This weekend I kidnapped the TallMan and took him on a little day trip. The TallMan works nearly every day, and he was able to not work Saturday so I was really looking forward to taking him out of the city. We were almost not able to go because the car we were going to take died as my Dad was driving it to the airport before a business trip. There was much frustration, some tears, and a few swear words, but by the end of the day Friday it was all resolved, the car was fixed, I had it in my possession, and the TallMan and I were good to go on our adventure!
Saturday we grabbed some snacks from Whole Foods, goat cheese, a baguett, and some grapes and headed south to a few local vineyards. The vineyards in this part of the world are not very good, but every so often they can have a stellar wine. I particularly like the "champagne" from one of them. I think its better than Moet and Chandon, but not better than Veuve Clicquot. My plan was to take the TallMan to a few vineyards, maybe pet some barnyard animals, see the ocean, and be back to watch TV and do laundry in the evening (is this my idea of the perfect day? no, but its close!).
We started at the vineyard where they sell my favorite champagne, and where they used to have cows. It has a very small tasting area, but they walked us through five wines for $7, and you get to keep the glasses, and we had a lovely time. The TallMan doesn't even like white wines very much, and he liked one he tried so much he bought one! Remarkable. I asked about the cows as we were leaving, because I couldn't see them out the window, and the girl (girl? woman? she was married, probably about my age, whatever) doing the tasting said that they were gone, and made a sad face. I asked if they had been eaten, and she said yes the family had eaten them. I asked if they were any good, she said that they were pretty tasty but it had been weird to eat someone that you'd seen all the time, like a friend.
So we didn't get to pet the cows, because they had been eaten. Am I odd for thinking this is a happy ending? I'm glad the cows had a purpose, other than being there to be petted. I'm sure they ate the clearings from some fields, made a lot of manure, and then fed many people. In my book that is better than keeping an animal who is meant to be eaten, and never eating it.
Humans have spent centuries domesticating animals to do productive things. It would be weird to own goats and not make cheese or eat the goats after a few years. Just like it is not good to own a border collie and not give it anything to herd. Would you own a chicken and not eat its eggs? Would you own a cat and not let it chase mice?
This post has ended in a very different place from where it began. We had a good time this weekend, but two things about our trip made me think: people's reluctance to use animals for their purpose, and teenage pregnancy. (More on the latter in a later post).
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