Unexpected connections this week have transformed ordinary days —serendipitously— into enjoyable ones. This week we enjoyed several serendipitous encounters.
While camping between Peoria and Bloomington, Illinois, we visited local places of interest listed on Roadtrippers.com. We drove Grandview Drive in Peoria; a short drive with a few scenic overlooks of the river and several grand houses. We also took a trip down memory lane at a small Ronald Reagan museum on the campus of Eureka College.
Serendipitously, on our trip to Grandview and Eureka we passed signs to Tres Rojas Winery. This winery is a few miles north of I-74 among the corn and soybean fields. Not the usual place for quality wine. We followed Google down increasingly smaller roads to their gravel driveway. This driveway did not look particularly promising as it disappeared through a small stand of trees. Having come this far, I persisted. Then we saw a small vineyard and continued to a new tasting room and winery. The friendly staff offered us a list of their wines. We opted to taste five of those wines. While I sought out full body red wines, Lori sought sweet wines, mostly white wines. We hoped to find one we could agree upon despite our preferences. We each offered the other a sip of a wine that we though might fit the narrow range that we both liked.
Serendipitously, while we sipped our wines, Bob Barry, the owner and vintner, happened to have a few minutes after starting a new batch of wine to chat with us about the history of Tres Rojas and wine making. He told about one year when a late frost killed off the first shoots. Second shoots that year provided a meager harvest from each of five types of grapes; none of which was large enough by itself for a batch. Thus he opted for a “field blend” and tossed all five types of grapes together for one fermentation. He entered that batch of wine at the state fair and won! Serendipitously, that blend was the one that Lori and I both like.
Serendipitously, as we returned to our trailer from the winery we passed the largest pumpkin patch we had ever seen.
When we tow our trailer from one campground to the next I consider multiple routing apps and options to minimize our miles, avoid low underpasses, heavy traffic, and stiff winds. I had selected a route that paralleled I-74 and would save us a few miles. Unfortunately our mapping function refused to find that route as we got underway. I hoped that Google would find it as we proceeded along what I remembered of that route. Serendipitously, eventually it found an even shorter route that avoided even more interstate and passed several beautiful farms that we would not have seen from I-74 or I-55.
To offset the stressors and activity of breaking down one site, towing, and setting up a new site, we typically spend the first evening at a campground doing little more than a brief walk around admiring other recreational vehicles. Serendipitously, as we finished our evening walk another couple passed by our site saying “Hi.” We invited them to sit with us and we had a most enjoyable conversation. They had also arrived that afternoon, but would be leaving the next morning. Our chance encounter was pure serendipity.
What serendipitous encounters have you enjoyed? Please answer below.