Idaho: Lakes and Lattes

August 29, 2013 champagne&backpacks Leave a comment

August 27, 2013 (Tuesday, cont’d) – Our departure from dry, grain-filled eastern Washington and arrival in pine-forest covered Idaho was noticeable almost immediately. The road past Heyburn State Park (probably a fine place to camp) is scenic with lake views. We refueled in St. Maries and turned north up to Harrison, the closest town to our campsite and home to a general store, coffee shop, bike/paddle rentals etc. Less than a mile beyond, we saw a moose on a little island in the lake, and an osprey perched on a tree branch by the roadside. What a perfect welcome to summer camp on Lake Coeur d’Alene (CDA)!

Moose on a little island

Osprey, a/k/a the sea hawk

The access road for Bell Bay Campground in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest is three miles long and mostly unpaved, meaning it takes Sven 10-15 minutes just to get to/from Route 97. The reward is well worth it. We arrived a little after 3 pm. Our reserved site #4 was fine but on the inland side of a small loop (itself the lower loop of the campground), and the manager let us switch to the much more desirable site #8 as the campground is half-empty. Site #8 sits directly above Lake CDA facing south/west with gorgeous views and sunsets. It is not so private with the neighboring site occupied (though that only lasted one of our two nights), but this campground is more remote and scenic than our prior stops. My only serious gripe is the incessant buzzing of bees, though thankfully this subsides in the evening. We set up and walked down a short path to the swimming dock for a little exercise and a dip in the cool but refreshing lake.

View from our campsite

Swimming dock

Swimming dock to the side

There was no one else around, and a little rest in the afternoon sun on the dock may have been the most relaxing hour of the trip thus far. As I write leaning back in my boat chair overlooking a lake surrounded by pine-covered hills at sunset in perfect weather, I could not be more content.

Each time we camp it is amusing how minimalist is our set-up compared to all others. Almost everyone else at least has an SUV and brings a large family size car camping tent, a proper stove, tablecloth, lantern, big chairs, etc., and a high percentage have full campers/trailers.

August 28, 2013 (Wednesday) – The morning was drier and warmer than our prior camping nights. After some oatmeal, tea and coffee, we departed for Coeur d’Alene. While not so far as the crow flies, it takes a solid hour due to the unpaved campground access road and hilly and windy Route 97. We were in search of a coffee shop for what we thought might be a few hours of work. Java was packed, so we opted for Calypso’s. It is spacious and comfortable and serves reasonably good salads and sandwiches, which is nice because we were there from 11 am til 6 pm! At least we got to walk through the farmers market that runs Wednesdays from 4-7 pm on 5th Street between Sherman and Coeur d’Alene Avenues. Thankfully we found some potatoes (Idaho’s most famed export) to wrap in foil on the grill with more chicken thighs, but the market was not particularly impressive. There was live music there and a much larger production around the corner at 6th and Sherman.

On the drive home, we saw deer in several places, including one for which I had to brake intensely. Route 97 hugs the lake at enough elevation to afford constant views. It is friendly to convertibles, and the blue skies and temperature in the 70s made for a pleasant joy ride. We made a campfire, cooked dinner (perhaps psychosomatic but the spuds were scrumptious), and thoroughly enjoyed our bottle of 2012 K Viognier from Charles Smith.

Another spectacular lake sunset

Critical surgery, or just eating Idaho spuds?

Although we saw relatively little and did even less in our brief time here, I can offer a few ideas to help orient you. The town of Coeur d’Alene sits on the north side of Lake CDA and is fairly substantial with a population around 45,000. Sherman Avenue between 1st Street and 7th Street seems to be the main thoroughfare, with activity on Lakeside Avenue as well. There is a little waterfront park in town, and Tubbs Hill is a forested peninsula extending into the lake with some walking trails. Lake CDA is a popular cycling area. The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes runs more than 70 miles between Mullan and Plummer, and we were quite bummed to miss the Route of the Hiawatha Rail-Trail. There are shops in CDA renting bicycles, kayaks, paddle boards etc. We also heard that boating and fishing through the Chain Lakes makes for a nice day.

Of course there is much more to do in Idaho. In the southern part of the state, Sun Valley is a legendary year-round resort and stomping ground of the rich and famous. I would love to visit someday, but it was serendipitous we skipped it this time as we missed horrific wildfires. About an hour and a half north of CDA, Schweitzer Mountain was voted by Ski Magazine the best kept secret in North America.

