Bibbling With Darla - Part 2

November 25-26, 2019

Hi Blog!

On Monday, November 25, 2019, we continued our adventures with Darla. Our first stop was Old Town Temecula. The City of Temecula is a tourist and resort destination filled with all the cute shops you would expect to find. We came in search of fresh roasted coffee, craft cheese and balsamic vinegar. However, the coffee was too dark and the cheese shop was closed on Mondays. We did, however, come home with some nice vinegar.

While in town, we walked among the historic buildings.The historic jail was not built as a jail. It was a storehouse for the Welty Hotel. It is thought to have been used occassionally as a temporary holding cell for drunken patrons, hence the reference to a jail.

After a quick spin around Old Town, we headed out Rancho California Road toward Miramonte Winery. Located in the heart of the Temecula Valley, Miramonte was founded in 2000 and has emerged as one the most forward thinking boutique wineries in Southern California. We were eager to give their wines a try.

Dave and Kathy went with a red tasting, while Darla opted for white. At $17.00 for six tastes and generous pours, we felt we got our money's worth. All of the wines we tasted were well made. D&K took home the Cabernet, Touriga Nacional and Tempranillo, while Darla went with the Albarino.

After the tasting, we walked over to their Flower Hill Bistro where we enjoyed tasty flatbreads with a glass of our favorite wine of the tasting.

Our next stop was Doffo Winery, the 2018 Winery of the Year in Temecula Valley. The story of Marcelo Doffo, an Italian immigrant from Argentina is compelling. Before starting his vineyard, Marcelo and his brother, Jorge, owned an auto body shop where he learned to restore motorcycles. The Winery boasts a collection of over 200 vintage bikes. As for the wine tasting, we felt the $25.00 tasting fee was overpriced, the pours were skimpy and the wine just ordinary. As you can see from the photo below, they do draw a crowd, but it's mostly for the motorcycles. Kathy ended up with a bottle of port.

Serendipity: the occurrence and development of events 

by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

So, what are the odds that our friend Kim who lives in the UK would suddenly be called to a meeting in Corona, California, just five minutes down the road from Darla on Kathy's birthday! We agreed to meet with Kim at the Toasted Barrel right next to her hotel. Kim was able to join us in time for birthday creme bruele. Before long, it was time to wish Kim safe travels, as she had to fly back early the next day.

In keeping with the whole serendipity theme, the Galaxy Quest Documentary was in theaters one day only - November 26th. Darla arranged for tickets in advance. After a yummy dinner at Yards Brewery, we walked over to the movie theater.

For the few of you who have not seen Galaxy Quest, it is a parody of science-fiction films and series, especially Star Trek and its fandom. The film stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mitchell. The film depicts the cast of a defunct cult television series called Galaxy Quest who are suddenly visited by actual aliens who believe the series to be an accurate documentary, and the actors become involved in a very real intergalactic conflict.

Galaxy Quest went on to achieve cult status through the years, especially from Star Trek fans for its affectionate parody, but also to more mainstream audiences as a comedy film in its own right. Several former cast and crew members of Star Trek also went on to praise the film. It was included in Reader's Digest's list of The Top 100+ Funniest Movies of All Time in 2012, while Star Trek fans voted it the seventh best Star Trek film of all time in 2013.

“Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary” explored how the science-fiction comedy became an enduring fan favorite, a movie that helped launch the sci-fi- and fantasy-driven movie and TV industry that dominates global entertainment today. By all accounts, it was a movie that beat all odds: Surviving a set fire, the loss of a powerful director, and a studio that didn’t understand what it had, “Galaxy Quest” turned into a pop-culture phenomenon that would “never give up, never surrender.” The cult classic which premiered on December 25, 1999 nears its 20th anniversary.

The documentary was a funny as the original movie. All of the cast returned for interviews. The death of Alan Rickman hit them all really hard. The all had funny stories to share. Event the Galaxy Quest fans were involved in the project. We are now looking forward to going back and watching Galaxy Quest all over again.

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Until next time, Never Give Up, Never Surrender!