David Coffaro Vineyard and
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arrow June 4 - June 10, 2017

Sunday June 4, 2017

It is so nice to be home and safe. At 74 years old in the best highway car in the world, I could have gotten in TROUBLE. Elvis Presley song made me a believer in him. I hated Elvis until that song.......I digress

So I would take off on these nice scenic roads and be captivated by the scenery, but many other cars would come up on me and maybe I was paranoid, did they see a Tesla and wanted to intimidate. Seriously we saw only 4 or 5 Tesla's the whole time in Canada. When we saw them, they were so happy to have the best car in the world, that I have driven.............Remember I had 2 Corvette and two Porsche cars  before I was 30. And then I bought 3 BMW 5 series which were better than those cars and then I have purchased two Tesla S cars and they are far better...........I have said enough I guess........but Tesla does not have to put up all those Car adds you see..............I digress

On May 21 we headed up to The Fairmont in Jasper, So after cool weather about 50-52 in Lake Louise and Banff Canadian National Parks we heard the temperature in Jasper was going to be 75 degrees, OK I had to figure out Celsius all the time...........We had a nice time driving up and even saw a lake called Patrica Lake so I will have to ask Brad to put it up soon. Like the other Fairmont in Lake Louise we asked to be checked in at 3 Pm. I heard no comply but I assumed like Lake Louise we could come in around 3...................

Two pictures of Patricia's lake





We arrived about 2:45 after stopping at Patricia Lake and we were told it may take awhile. So we had planned to eat in so maybe we wanted a snack now? Pat was hungry I can always wait for my dinner. I hate having anything to make me full, but of course a cocktail at 3 or so? I was very thirsty because I do not drink any water in the morning if I have to drive. I do not want to stop, we had 155 miles to drive to Jasper with several stops for pictures, some posted last week. So yes I thought I could have a cocktail before 5??? As some of you know I do not taste alcohol before 5, rarely, sometimes with Rick and Tim around Xmas. ............Sorry I digress again

I headed off to a bar in the open lobby, probably several hundred feet all around. I was not happy to see many dogs all over the outside and interior so I assumed it was a dog friendly hotel. Is that why the manager had to inspect our room?  I thought about Gin and Tonic, I still have not had one to this day for 2 years. I was ignored at the bar but we had time so I headed out to the outside patio, remember it was over 70 degrees and we were used to 50.  A nice lady we saw later again asked me what I wanted and I said what I wanted but I had to find my wife. Pat came a few minutes later and we waited several minutes with no help. Maybe I was impatient? Of course Pat and I talked about when we would have a room. After a while we headed up to the check in desk where more new people arrived. The Whole time there, we saw different people so they obviously are not over worked. I try not to talk about negative things but this was not good...........

After an hour, and two attempts at the front desk by Pat and I to be really nice we were finally told at 4:20 our lake view room was ready. I was so happy because I was told it was their best room...................We were told it was near. I asked to have our stuff moved over to our room and the nice lady said sure. Finally a few minutes later we were delayed again. I needed a drink as you know and I had begged a little water...... but I needed a drink!!!!   

We were informed by the still nice lady, she could escort us over there but it was not far. Like an idiot, I said we can make it over there!!~!!!

Well as I said my knee was not in good shape but gosh just around the corner? We went around one building and another and I got hot walking at over 70 degrees for a change and I had driven 160 miles with many stops..........OK, I know you people are young, but watch out when you get older. Finally after a while we found our suite right on a beautiful lake. I walked in and was immediately shocked by the air. There was no air. The room had been closed up before or after the inspection. We were told there was a delay because the manager had to approve the room. We had no idea what that meant. I knew immediately I had to find the AIR,,,,.....I looked and found a heat register and tried to convert to air. After a while we called and found out there was no air conditioning. It had to be close to 80 in the room...................

Then I looked out our window and saw nothing but people walking by. We had no privacy, that was OK for now? Pat walked to the beach and I complained to my self!! I had many complaints, maybe because of the great suite we had in Lake Louise. So By that time I had time to figure out how to get a drink. Before we left the lobby, we had asked where to get some ice. We were told there was no ice we could get by ourselves so a guy had to go to a back room and hand us a bag of ice, another long story, but that is what I had in this hot room, a bag of ice...........I took a sip of my first Tequila and it was fine and then I had a few tastes of water and then I had to take a walk to the Washroom as they call it in Canada. I took a pee and then flushed and nothing happened. Is that why the manager had to inspect? I called and a nice guy came by and fixed it. It still did not work well. I had to take to top off and jiggle the lever each time. We had reservations at a nice interesting restaurant but I was in no mood anymore so we headed off to the outside patio again and saw the nice new girl and she remembered that I needed some potato fries when I was there earlier. We ordered a bottle of nice Pinot Grigio and I was happy for awhile.

I Decided to complain to the manager. We did some business with our new Fairmont card several months ago so we had two free nights at this Jasper Hotel. I was so upset and told the manager we wanted to leave tomorrow morning and give up the next day of free stay. He said OK.