Idaho, North America, USA

Idaho-ing it up (not really, Mom)

August 29, 2013 champagne&backpacks 2 Comments

In Idaho we did what I imagine many Idahoans do: not much. Which is not to say it was unenjoyed – quite the opposite. We recharged at Lake Coeur d’Alene (the honeymoon capital of the west! or so I’d read somewhere). Our campsite, at the Bell Bay campgrounds, was a fair hike (and by hike I mean an hour plus drive) from the city of Coeur d’Alene, but the remoteness was well worth it. Of wildlife, there was plenty. On the drive in we saw our first moose of the trip. We saw countless deer (including some dangerous encounters driving back from Coeur d’Alene at dusk!), a bird that looked a bit like a bald eagle, and some kind of fish jumping out of the lake. And the campsite itself had a stunning view. We got a spot right on the lake’s edge. It was perfect for writing, reading, sunset watching, star gazing (great stars!), it was a short walk down to swim, and perhaps best of all it was dry so we were able to dry out our molding (gah!) tent. My only complaint is the bees. I had never experienced bees like this before. They hover around you and your things incessantly, yet don’t appear to want to eat anything. Even when our oatmeal bowls lay out they would check them out and then come back to buzz in our ears! It brought back flashbacks of my high school cross country team incident (one of my teammates stepped on a nest while trying to pee in the woods and half the team got stung. Two girls had to be taken to the hospital, one of which had a bee lodged in her ear canal! So buzzing by my ears totally freaks me out). The bees reminded me of what an annoying toddler might be like, constantly by your side, all “what are you doing? What about now? What’s this? What does that do? How do you spell obstreperous? Do dogs have feelings?”

::blogging with a view::

::those pesky bees::

::idaho, udaho::

::moose!::

::lovely sunset at our home for the night::

::reading by the fire::

::sunset nigh two! idahoan sunsets do not disappoint::

We spent two nights in this soul searchers paradise of a campground. On our full day in between we drove down to the city of Coeur d’Alene and spent much of the day blogging. Not terribly exciting, but we were at least escaping the bees at a really funky coffee shop called Calypso’s. Great spot for chai and pretty good cheap-ish sammies if you find yourself hungry in Coeur d’Alene!

Want to know how to feel so happy you laugh until tears stream down your face and you snort for air? Drive down the coast of a beautiful lake with the top down and your best friend by your side and go nuts on the air guitar at the end of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird. Like, real nuts. (Also do this late night after a great friend’s wedding. Apologies to Barb’s parents for our debauchery on the balcony!)

Oh, and because we were in Idaho we of course picked up some LOCAL taters to cook up for dinner. SCRUMPTIOUS!

So Idaho was not eventful, but certainly fulfilling. I found this quote to be quite fitting: “I think probably one of the important things that happened to me was growing up in Idaho in the mountains, in the woods, and having a very strong presence of the wilderness around me. That never felt like emptiness. It always felt like presence.” Marilynne Robinson

North America, USA, Washington

I <3 <3 Walla Walla

August 27, 2013 champagne&backpacks Leave a comment

::don’t let that poo-smeared welcome sign fool you, goodness lies ahead::

I. LOVE. WALLA WALLA. Oh, let me rephrase… I ❤ ❤ WW!!! The place so nice, they named it twice! I think I spent at least three hours trying to convince Alan that Walla Walla is where we should live. Wine, good fresh food, a college community, and the trees – those old old trees. Oh, the East coast in me just purrs at the the sight of those beautiful old trees and homes. And the BACKYARDS?! They are positively divine. The days are hot in the summer, but the cool evenings and those perfect breezes? I DIE.

Before I digress too far into my love affair with Walla Walla I suppose I should get to the wine (since I know my dad is my number one reader, and I wouldn’t want to leave him hanging any longer). On our way into town we tasted at two wineries: Woodward Canyon and L’ecole. The tastings are cheaper here than in Willamette – almost all were $5 for five or six wines. Plus everyone is so friendly they offer to pour you more of whatever you liked. We enjoyed the tastings at both though the tasting room at L’ecole was a bit more interesting to see as it was in an old school building. Highlights at L’ecole for me were the 2010 Syrah and the 2010 Estate Merlot from the Seven Hills Vineyard (cedar, black cherry, baking spices and an earthy mineral finish). The ’09 Apogee was good too. As for Woodward I preferred the non-vintage, though it’s only sold at their tasting room.

Not far from this fine start we headed to downtown Walla Walla, which is a super charming downtown area full of wineries. Unlike many wine regions I’ve been to where the wineries are spread apart down long winding roads through the vine-covered hills, the majority of the can’t miss winemakers have tasting rooms conveniently located within a few blocks of each other in downtown Walla Walla. Perhaps not as scenic, but no DD required! And that’s a huge plus when the wines are so delectable and affordable. In case you couldn’t guess yet, in the battle of Willamette vs. Walla Walla?? Walla Walla for the win! (Let’s see how many times I can say Walla Walla in this post, shall we? It’s so fun, just say it out loud three or four times. You will laugh. Walla Walla Walla Walla Walla Walla. You can’t help sounding like a muppet character (doesn’t one of them say wakka wakka?)).

