Monday, February 20, 2012

Who Would Have Thunk?






About to hop in the shower and finish packing before lugging my...baggage, to the car and heading out to LAX for my flight to Santa Rosa. There I will be met by one of the most amazingly talented and remarkably supportive people I've ever met, someone that I met through this blog and now simply cannot imagine my life without. Unreal....

He will then drive me to Napa where after tasting some wines I will be checking in at the breathtakingly beautiful Meadowood resort, change and get ready for a dinner with two other astoundingly brilliant writers that encourage me to keep pushing myself, both through their own talent and through their, "Keep doing what you're doing" words of support. One I was lucky enough to spend some time in Italy with last year and one I will be meeting face to face for the first time tonight. Unreal....

Tuesday morning the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers begins and I'm there. I was invited and awarded a spot to taste, learn, be coached and stand amongst people that make a living doing what hundreds upon hundreds of bloggers can only dream about, write about wine. And I'm there....me. Unreal...



I keep thinking about those long summer days as a kid, standing on my porch in my shorts and dirty bare feet, taking big breaths with my eyes closed, holding a dripping wand of soapy bubbles to my lips, dreaming of all the things I wanted when I was old enough to take charge of my life, pursing my lips and with short little breaths whispering those dreams onto the wand. Watching the bubbles form, full of hope, desire and longing before they floated off down the street further than I was allowed to go. Can't remember everything that I wished for then, I know I ached to be loved, wanted more friends and hoped to one day be good at something. Looks like a few of those bubbles drifted far beyond my block and when I step off that plane this morning, see Ron Washam, (that would be The HoseMaster of Wine to some of you) walk into the Meadowood and say, "Hi, I'm here for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers", hug Alfonso Cevola and get to shake hands with Eric Asimov tonight before dinner, I'll know....those bubbles went further than I could have ever dreamed. 

Unreal.....   

7 comments:

Marcia Macomber said...

Go, Girl!

(Sorry it's kinda cold and icky today. Oh, yeah. It's technically still winter!)

Have fun.

Michele | Cooking At Home said...

Good for you,Sam!

webb said...

You want wonderful bubbles! Thank goodness you share them with us. Have a wonderful time, but tell us all about it.

Samantha Dugan said...

Thanks ladies! Just imagine how ironic it was to walk into my gorgeous room and find a bottle of bubbles, (the drinking kind) awaiting me. I think this is going to be a wonderful trip.

Sara Louise said...

Awesome! You're awesome Sam! Enjoy every second and every bubble :)

Val said...

So so excited for you! Enjoy every drop of it - like I have to tell you that. xo

The Woo said...

OK... MOST important question... Did you try the english muffins? Do tell...

And seriously... you more than deserve to be there. You have the chops. No doubt about it. I knew you when! :)