Long and Wine-dy Road

I've learned a lot on these trips. For instance, on my trip to the Verde Valley wineries I learned about Kinetosis. It's a medical condition that many people suffer with it. Apparently, I'm one of them. Luckily, it's not serious. However, it's not curable either, but it can be prevented if you sit in the front seat of a moving vehicle. What is Kinetosis? Motion Sickness.

Sure, I know enough to stay off the Tea Cup ride at Disneyland, but a one hour ride in a luxury motor coach up Interstate 17 from Phoenix to the Verde Valley wineries should be a pleasant trip. Right? Wrong. I'll spare you the gory details, since I'm pretty sure you know where this is story is headed, except to say that by the time I arrived at the first stop, Oak Creek Vineyards Winery, the last thing I wanted in my stomach was wine.

Yet I am a trooper, so after regaining my composure I went into the tasting room to sample the wine. Oak Creek Vineyards Winery is located across from Oak Creek and has nearly 10 acres of grapes growing nearby. It's tasting room, aside from wine, offers a fine selection of gifts for the wine enthusiast, as well as items made by local artists. A whimsical print of a wide-eyed cat by Jacquie Shane, entitled "Cornelius and the Psychedelic Eclipse," caught my eye. He looked like I felt after the ride. I did manage to taste four wines. My pick: 2007, Syrah.

Luckily for me it was a short drive to the next winery, in fact it was across the street, Page Springs Cellars & Vineyards. This may be the most beautiful vineyard in the state. It's tasting room looks out over a field of grapes growing alongside Oak Creek. By the fall, the grapes are long gone and brittle, brown leaves adorn the plants.

The tasting was on a scenic picnic patio above Oak Creek and included a gourmet lunch buffet from Bertha's Cafe, one of my favorite lunch spots in Phoenix. Our hosts, Colleen and Greg from Arizona Grape Escapes, set out a full array of meats, cheeses, crusty french bread and accompaniments to pair with the wine. We enjoyed full bottles of Page Springs' white, rose and red wines. My pick: 2009 Vino de La Familia Blanca.

From the vineyards we traveled to the tasting rooms in the town of Cottonwood. The first stop was at Arizona Stronghold, which is co-owned by Maynard Keenan, the lead singer of the rock band Tool. Arizona Stronghold, unlike the previous two vineyards, grows its grapes in Southeastern Arizona, an area with rich farmland and a rich history. Cochise, the famous Apache Indian chief, led raids against Mexican and American settlements and military posts in the area until his surrender in 1872. Cochise was buried, not far from the vineyard, in the Dragoon Mountains, now called Cochise Stronghold. The exact location of his grave is unknown. Yet, Arizona Stronghold keeps his spirit alive, naming their wines after many of Cochise's family members and warriors. The tasting included five varietals. My pick: 2009 Tazi, a white wine named after Cochise's eldest son.

Across the street from Arizona Stronghold is the tasting room for Pillsbury Wine Company, which also grows its grapes in Southeastern Arizona. Led by Sam Pillsbury, a noted film director and former co-owner of Dos Cabezas winery, these wines are distinctly fragrant and full of flavor, and not surprising, the critics love them. In fact Wine Spectator calls Pillsbury's wines one of the "Rising Stars of the Southwest." After tasting five wines, I have to agree. My pick: 2009 Wild ChildRed.

After a long day of wine tasting, we boarded Arizona Grape Escapes' Winobago, for the drive back to Phoenix. Perhaps I was relaxed by the wine, but I enjoyed the return trip much better and suffered none my earlier ailments. If you're thinking about a trip to the Verde Valley wineries, this is the way to go -- just be sure to sit in the front of the bus.

Ghost Busters

I stopped believing in ghosts after my mother died. Surely if they did exist, she would have come back from the grave and chased my father's new wife out of her house. Come to think of it, dad and Terry did move about a year after their wedding. I'm sure that was just a coincidence.