Downtown Wineries:

Charles Smith. Charles is a rock star. The man has a big head of long curly blond hair, his tasting room is a super funky modern event space, and his wines have cool names like “The Velvet” and “Boom Boom!” Also, his wines taste good! We really enjoyed our tasting here. We went with the “high end” wine tasting, which included a 2010 K Merlot Stoneridge Vineyard (93 pts, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate), two Syrahs we enjoyed (the Milbrandt and MCK), as well as a tasty Viognier that was rated 94 by Robert Parker (2011 CS Viognier). The chill and generous sales guy let us taste some of the wines that weren’t on our tasting list as well, and he trustingly let us leave owing $10 because we said we’d be back . We also met some folks from South Dakota who were super friendly and gave us some good recs for our time there.

Mark Ryan was our next stop where we tasted a number of great wines. We ended up purchasing a bottle of the Suicide Red for our picnic dinner. It was such a unique tasting wine (80% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre). I have only good things to say about the Dissident Red and Wild Eyed reds as well.

Last but not least we tried the Flying Trout/Tero Estates. Wines were pretty good, but I was several tastings in at this point so I unfortunately have no specific rec’s, except to note that we tried another Torrontes which Alan is becoming a big fan of (white wine from Argentina). We also met some new blog followers from Jacksonville and Bozeman! Shout out to new readers!

too cute. “this sumr I went to Walla Walla. and it such! Because my dad was wine tasting. All day.”

downtown walla walla

Charles Smith, so classy

rockstar wines

Also downtown, not just about the wine:

If you like mid-century modern furniture, stop in to the awesome vintage furniture shop called Debouche. Be sure to strike up a conversation with the equally awesome owner. She’s a hoot and a half. I promised when we had a home again that I would return to Debouche to furnish it.

The lunch spot we went to, also downtown and called Olive, was kind of my Coral Tree meets Walla Walla. Jenny, I hope you’re reading this, because if we had gone to law school in Walla Walla, we would have LIVED here. Ample seating, wifi, coffee and tea, delicious food, and the best study aid of all time: wine. Wonderful Walla Wallan wines. Look, did you see there how I turned Walla Walla into an adjective? I love it so much I’ve made an adjective out of it. I’m going to start using it as a noun to identify things I love. Like, “those pants are so Walla Walla. This party rocks – it’s totally Walla Walla!” Coral Tree, for those of you not in the Brentwood know, is a little food spot in Brentwood that my law school study buddy supreme and I spent countless hours studying at. More often than not these study sessions devolved into wine drinking and bonding sessions. Olive’s set up is similar, in that you order at the counter and they bring out your food to you. The menu trumps Coral Tree by far though, with an impressive offering of salads, pizza, sandwiches, coffee and tea drinks and a great beer and wine list. Alan and I split the duck confit salad and an apricot chicken salad sammie. Yum yum.

Our B&B was another highlight in Walla Walla. We stayed at the CarltAnn House, which is a cozy little bed and breakfast (only 3 rooms!) we found on AirBnB. It’s run by an older couple, John and Nathan (though we only met John during our stay). I just adored the place and the neighborhood – old trees lined the roads, herbs and veggies grew in the garden, a great old magnolia tree sat in the backyard housing a chorus of crickets and dragonflies. We stayed in the Anne Belov Room – named after an artist friend of theirs whose art accents the blue room. It’s one of the three bedrooms on the second floor which share a nice, huge bathroom. We were the only guests the night we stayed. The creaking oak floors, white trim, old wood furniture, ornate old doorknobs and a lovely seating area in the backyard… so beautiful.

