DAY 8 FINGER LAKES, NY

BEFORE I BEGIN, LET ME APOLOGIZE FOR TONIGHT'S HUGE BLOG. IF YOU BEAR WITH ME AND STICK IT OUT, YOU WILL FIND THAT THIS BLOG WAS WORTH READING.
Today we explored the Finger Lake Wineries. We visited 8 of the 100 wineries in this area. They were all so different. One was a Medieval Castle, one a King's Court Castle and a few other classy vineyards. The most unusual and coolest of them all was 3 Brother's Winery. Each brother has his own individual winery on the property based on their own unique personality. One brother who rides a Harley and has a long, red ponytail owns Rogue's Hollow. Another brother who is very passionate, has five kids and a wife owns Passion Feet Vineyards and Wine Barn. The youngest brother who is the business man of the family and the Art Major, who collects lighthouses and who designed ALL of the wine labels owns Stony Lonesome Estates. All 3 wineries are as different as are the brothers. All 3 brothers, together, own Barley Yards Brewing Co.
Do you ever feel as if God puts you in just the right place at just the right time??? We had a very up-lifting and spiritual experience tonight. (It was right up there with our 2-hour Sunday Mass in Kentucky). It has been raining ALL day. After the last winery at 6pm, we were hungry and ready for dinner. The rain had stopped and there was a beautiful restaurant on the property overlooking Seneca Lake. Carl wanted to eat there tonight. I can't explain it, but, it just didn't seem "right" to me. I said, "Let's just go back to our hotel and eat there again". So we headed back. We were low on gas and had seen a gas station up the road about 1/2 mile. But, when we got there, it was now closed. As we keep driving, we saw a man with 2 little boys walking on the side of the highway. I said to Carl, "That is so crazy and dangerous". About 1/2 mile up the road , we saw a car with flashes on and no one inside. Carl said, "I'll bet that's the car of the man with the 2 boys. We debated on whether to go back and see if he needed help. After praying, "Please God, help us do the right thing and keep up safe", we turned around and went back. I introduced myself and asked him if that was his car broken down. He said he ran out of gas and was walking to the gas station down the road. I told him that station was now closed. He looked very worried and the boys didn't say a word. I asked him if he wanted a ride to a station in the direction we were going in. He accepted. We found out that Bill (from Long Island, NY) was taking his two twin, 6-year-old boys (Theo and William) to Daddy and Me Camp for the weekend when they ran out of gas and he did not have a cell phone. We stopped at the closest gas station which was 2 1/2 miles from his car. He filled a gas can with 2 gallons of gas and we took him back to his car. Immediately after the gas was in his tank and the boys were back in their car, it started to pour again! We followed him back to the same station so he could fill up and then went our separate ways.


The part that gives me goosebumps is that when I went inside the gas station to pay for our gas, I looked down and there on the floor was a penny (heads up) with the words "IN GOD WE TRUST". I so believe in fate and now realize why that beautiful restaurant on Seneca Lake didn't feel "right" to me.


So sorry you had to read this HUGH blog, but I felt it was important to share with you how GOD works in mysterious ways.


Talk to you tomorrow.