Wine Trip

Today we went on a nice trip to five wineries. We went to Roblar, Sanford, Santa Barbara, Bridlewood, and LaFond. It was a beautiful California day and we had a great time. For our friends in Tennessee this is one of the  reasons why we are in California in the winter. It’s hard to beat California weather. After the wineries we went to my son’s restaurant, Cafe Fiore, in Ventura and had a wonderful dinner. An excellent day from beginning to end, and life continues to be good!

Lura at Santa Barbara Winery

On the way to the wineries

Cachuma Lake

Roblar Winery

Lura at Roblar winery

Lura getting cozy at Roblar

Vineyard at Roblar

Lura at Roblar

Bridlewood Winery

Self portrait at Bridlewood

Bridlewood winery

Bridlewood winery

Bridlewood

Entryway into Bridlewood

Solvang

Lafond vineyard

Sanford vineyard

Sunset in the Pacific

Lura in front of Cafe Fiore

Lura and Ken (Executive Chief) in Cafe Fiore

Visit to Ronald Reagan Library

We went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum today. It was absolutely beautiful after the week long rain that we had. The mountains had snow on them. It was so clear that you could see the ocean from the Library. It goes without saying Lura was in the gift shop buying things. Here are some pictures.

Where else but Southern California can you see snow and roses in the same picture?

Picture taken from the Reagan Library

President Ronald Reagan Library

Lura in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall at the Reagan Library

It was so clear that you can see the ocean in the distance (about 30 miles away)

Our house is located at the base of the mountain in the distance (Boney Mountain)

Lura enjoying the view!

More of the Max and family

Everyone is doing fine and keeping busy. Lura and I went to Wes’s to spend the night yesterday and help out Wes and Margaret. We celebrated my 64th birthday while we were there.

My birthday party

I thought this was cute. I placed my hat on my Walker shirt and it looks so real

My fishing buddy

Proud Mom and Dad

Brothers

Caught!

Max has more hair than I do

Walker's pirate treasure cave

More Max

The bassinet in these pictures is sixty-four years old. It was the one that my Mother and Father bought for me when I was born in 1946. All our family since have been in this bassinet. It’s one of the Biffar family traditions. Here are some more pictures of Max.

Jim holding Max in the hospital

Max getting ready to go home

Lura holding Max at home

Max is ready to go home

Margaret and Walker at home

Walker and Max at home

Walker with Max in the 64 year old bassinet

Max looks very small in there

Walker feeding his little bother

He's not heavy, he's my bother!

Grandma and the Max

Max

Max is home now and everyone is well. Here are a few pictures when Max was in the hospital.

Jim and Ken holding Max

Wes holding Max

Mom keeping an eagle eye on Max

A proud Grandma holding the Max

Walker getting a free ride on Grandpa

Neighbors

Here are some pictures of our soon to be neighbors, Bruce and Randa Middleton’s house in Tennessee. The Middleton’s are from Maryland. They will be moving into their new home sometime this summer. Their house is just across the street from our friend Paula’s house and about seven lots up the street from our home. Neil Crass, who’s the contractor that built our house is building the Middleton’s house. It looks like he is doing another excellent job.

The Middleton's house

Proud Grandpa

For the second time, I am a proud grandpa. Wes and Margaret had a son they named Maxwell Harrison Biffar. He decided to come into this world a couple weeks early. He weighed in at 6 pounds-8 ounces and was 19 inches long. He’s a cute little guy. Now I have another little buddy to play with. Max, Walker, and me will have a lot of fun together.

Welcome to the world Max

Max's first bath

He's a little guy!

This picture shows how small Max is compared to Wes's hand

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a very nice Christmas and a Happy New Year! Lura and I went to Wes’s home for New Year’s Eve and stayed up to usher in the new year . On the first of the year I went hiking with Wes and Walker in an area close to their home. We had a lot of fun.

Guess who's Santa

It was fun! The kids had a great time

Max is due on my B-day. January the 19th

On the hike

Walker getting a free ride

Merry Christmas

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We had a very eventful Christmas this year! It started out with my little sister (Linda) falling down a step in my house and breaking her knee cap! She spent most of Christmas Eve in the hospital. Then on Christmas day we took her back to the hospital to have surgery on her knee. It was split in two and had to be pinned. This is one Christmas that none of us will ever forget. Besides that little event, we had a great Christmas. Everyone had a very nice time and there was plenty of food and presents for all. I hope everyone has a Very Happy New Year!

This is what it's all about!

Cousins

What recession?

Jim enjoying the day

Wes kicking back

Chad, Carol, and Mar

Another beautiful Christmas in California (70 degrees)

Before

After

Linda, thanks for the memories

Friends

While we were in Tennessee this last fall we made several friendships. The people there truly show the southern hospitality that they are well-known for. Two people who I am happy to say are our friends are Jim and Linda Heiskell. We took a liking to them the first time we met them. They were very helpful and made us feel welcome to the area. The first week we were there they helped me move into our home and had us over for drinks and dinner. They have a wonderful home on Watts Bar Lake. They have taken us out on their party boat and gave us a tour of the lake. Jim and Linda are native Tennesseans and they know the area very well, so they are a very good source of information to us. They have taken us on some very interesting trips around the area. One of those trips was to Muddy Pond, Tennessee. The area is a Mennonite  community that makes sorghum and handcrafted items. It was very interesting to find out how they make the sorghum. They make it the old fashion way with horses to process the cane. Another very nice couple that we have become friends with is Morris and Phillis Craft. They moved into their home a little after we moved into our home. We have a lot in common and they are fun to be with. Lura and I are getting eager to return to Tennessee and see our new friends. We feel very blessed to have so many good friends both in California and Tennessee. Life is Good!

Horse drawn sorghum press

Boiling down the sorghum

Very hot in this place

Lura and Linda at the sorghum place

Jim giving us a tour of the lake

Linda

Lura having a good time with Jim and Linda