It’s also only a block away from the Whitman College campus and a few minutes walk from downtown, so for dinner we walked back and picnic-ed at the B&B with meats and cheese we picked up at Salumiere (great wine/cheese/meat/provisional shop downtown), as well as the bottle of Suicide Red we picked up. We were joined by our host and sat out in the yard chatting for a few hours. Lovely conversation, he’s traveled quite a bit himself. We’re tempted to make a movie about his life, the stories were so beautiful. To give you a sense: he had always wanted to see Ireland and learn to play the fiddle, so he quit his job and went to Ireland and asked around until he found fiddle players that more or less took him in as a fiddle apprentice. Years later, in the US, he met someone who held their fiddle bow in a similar fashion and discovered that they had learned to play from same guy! We told him his life sounds like a screenplay, but he said he was too shy to want it made into a movie. I think the story is too good to not be shared.

grain, grain everywhere

loving these American countrysides

North America, USA, Washington

Washington: Walla Walla, the town so nice…

August 27, 2013 champagne&backpacks Leave a comment

August 26, 2013 (Monday, cont’d) – Though it doesn’t feel like wine country, tasting rooms begin to appear on Route 12 at least 14 miles west of Walla Walla. We stopped first at Woodward Canyon with a quaint tasting room selling cookbooks from Mozza and Smitten Kitchen, among others. Social media is everywhere these days. This spot feels like the middle of nowhere but offers 5% off purchase if you check in with Yelp. We gladly paid $5 to taste six wines. Next was L’Ecole just a couple hundred yards away. This is a much larger establishment and also offered six wines for $5. A packed car facilitated the necessary discipline to forego buying bottles.

The drive to WA

At L’Ecole winery

Reininger and Three Rivers are nearby and came recommended, but we continued on Route 12 and exited at 2^nd Street then turned onto wide Main Street and parked. Sunny and 80s suited us fine. Apparently it often breaks 100º in summer and gets quite cold in the winter. Jenni fell in love with Debouche, a sizeable store selling mid-century and Danish modern furniture and accessories. She vowed to return when we have a home to decorate. Though someone had recommended Graze sandwich shop and I had read about Green Spoon, we chose Olive for a late lunch and did not regret it. It is spacious indoors and there is ample sidewalk seating. You order at the counter and the menu is tantalizing. We split a duck confit salad and apricot chicken salad sandwich. Jenni got a chai latte and I splurged on an iced mocha. There is WiFi and it is open until 9 pm.

Main Street, Walla Walla

Olive marketplace

Olive sidewalk seating

Re-energized to taste, we checked into the CarltAnn House, a proper B&B that we happened to find through airbnb. It is a pleasant, older house with a few rooms on offer; we chose the spacious and light-filled Anne Belov room (named for the hosts’ artist friend whose work is on the walls). There is a large shared bath, which works particularly well when you are the only guests.

CarltAnn House

Anne Belov room at CarltAnn

John (the proprietor, along with his partner, Nathan) gave us a few recommendations, and we walked through the Whitman College campus to Charles Smith on Spokane Street. This place rocks. The namesake is a character with long, curly, silver blonde hair. It is a big industrial space where all the furniture and walls are on wheels, making the room easy to rearrange for private events and their own parties. Each Thursday is bluegrass and burgers night from 6 pm until close, no cover charge. We opted for the $10 premium tasting (vs. the $5 standard) and enjoyed the wines and conversation with our pourer and a couple visiting from South Dakota who offered recommendations for our upcoming visit. We were offered additional or re-tastes free of charge, and permitted to leave without paying after we said we would return to buy a bottle (which means the tasting fee is waived). A flyer informed us that the 6th annual jazz and wine festival took place the prior weekend.

Art on Whitman campus

Charles Smith labels

Charles Smith tasting room

One of many cool bumper stickers at Charles Smith

Around the corner on Main Street, we hit Mark Ryan Winery for a $5 tasting of six wines. Here, too, the fee is credited against any purchase and additional or re-tastes are graciously offered. A rather different vibe from the rigid structure of most wineries I have visited. This is an attractive tasting room and we departed with a delicious bottle of the 2011 Suicide Shift red for $25. The Marcus Whitman is the most well-known hotel in town, and within the structure is a tasting room for TERO Estates and Flying Trout Wines (part of TERO). They waive the tasting fee and offer a 10% discount on purchases for hotel guests. Apparently I like torrontes wines from Argentina (we had bought a couple bottles of the Recuerdo after tasting at Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley in May), a tasty and typically inexpensive white varietal. Perhaps the cumulative wine deserves an assist, as we struck up conversations with a supremely friendly woman from Vachon Island and couple from Florida. Making our way home, we stopped at Salumiere Cesario and bought finochiona and creminelli calabrese charcuterie; triple crème, naked goat and Point Reyes blue cheeses; and Raincoast Crisp seed crackers. They sell La Brea Bakery bread but were out of French baguettes. Also available is a robust selection of large-bottle specialty ales and impressive array of fancy salts in bulk containers.

