer Island, where Pete picked up his car and he and Matt went back to Fort Lewis as they had duty the next morning. Meanwhile, Andy, Kirk and I went to a local sports bar, where I had coffee and dessert while we watched to Seahawks lose to the Saints on Sunday Night Football. While there, Kirk’s father, Dave, joined us. We had a nice visit and a lot in common, as Dave is also a Vietnam Veteran, having served in the Navy.
Monday afternoon found us meeting up with Pete and Matt at Famous Dave’s BBQ in Tacoma. Apparently this is a chain, but pretty good food and reasonable. I liked that the background music was blues. We then returned to the Bar-Ba-Cue Inn for a while, where we relaxed, watched Monday Night Football and played 8-ball. It wasn’t a late night. We said our goodbyes to Pete and Matt there, as they had early duty the next morning and Andy and I had an early morning flight out of Seattle. The flight home was uneventful and I managed to read “Voyage of the Liberdade” by Joshua Slocum.
This was truly a memorable trip for many reasons. Welcoming my son home from Iraq and being able to spend time with him, a vacation I really needed, and the opportunity to get together with some fellow WLDGers and share some excellent wines and food. Meeting Clint & his wife and Jo-Ann & Carl Henderson was an honor and a pleasure. And a special thanks to Randy & Carole Buckner for their generous hospitality. They are wonderful people.
You'd never get me away from home if I had that to look at every day.
Then, over the next few years, I read a few books, visited a few wineries and met some of the local grape growers and I went down the slippery slope.