So on May 22 we headed back down the road toward Lake Louise again. This time we turned off heading West. We had a 300 mile trip over to Revelstoke, BC with a charge in Hope, BC. We had planned to stay one night at The Sutton Place Hotel Revelstoke Mountain Resort, but after the disappointment at Jasper we decided to stay two nights. We gained an hour back from Mountain Time but we did delay enough to check in about 3pm again. We were told to head off to this room that should have been the mountain view I had booked and it was small and down low with virtually no view. What was amazing it was even hotter here, 85 degrees outside so the room was very warm again. I fooled around with the thermostat and could not figure out if there was AIR. After many minutes I finally figured out there was air, cool. This time Pat complained of our room and location and we were moved to a much nicer room, a mix up on their part. We were starting to believe, we had to step up, if we wanted something better and what we ordered. This was a condo with kitchen and even had a washer and drier which we used. We ate in one night and had a decent dinner at their restaurant the next night. The extra night was well worth the extra $250 after such a bad experience at the Fairmont Jasper. 

3:00Pm: The next day Wednesday May 24 we headed South to visit two of our customers who live in the Canadian wine country, in Penticton, BC. We had a nice lunch with them and they took us around to a few local wineries. Pat tasted but I am not into tasting wine during the afternoon, especially when I still had to drive to our next place to stay. So at about 2pm we headed South near the Washington border to The Watermark Beach Resort, Osoyoos, BC, about 40 miles, but took well over an hour and a half. I had upgraded to a one bedroom suite with a bottle of sparkling wine and dinner in with a breakfast burrito the next morning. I was told we could charge our Tesla in the upper garage so a young guy showed me where to go. Later that evening I got lost looking for my car. We had to walk through two doorways leading to two staircases. I was helped later by the front desk. When I was showed into the suite by the young guy, I immediately asked if this was a one bedroom suite and he said yes and showed me the bottle of sparkling wine in the frig. There was no separate bedroom.

After the big lunch we decided to order a small pizza in for the evening. We found the order book and called on the phone to find out the options. I still had not had a drink, 6pm. We saw on the form we had to cook the pizza and also the burrito the next morning. I looked around and I saw no oven............!! I headed down to the front desk and asked if we were in the one bedroom suite we had ordered and she said no this was a junior suite. After many minutes we agreed she had messed up. Back a month ago I had changed the date and also upgraded to the one bedroom suite, a bottle of sparkling and the breakfast burrito. She had changed the date and added the extras but did not change our reservation to the one bedroom suite. She also noticed I was charged for the one bedroom suite. She said she would adjust that. I also asked to drop the sparkling wine (Not in the mood) and cancel the burrito and the pizza since we could not cook them. The next morning the sparkling wine was still to be charged, even though the young guy had picked it up the night before. By 6:45 I had my first of two Tequilas. We went down to the restaurant and picked up a paella dish, warm and brought it to the room. That is not the end!!

I had asked the nice young guy to come back the next morning at 8am and help us with the luggage and of course to find my Tesla. At 7:55 I decided to ask about the luggage and found out the nice young guy was not in yet. The nice new lady at the front desk told me they would have someone come up immediately and help us. I decided to try to find my Tesla again with no avail. Again I had to ask for help. I was supposed to head up to the front of the hotel with my Tesla and meet the new person and Pat with our luggage. After waiting 10 minutes, I finally saw Pat coming out with half our luggage. She said no one had showed up and she had also found out about the sparkling wine still being charged. She headed up and came back down with the rest of the luggage and we were thankfully off to The United States at 8:30am....................  

Tuesday June 6, 2017

Wisconsin, Pat is off with her sisters, Janie and Sharon to see Giants baseball games so I will miss her for a week, but I know how to cook..............pizza Yesterday and chicken tonight

So I should talk about bottling in July, later. As you can imagine most of my day is organizing the vineyard and the wine making.................Catarino, and his wife Martha and Salvador have told me the vines have so much growth because we had a lot of rain and we have to thin the crop to control the quality. 

Now on to the last four days of our trip: On May 25 we crossed back in the United States. For some reason it took well over 30 minutes to get through. We have no idea why!! When we got up to the gate we were only asked where we originated from so it took less than a minute after showing our passports. We stayed at a nice place right on the water North of Seattle. It was called The Silver Cloud Inn at Mukilteo. This is where the Ferry crosses to Whidbey Island. When we approached to the hotel at 3pm we saw blocks and blocks of cars lined up to load on to the ferry. There was only one narrow lane to navigate down these several blocks and turn into the hotel. We had a nice room that looked right onto the water. It was unique since there were two French doors that opened to just a railing with the water down three floors up. It was OK though because we could either lean out onto the railing one foot from the French Doors or with the sun shinning in we could put a chair right up to the opening. There was a restaurant right next door so we headed over there at 6:30 and had a wonderful dinner, even though our main course was put down before we had finished our appetizers. We assume the restaurant is used to moving the ferry people in and out quickly? I had Razor Clams and they were some of the best I have had.