Ales at Salumiere

Salts at Salumiere

True to our word, we grabbed the 2012 K Viognier (from the Columbia Valley AVA) at Charles Smith ($25, but feels like $15 net of the tasting fee), and John set up a lovely spread on the back patio with our picnic items and Suicide Shift red. Midway through dinner, John joined with another bottle of red and regaled us with his own life stories. I will not recount all, but his biography boasts multiple sabbaticals, including a trip to Ireland where the fiddle fascinated him and a follow-up trip where he found elder statesmen to teach him the secrets of the strings. I realized here one of the more compelling benefits of extended travel is that we are so much more open to in-depth conversations with strangers. John is a lovely man, but had we been on a romantic weekend getaway we might have preferred privacy at dinner. Instead, Jenni and I are together 24/7 and welcome company! Not to mention, folks seem to want to talk to us more now that our story has changed. It is very peaceful here; the sound of crickets dominates. I found it hilarious when John said “Walla Walla is the town so nice they named it twice” that he had never heard that about New York, nor I about Walla Walla.

We are now big fans of Walla Walla. It feels tiny, in part because there is so little nearby (the closest major airport is a four-hour drive). Yet this town of roughly 32,000 is just about the size of Jenni’s and my hometown combined, and sports a Sears (Hometown Store) and Macy’s on Main Street. I also found myself thinking about the cost of living arbitrage available to those who can earn a living as entrepreneurs or working remotely. I suppose this is obvious, but home prices and general costs are a function of a place’s desirability based on various lifestyle metrics and the supply of well-paid jobs to support those prices. In other words, LA is so expensive not just because it is awesome but because there are so many high paying jobs to support the prices. In Walla Walla, one can buy a 6,500 square foot historic mansion for about $600,000 (vs. maybe $4-6 million in LA), despite that it does not seem to suck here.

August 27, 2013 (Tuesday) – John prepared a gluttonous spread of meats, cheeses, fresh muffins, egg quiche, bread with a few jams, smoked salmon, fruit, tea and coffee. We fit in another enjoyable conversation then hit Safeway for the usual provisions and were on the road a little after 10:30 am. We took the most direct route to Bell Bay Campground in Idaho which included scenic roads that were hilly and windy but overall pretty fast-moving. Route 12 East passes endless rolling hills of (harvested) grain and several elevators. The first town we bisected was Waitsburg, with its own little brewery. Next was Dayton which has gas stations, a movie theater, a couple chains and several places to stay. We took Route 127 out of the valley and crossed the Snake River where there are several barges for grain transport. Eastern Washington is dry with grain everywhere, while almost immediately we encountered pine trees and forest in Idaho.

Eastern WA

North America, Oregon, USA

Oregon: Portland and Environs

August 26, 2013 aleavitt77 4 Comments

August 24, 2013 (Saturday, cont’d) – An hour or so after leaving the Red Hills Market, we parked in Portland’s Pearl District and made a quick stop at REI to grab a head lamp (we forgot one at home, and they make camping so much better) and some bear spray for our upcoming time in Glacier National Park and surrounding areas. Fun fact: in Oregon, the speed limit signs omit the word “limit.”

The Pearl District is Portland’s most upscale, nearby downtown and loaded with fine dining, bars and shopping. We walked South and then East to the riverside park for a bit before circling back to the full block of food trucks between 9^th and 10^th Avenues and Washington and Alder Streets. Portland is famous for food trucks, many organized in pods and seeming a bit more permanent than those in LA which truly move around constantly. There is another cluster we saw at 3^rd and Washington and across the river on the Eastside they are everywhere, often found in little parking lots and at times accompanied by live music. Though it was tough, we passed up the panoply of options covering lots of Thai, Indian, Middle Eastern, Fijian, waffles, BBQ, Mexican, Georgian (the country), etc. Instead, I ordered a sandwich at Lardo and brought it to Jenni’s table around the corner at Grassa (same owner). My pork belly with heirloom tomato, arugula and caper mayo on ciabatta was delicious and very reasonable at $8, and Jenni loved her rigatoni with braised pork and an iced tea for $10.

PDX food trucks/carts

It’s BACON…bacon, bacon, bacon

We grabbed our laptops from the car and fit in a little session at Starbucks on 11^th and Lovejoy before driving up to Nob Hill and walking around 23^rd Street. This is another fairly upscale area with some yuppies and good dining options. Salt & Straw, an ice cream shop, was packed. We left this area and took the Ross Island Bridge to our first-ever airbnb home in Woodstock. The multitude of strip clubs we passed did little to reassure us we had made the right call, nor did our hosts’ admonition to remove all valuables from the car because there are prowlers in the neighborhood. Despite this shaky start, we stayed in a beautiful, brand new home and it was a great experience. Ours was one of the rooms in the finished basement, with an air mattress (the fancy kind that is as high as a low bed) and good WiFi. The half bath was on the main floor and the shower another flight up. Everything worked well, the water pressure was strong and they provided towels and bath products. Brian and Shannon are superb hosts. They are warm and welcoming yet mellow, offering a printed few pages on the house and the area and a wealth of recommendations on request. Brian makes excellent coffee in the morning and even shared some Morimoto Soba Ale and Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar (tastes like candy, in a good way) before our dinner the following night. Which reminds me, Jay and Erin told us about sour beer which evidently is popular in Portland and perhaps elsewhere. It is evident that our hosts love Portland, and they are eager to ensure you will, too.

