And Buddy Guy starts the show....

and man what a show it was... This man is 74 years old and still runs the stage like a young man and can play the heck out of a guitar!! The late great Muddy Waters was his mentor but it took him years to get the recognition he deserves as one of the greatest Chicago blues players ever. If you ever get a chance to see this trio I would definitely recommend it...AWESOME is all I can say... And if your into blues I would recommend downloading his new CD Skin Deep.

Let's Stay Together.....and next up Al Green

Buddy Guy was definitely a hard act to follow but Al Green brought his A game to the stage! His voice was as silky smooth as ever and man did he put on a show. The stage was filled with all his band members and backup dancers. And he still had all the young girls screaming!! It's great to see the younger generation getting hooked on blues music to keep it alive. And yours truly was right up in the middle of them and yes I caught 3 roses!!! Watch out Gigi is not ready to pick up her rocking chair and go home:-)

And here is the King....and the thrill is NOT gone!!

The show ended with the great B.B. King playing....It was a wonderful show. He said he had toured ninety countries.. Can you imagine the toll that has on an eighty-four year old man. He may not be able to run the stage like his younger counterparts but he can still play Lucille better than any blues player out there!!! Great performance.

Saturday night back in Lodi....

Went back to one of the wineries we visited last week for a live blues concert. It was a local blues band which wasn't half bad...It was held at Harnery Winery. They provided food and music and free wine tasting of course. We had a blast...not very many pictures though...mostly sat out under the trees and enjoyed the music as well as the food and spirits..

Stuck in Lodi again.......CCR

Lodi California??? Wine country...really? That's what I thought, but after doing a little research Joann and I decided it was worth the trip up the road to check it out. Lodi is about 40 minutes north of Modesto. Here's a little history of the area, a very abbreviated version. In 1852 a Massachusetts man by the name of George West established the first major vineyard in the region. In 1858 he built the El Pinal winery and became the regions first commercial vintner. I couldn't find anymore history about this vineyard and when I asked the locals they had no idea. Maybe he went out of business during the Prohibition as did many of the farmers tore their grape vines out of the ground prematurely. Those that didn't shipped their grapes across the country for "eating" instead of wine making.

Excuse me can you direct me to the restroom?

Really???

Jessie's Grove Winery

This is the first and oldest winery we visited today. Jessie's grove is nestled between the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Lodi. The ranch was established by Jessie's father Joseph Spenker in 1868. The tasting room is housed in an 1870's building whose exterior was carefully preserved. The barn was built in 1870 in the 200 year old oak grove.