Wednesday June 7, 2017

On May 26 we headed down to Springfield, Oregon to stay at a Best Western again. We had a nice dinner once more at The Hop Valley Brewing Company and I even bought 22 bottles of their Alpha Centauri IPA, 9% alcohol. The price for 22 bottles, 24 ounces was $45 net, no sales tax in Oregon. I had a great beef burger cooked to medium rare and onion rings, nice. The beer was filling so only one but of course I had a tequila or two before.

Then on the 27th we headed to Ashland to see a play. It was hot, about 85 degrees and I had to walk several blocks on my weak knee!! The play was a treat being in the first row. Several times my Birkenstocks were barely missed by actors running all over the place. It was amazing to see some of these actors only a few feet away, singing and dancing. The play was Shakespeare In Love, similar to the famous movie. The parking situation at the hotel was a mess again. Free charging but up to the top garage again through a narrow drive way. At first I could not navigate it so we decided to try the back way, one way, so Pat had to guard to make sure no one was entering. The drive way stated, compact cars! Why would they install a Tesla charger there when Tesla Model S are very long and wide cars?

The last night on May 28th may have been the hardest. The charger was easy because it was outside but I had booked another Bed and Breakfast hotel, their best room. I was obviously not thinking when I booked it a few months ago. This was in the town of Eureka, 200 miles North of us. I checked in across the street and found out the flat, 2 bedrooms and a large bath and hallway was up three steep flights of stairs. I am too old for this!! We had to carry up our several bags. My legs hurt for several days after walking up and down four or 5 times.

That is it, we were home by noon on May 29. Overall a trip I will never forget, what a trip in more ways than not. We really enjoyed most of it........the obstacles, food, driving and scenery made it interesting for sure.............

Now back to more wine. I have purchased a bunch of high end chardonnays from Sonoma, Napa and France, all well over $50 a bottle. I am planning to make two white wines this year, probably the same blend but one will be fermented in stainless only and one will be aged in a nice oak barrel. Most of the wines I will try will be compared to Ramey chardonnay, by far my favorite white now.

Late at night, could get in trouble with Pat.........

Thursday June 8, 2017

It rained today rare in June, but only 0.16 inches. We are ready for an interesting growing season as usual. but there will be no rain for at least over three months. That is how we have great weather to grow the best grapes...........

8:00 Pm: As you know I have taken many chances in my life, if interested look back in this diary which started in 1998. I was a better writer then, because Pat wanted to make it right? She was good so take a look back then..........SO:

This is a notice to my wife, even though she will not see this. She does not read my diary because she usually hears it from me before uploaded. So this is brave: though She is in Wisconsin,

I have MOSTLY decided to order another Tesla Model S, not because I don't love the one I have but I have a lot of stock in this company so this is research, laugh all you want but the only reason I purchased TSLA, Tesla stock is I believed in the Model S, two I have purchased so far............If Pat saw this she would be upset so I must wait to tell her when she comes home on Monday so you are the first to hear...........even not my daughters.......I will listen, but

So I will document my mistakes purchasing TSLA. At one time I had 1150 shares at 195, that would be worth $425,000 today. Trump was elected and the next day I sold all my stocks, including Amazon and Google. I had big profits but not in Tesla. I only took a $5000 Profit. I did make $10000 in old trades.........so the day after and a few days later the stock went down to 183, so I said, I still believe in Tesla, my second Model S at that time. I bought back 750 shares because I believed in my two Model S. I have sold 250 shares now at a profit of many dollars, but if I sold my last 500 shares, then combined I would have a profit of $130,000 SSSSSOOOOOOO I deserve another Tesla?, state of the art.............They are offering me $70,000 for a trade so I can cover the difference easy with my profits. Do I wish I had all 1150 shares now, sure but as a long time trader, you only make profits when you sell. I love my Model S............... 

So Pat likes Pearl White with metallic showing so I think she will have little complaints.........maybe Kate or Susie will pay me for my car?

I know I am trouble. I may change my mind................

Friday June 9, 2017

8:30AM: I have slept on it. So do I need another Tesla?, no. Should I get one?, maybe not? TSLA the stock is up another 7 points to 377. Should I sell my last 500? If I thought the Market was heading down soon, I would say yes, but I have been wrong so far this year since I have sold most of my stocks I had before the election. Sure I have locked in a lot of profits so I could purchase another Tesla Model S, 100D. The difference in my Model S 90D and a 100D is different for a few reasons. The 100D is still 0 to 60 in about 4 seconds which is all I need, I am too old to think about having a faster car. The 100D does have a new closed, smooth front which is interesting because it shows no vents, of course because there is no engine to cool down. The 100D will go another 40 miles on a charge. That probably is not important now because my 90D will still go over 240 miles at 80 miles an hour, far longer than I need. I like to stop and take a break every few hours. If this 100D is the last car I will own the extended range would be nice to have when the batteries start to age. The 100D has the first HEPA air filter system which filters out all bacteria and allergies from entering the cabin. Most of all the 100D will be capable of full self-driving. It has

4 cameras, vs one in my 90D and 12 ultrasonic sonar sensors. In the next year or so all you will have to do is get in the car and tell it where to go. I could go on but the bottom line is it is state of the art.

Dave

For any comments or questions I encourage any of you to e-mail.....david@coffaro.com
 

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