At 7:15 pm we tried to go to Khun Pic’s Bahn Thai but it was closed today, so instead we ate at Chiang Mai on Hawthorne. It is a small, unassuming place with some sidewalk seats and prompt service. Jenni enjoyed her shrimp pad thai and I my yum jeen gai. There are Thai restaurants everywhere in Portland, and while tasty this type of ethnic food may not represent the best value in Portland, at least relative to what is on offer in other cities. I can get better Thai food at the same price in LA, but would be hard pressed to find delicious hand made pasta like Jenni had at Grassa for under $10.

I am struck by how quickly we (in the broad sense) are able to adapt. At first it felt slightly odd to be sleeping in a stranger’s house that is not a proper lodging establishment. The next morning it seemed entirely normal.

August 25, 2013 (Sunday) – Plans to hike Dog Mountain in Washington were quickly abandoned when we slept in a bit and saw the forecast was spotty. It is supposed to be a challenging day hike with glorious views, be sure to get a Northwest Forest Pass for parking if you go. Instead, we zipped over to the Yolk food truck at 48^th and Woodstock for breakfast egg sandwiches. I think we are all grown-ups and can agree that huge, calorie-laden sandwiches are interchangeable with strenuous hikes. Jenni got the Sunshine and High Clouds with sautéed spring vegetables, chives, shallots, goat cheese, and saba on an English muffin. I got the Brother Badass with maple glazed pork belly, aged white cheddar, and Dijon tossed greens on a baguette with a little hot sauce. It was excellent. I have been impressed with the bread in Oregon, which most sandwich aficionados will confirm is the most important ingredient. After, we visited the farmer’s market in the Key Bank parking lot at 47^th and Woodstock, open part-year 10 am to 2 pm on Sunday. The usual fare was available, including tomatoes, berries, peppers, honey, fish (including Columbia River wild sturgeon), meats, hazelnuts, jams, etc.

We headed East and grabbed the 205 North to the 84 East to exit 17 (Troutdale) for the Historic Columbia River Highway. This is not the quickest path to Multnomah, but perhaps the best compromise of speed and scenery. We caught some nice glimpses of Mount Saint Helens (I believe) to the North as we drove. The waterfalls begin several miles East of Troutdale and we parked beyond at the Wahkeena picnic area and did a loop hike from there over to Multnomah Falls Lodge. It took about 2 hours 15 minutes from trailhead to lodge and then another 10 minutes or so for the half mile back to the car. Our luck with flawless weather ran out as it rained most of the time. This did not detract much as we had raincoats and were hiking through verdant forest with rushing streams and magnificent waterfalls. It occurred to me how spoiled we are in LA; I think the last time I recall hiking in the rain was Peru in August 2009!

Brother Badass at Yolk…PDX = pork belly

Wahkeena to Multnomah Falls

Top of Multnomah Falls

Bottom of Multnomah Falls

Back in the City of Roses we had a late lunch at Little Big Burger on SE Division Street. This is a local mini-chain with $3.75 quarter pound burgers that are diminutive in diameter but fairly thick. A choice of cheddar, swiss, goat or blue cheese is complimentary and I added bacon for $0.50. The burger was tasty though slightly overcooked, and the truffle fries ($2.75) were pretty good. Everything is locally sourced and compostable. Up the road we visited Stumptown Coffee for a strong cup of jo and a chai latte, and next door is the Woodsman Market which crams a lot of delicious looking fare into a small space.

Back at the house we worked a while and then met Samir and Mae at Nostrana at 9 pm. Apparently many Portland restaurants offer late night happy hour menus, so we got Insalata Nostrana, olives, nuts and a margarita pizza with a couple of draught beers for $31 total. The menu offers a lot of delicious sounding options and this place is very well-reviewed, but we kept it simple and cheap. It was great to catch up and we went home after Samir and I bored the ladies to tears with an obviously riveting conversation about Detroit and municipal insolvency.

