After arriving at Blue Sky Vineyard, which is buried deep in the back country, we walked in to see where to park and we were told we could park either out front at the far end of the parking lot OR we could park in a more secluded place out back behind the event center. So, what did we decide, yep, you guessed it, out back for the seclusion. The winery was nice and they served food there are well which we found to be out of the norm for wineries. So that evening we took the kids up to the winery and did a wine tasting as well as ordered 3 pizzas with a couple glasses of wine while we sat down to enjoy our dinner. After dinner we ordered a chocolate cake that everyone could share because it was literally half a cake!
The food here was outstanding and probably some of the best pizza we have had in a while. That evening Melissa and I were going to go to the event center and enjoy a glass of wine while listening to their waterfall there on the lake but the generator decided to go on the fritz. Luckily Sean was nice enough to let us go ahead and go while he fixed the generator. When we came back he was just putting it back together so him and I stayed outside in the dark to finish putting the case back on. When the time of testing came, the generator worked like a champ and still does today! So glad to have a kid traveling with us that is so mechanically inclined.
The next morning around 10am we were greeted outside by someone blowing their car horn. They did this 2 different times so I decided to go out and see what they wanted. Turns out it was the owner of the winery and he was disabled so getting out and walking over was not an option for him. I talked with him for a few minutes and he asked when we were leaving and I said today. He asked why today, and I said, well because Harvest Hosts only let you stay one night and then move on.
He said, we'll you guys are welcome to stay another night if you want to. We decided to take him up on that offer and stayed one more night instead of heading to the next boondocking location and I am glad we did. Later on that evening there were some bad storms approaching and we were under a tornado warning until 11pm. At 10pm we decided to head into the truck and move to the other end of the lot were we could watch the sky and not be in the RV since the weather radio was saying there was hail and other bad winds heading our way. Luckily our weather angels protected us again and the storm moving through split around us. All was calm that night at our location however, that evening the same bad storms rolled through what was to be our new spot and they actually had tornadoes hit the ground there with extensive damage. We are surely protected by God but we never put it to the test!
The owner also mentioned to us that they owned a small little park called Castle Park, just down the street, that the kids would love. The park was full of statues of mid-evil era origin including things like castles with hidden passages, knight statues, dragons and more! The kids had a blast and we had fun watching and exploring the park with them.
If you are ever passing through Makanda, IL and want to stop at a stellar winery then Blue Sky Vineyards is the place to visit.