Well it's no coincidence that I'm in Jerome -- The Largest Ghost Town in America -- a week before Halloween. Perched precariously on top of Cleopatra Hill, Jerome was once a bustling copper mining town in Central Arizona, filled with a cast of characters straight from an old Western movie. Founded in 1876, a rough and rugged time in Arizona history, Jerome earned a reputation as the Wickedest Town in the West and quickly grew in population. It was once the fourth largest city in the Arizona Territory and by the 1920s had peaked in population at 15,000. However, four disastrous fires, the Depression of the 1930s and the fall of copper prices spelled the end for the boom town. Yet a few hardy souls -- both living and dead -- still remain to promote Jerome as a historic ghost town.

I arrived in Jerome with my friend Tory, looking to scare up some fun. After making our way through the windy streets to our hotel, we set off on our ghost hunt -- first stop, the Jerome Grand Hotel and its award-winning Asylum Restaurant.

The Jerome Grand Hotel could be a setting in a Stephen King novel. Sitting high on a hill looking down on Jerome, the stately Spanish Mission-style building was built in the 1920 as a hospital and asylum. A number of ghosts are said to haunt its floors, including the former caretaker who died mysteriously at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Lights flicker. Objects move. Strange and unpleasant smells fill the rooms. It can be an eerie place.

But not on this night. The only ghosts and ghouls that Tory and I encountered at the Jerome Grand were the hotel and restaurant staff, who were dressed in spooky costumes. In fact, the entire hotel is decked out for Halloween throughout the month of October. If you are brave enough to stay the night, reserve your room early and stop by the Asylum for a late night bite.

Our next stop was dinner at the Haunted Hamburger, where there's nothing scary about the food. It's burgers are juicy and come with a host of toppings --cheese, sauteed mushrooms, bacon, etc. -- on a toasted bun. Instead of a side of french fries, you can substitute a twiced baked potato, something won't find on the menu at Micky D's or other greasy-spoon restaurants. At the self-serve condiment bar you can pile on as many pickles, tomatoes and fresh veggies as you like, along with wide variety of sauces. If burgers aren't on your diet, the Haunted Hamburger has other menu items too, and a full-service bar with an array of cold beverages. But you should save room for dessert. Cakes, pies and other sweet treats are displayed prominently in a refrigerated glass case at the front door.

But what about the ghosts? Surely a place named the Haunted Hamburger must have a specter or two. According to our waitress it does, a small boy and a woman who are occasionally seen in the second floor kitchen. Loud sounds, like a mop bucket rolling across the floor, are also heard in the kitchen when no one is there. But not on this night --no spooky sights or scary sounds, other than a rumbling in our tummies.

The Spirit Room sits below The Connor Inn, where guests report sounds of women's voices laughing, someone coughing and objects moving when no one's around. But it doesn't seem that the ghostly guests ever make it downstairs for a nightcap, at least according to the bartender, who's never experienced so much as a bump in the night. However, Tory and I did come across something scary while sitting at the bar, a man dress as jolly old St. Nick -- in mid-October. If you've ever seen Billy Bob Thornton in the movie Bad Santa you'll know what I mean.

Paul & Jerry's Saloon is just a few doors down from the Spirit Room, and our last stop of the night. Dimly lit with cafe tables and a long wooden bar, it looks like an old fashioned ice cream parlor straight from a Tim Burton Halloween tale. But no one goes to Paul & Jerry's expecting a hot fudge sundae, what you'll find are pool tables, whiskey and beer.

The bartender, who had been working there for several years, told us that the only spirits we would find at Paul & Jerry's are behind the bar, which was true. But he did tell us about a waitress who refused to close the bar late at night, reporting spooky sounds when she was the only soul in the building, or so she thought.

Our last hope of spotting a spirit was at the Mile High Grill and Inn where we spent the night. The building, once a bordello, is said to be haunted by Jennie Banters, the madame, two male ghosts and Jennie's cat. With my propensity to attract felines, I was sure that I would find a phantom pussycat curled up on my pillow, but I did not. The scaredy cat, and the other spirits, never made an appearance.

Although Tory and I struck-out on our ghost hunt, we met some spirited souls in Jerome. By day you'll meet artists, musicians, bikers, inn keepers, waiters and every kind of merchant imaginable. But if you are brave enough to stay the night, you just might encounter a soul of another kind.