Brief observations and additional information on Portland: There are semi-permanent food trucks in little parking areas all over the city. Everything is compostable. Major emphasis on locally sourced ingredients…grass-fed beef, antibiotic and GMO free, etc. The Pearl is the upscale/trendy district with more high-end shopping and restaurants. Nob Hill seems to be more yuppy-like. The Eastside has more hipsters and is grittier. There are clusters of bars and restaurants on Hawthorne, Division and Belmont. There are lots of bicycles and dogs. Smoking is more prevalent than in LA. Beer and coffee are religion.

We initially tried to stay at the Portland Hawthorne Hostel but it was full and they recommended the Bluebird Guesthouse, which also was full though it opened up after we had booked airbnb. For inexpensive accommodation, you might try those places. If money is not an issue, you probably ought to stay downtown. We heard the art museum there is quite nice.

Food and beverage joints not mentioned above that were recommended to us include the following: Tasty and Sons; Ken’s Artisan Pizza; Little Bird; Le Pigeon; Bunk; Olympic Provisions; Ava Genes; Toro Bravo; Secret Society (above Toro Bravo) for cocktails; The Ox; Pok Pok (I believe there is a Brooklyn location, too); Porque No (the Hawthorne location was bangin’ when we drove by on Saturday night)

August 26, 2013 (Monday) – Eager to get started on the four hour drive to Walla Walla, breakfast was an apple and Saturday night’s pad thai. It is rather scenic following the Columbia River gorge much of the way. Folks drive pretty slowly in these parts; on the 84 East I was doing 71 in a 65 and passing almost everyone. Fairly quickly the landscape changes from the wet, green scenery of Portland and its environs to barren and rocky, reminiscent of parts of Utah or Wyoming.

North America, Oregon, USA

Wine and Food : Willamette and Portland

August 26, 2013 champagne&backpacks 5 Comments

So my overall impression of Oregon’s wine country was underwhelming. It was beautiful for sure, but for a region that is widely renowned for its pinot noir, one of Alan’s and my favorite wines, we were somewhat disappointed by the quality (and price) of the Willamette Valley wines.

We tasted at Cristom (a bit of a ways from the McMinnville/Dundee/Dayton area where the majority of the wineries are located) and ate a fresh tasty lunch at the Blue Goat. The Turkish figs with blue cheese and bacon are divine. From there we meandered up to Eyrie and White Rose tasting rooms and we finished the day at Four Graces. All the tastings were $10-15 a person. As we would later discover, the tastings in Walla Walla, WA average on the cheaper side (most $5 a person), along with the wine prices. While the surrounding valley afforded more picturesque views, we both preferred the Washington wines (more to come on that later).

After we closed down the tasting rooms we mozied over to our B&B – the Wine Country Farm B&B, which I’d found in the 1000 Places to See Before You Die book. For $200 a night we got a complimentary tasting (mediocre wines), a lovely room that was quite large and a superb breakfast (all about the bomb breakfasts on this trip so far!). There were 3 dogs on the property as well as a rather fat cat. Surprisingly though, my favorite animals on the grounds were the very friendly horses. Maybe it wa the 5 tastings, maybe it was the romantic setting, but I was really feeling the horse nuzzling. So much so that one horse gave me a little love nibble and left a bruise on my face. Horse hickey – HA!

While enjoying our last tasting of the day we met a couple who was there celebrating their wedding anniversary, having wed at the Wine Country B&B 5 years ago. We got to talking in the lobby for a while and our new Oregonian friends ended up joining us for dinner at the Joel Palmer House – a place which is known for their truffle oil. The menu boasts several choices for each of three courses, nearly all with mushrooms as the main attraction. Alan and I shared a mushroom soup and mushroom tarte to begin, the filet mignon with foie gras (an add-on – and still legal in Oregon!) and lamb for our mains, and wrapped it up with a rose water pistachio rice pudding and mushroom s’more. The verdict: good, but not incredible. I thought the filet was superb and I also really enjoyed the rice pudding. The lamb was very disappointing. And the mushroom s’more tasted like neither mushrooms nor s’mores to me. More of a dry, chocolatey layer bar if you ask me.

Since we missed the cut off for Domaine Drouhin (recommended by many) we stopped by before hitting the road the next morning, but just to see the view. It was right across the way from our B&B, which by the way had some really stunning views.

Tasting @ White Rose

Wine Country Farm B&B

Food Trucks in the Pearl District

Hiking near Multnomah

Multnomah falls. Portland is gorges?!

Having tasted the wine, we went off to Portland to savor the food. I don’t have many pictures of Portland… We were too busy eating!

