Summer in a Bottle

Today was one of those wonderful end of summer days that you just can't waste... there are only going to be a few more like it this year, so you better take advantage of it.

Earlier this year, on a ride in search of an ice cream stand, we ended up at Benigna's Creek Winery just outside Klingerstown, PA. Unfortunately when we got there it was closed. So that sounded like a great destination for today's ride.

The Mahantango Valley in which Rebuck, Klingerstown, Pitman, Leck Kill, etc. are nestled has long seemed to me to be one of the more idyllic areas of Pennsylvania. Years ago when I first ventured into the Mahantango Valley, it was one of those "winter's nearly over" sort of days. Magically, once I climbed over the mountain and began to drop into the protected valley I found that Spring had already arrived there...

The trip to the Winery was great. The low-to-mid 70's temps were perfect for our mesh jackets, the sun was bright and the air clear. The winery itself was nice. A small crowd was already there, tasting and buying wine when we arrived. We got right to it! Some of the wines were excellent, particularly the Patriot Red and the Benigna's Blush which has a wonderful grapefruity flavor typical of wines made with Stueben grapes. They also had a number of really tasty fruit wines. Wine is so special... like summer caught in a bottle.

I should at this point mention that my wife Deb, is a first rate photographer and I let her take over the camera on the way home. Lets just say that a beautiful day in rural Pennsylvania is a target rich environment for her! This beautiful country church is just outside Urban, PA. I'm just not sure why it is called "Urban."

As you can see, Deb is into "artsy" pictures. I'm not even going to try to provide commentary on all of them, so here they are for your enjoyment...




On the way home we went through one of Pennsylvania's many covered bridges. This one is just below Himmel's Church just outside of Rebuck. Some of the roads near this bridge were covered with buggy tracks. There are quite a few Amish in the area.

Although it's forcasted that the temperatures will climb into the mid eighties this week, the nights are decidedly cooler. In a couple weeks the leaves will begin their annual autumn pageant, and then fall before the oncoming winter... Fortunately, we've got some summer, tightly stoppered in brightly labeled bottles of wine.