HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD

Robin and I drove to Lucas and Lewellen, the wine tasting room in Solvang, California, and there were STILL tons of ORANGE FLOWERS EVERYWHERE!!! We walked around the town for awhile then went to the bar at Lucas and Lewellen.

The bartender said... "Wine tasting?" We said..."Yes". Then she put two glasses in front of us and they WERE NOT Lucas and Lewellen glasses. I said.. "We want Lucas and Lewellen glasses." She said..."I'm sorry, we are all out." Then she walked away to get the wine. Poor Robin, I could see the disappointment in his eyes. So she came back with the wine bottles and lifted one to pour. I said... "I'm sorry, but we need LUCAS AND LEWELLEN wine glasses. You see our son is named Luke, he died, and we HAVE TO HAVE the Lucas glasses." She said.... "Well, I'm sure we are all out but I will look in the back." Then she lifted the wine bottle to pour.. and I said..."Could you check now, because if we don't have Lucas and Lewellen glasses, we don't want to taste." She said..."Well, I will just pour in these glasses and then I will check in the back." Robin said..."We want to drink out of LUCAS glasses." So she went to the back and guess what......She found the LUCAS glasses.

So she started pouring our tastes. We put Luke's photo out on the counter. Robin was really depressed and after a few tastes, he started crying. We hugged and I said..."Do you feel Luke here?" He said..."NO, do you?" I said..."No, I'm sorry, but I don't." Well, I guess that got Luke's attention because as we were toasting I noticed a bottle of wine on the counter, right next to me, with a ribbon on it. The RIBBON said... "The ORANGE show award." (Luke's favorite color and he was born on Halloween) I said "That is Luke saying hello with the ORANGE." Then we tasted more and more, and toasted Luke.... and I began to get TOASTED once again. Robin thought it was all pretty funny.

Then I ask the bartender about the "cheap" wine on the list and if we could buy some of it. She told us that was at the MANDOLINO tasting room.... and all we had to do is take our glasses down there and we could taste there for free. Well, I wasn't paying attention to what she said (I was toasted) so Robin mentioned it to me later. I couldn't believe it... MORE WINE TASTING FOR FREE!!! I said..."Robin, Luke set you up good!!!" Luke ALWAYS loved a bargain.

We finished up at LUCAS AND LEWELLEN, and then went outside to sit on the bench. Then we went down to MANDOLINO, which is a branch of LUCAS AND LEWELLEN. We started tasting wine and they gave us extra tastes, just as they did in Lucas and Lewellen. So I was even more TOASTED. Robin thought it was all so funny and I'm sure Luke did too!!! I told him... "Luke is here now, I feel it." Robin said..."You do?" Then the bartender came over and said ..."This is the last wine, It is made from ORANGE MUSCATE (a type of grape). I just could not believe it. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF AN ORANGE GRAPE!!! So I said..."Robin, Luke is RIGHT HERE!!!" So we toasted LUKE once more.

After that we walked around the little town and looked in the shops as I BEGGED Robin to go to the LION'S PEAK so we could taste some DANNY WINE. Robin said..."YOU have had enough wine." I said..."Danny is going to be mad at you." Robin said... "He will understand, and is probably laughing at you with Luke."

Then when we left we rode by the LUCAS FAMILY RANCH, and vineyards and took photos. We stopped at the ORANGE flower fields to take photos. Then I talked Robin's ears off all the way home. He was perfectly okay to drive, but "Mom gets high on a glass of iced tea"....lol

We never know what to expect from Luke, and since we had gone to the same place for my birthday just a few weeks ago, I guess Luke had to come up with something different... and he did.... EVERYTHING ORANGE!!!! WE LOVE YOU LUKE, and thanks for being there, ORANGE AND ALL!!!!