We tried AirBnB for the first time in Portland. A bit unnerved by the warning against leaving anything in the car and then having no lock on bedroom door, I was skeptical. But for about $50 a night we had a perfectly comfortable room in the home of two super cool, generous and friendly Portlanders (and they’re even cuter 2 year old son). The one downside – we were in a basement room and had to go up two floors to use shower and wound up waiting almost an hour when I needed it. But so far I am super impressed with AirBnB, what a genius idea. Why didn’t I think of that?!

We spent the better part of our first day in Portland exploring the downtown area and Pearl District. We ate lunch at Grassa and Lardo – both delicious and super cheap (same owners, next door from eachother, so we each got a plate from one and sat outside. Can you guess which one of us choose pasta and which one chose pig?? ;). We debated the food trucks, as Portland is big on these and an early pioneer of the bomb-food-out-of-moving-vehicles trend, but held out on those until breakfast. After lunch we worked on the blogs and a coffee shop and headed over to check out Nob Hill. Very lovely neighborhood and so many places to eat that smelled great and came highly recommended. Not enough time! We imagined that if we moved to Portland we’d live in that area.

For dinner we ate thai food at Chiang Mai over on the east side and closer to where we stayed- very good, but our sense was that ethnic food was slightly pricier in the Portland scene compared to the very reasonable prices of many other quality restaurants.

The next morning we grabbed breakkie at the Yolk food truck. It was relatively pricey – $9 a pop for some sammies! Alan had something called the Brother Bad Ass (pork belly and other goodness) , I had Sunshine & High Clouds (goat, sautéed veggies and an egg). They were worth the hefty pricetag. Holy yum, and that bread!! We stopped quickly to check out the farmer’s market in Woodstock. It was nice, on the smaller side and surprisingly pricier that what I was used to in LA’s Brentwood farmer’s market.

From there we went up to the Columbia River gorges and did a nice, albeit rainy, hike around Multnomah Falls. Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with some Little Big Burger (pretty good, but definitely not in the same ballpark as In’N’Out). Almost obligatorily, we stopped for coffee at Stumptown. I got a delicious chai (so hot on tea right now).

We wrapped our Portland eating tour up at Nostrata for late night happy hour with some friends who are now Portlanders themselves. The meal was super cheap, clocking in at $31 TOTAL for both of us! And it’s apparently one of best restaurants in the city. We stuck to the happy hour menu, foregoing some other more exciting sounding options, but it was a solid meal nonetheless.

The final verdict: Portland – come for the food, not the wine. Then go to Walla Walla! Comin up next!!!

North America, Oregon, USA

Oregonian College Tour

August 25, 2013 champagne&backpacks Leave a comment

Next stop: Corvallis. Lovely collegetown. Like so many of the spots we’re visiting I was reminded a bit of Ithaca. We drove with the top down and it was perfect weather – just the right kind of dry heat and as we drove through fields of fresh mint the enticing smell wafted through the air whipping by our faces. Bonus: I stopped in Powell’s bookstore and exchanged mine for a few new ones.

A bit later we arrived in the hippie town of Eugene, OR. We were a little wary at first as we pulled up to our $65/night motel that was right next to the bus station (Timbers Motel), but it was a solid little place. Nice quiet room, nothing fancy or special, but it had a mattress and a roof and a shower and a/c, so it was luxury for us 😉 We set out on foot to explore Eugene, walked over to U of Oregon (I kept confusing this and Oregon State, Alan thought I was going to get us shot) and wandered around the campus for a bit, then took Pearl St. down to the downtown area where we got a delicious meal at a Vietnamese place. This was the best meal of the trip so far! Alan got the banh mi and I got the spicy beef pho. Oh my oh my.. both were delicious. The bread on the banh mi was superb – not too crusty, not too soft – and we decided that Oregon does their bread right.

We stopped in at Voodoo Donuts and split a Cap’n Crunch donut for dessert. They had some mean flavors in there. While the donut was easily devoured, I’d say the desserts paled in comparison to the decor and experience. Take out boxes are pink boxes labeled “good things come in pink boxes.” Ha.. Ha.. Naughty, clever Oregonians.

We were beat and headed back to Timbers for some more trip planning and a good night’s rest.

poetry in the streets in Corvallis

all the fire hydrants in Eugene are painted with different colorful designs

Observations on Oregon so far:

Treat names for coffee shops and TONS of these tiny little coffee shops that are the size of a room just standing alone. Best name: Brewed Awakenings. Close runner up: the Human Bean. Also lots of Dairy Queens and Dutch Brothers coffee chains.
You can’t pump your own gas. Pretty sure Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states left. Curious what the rationale is behind that…
Oregonian men have beards. So. much. facial hair. I’m pretty sure they won’t let you get your OR driver’s license if your photo is facial hair free. I was so tempted to snap photos of some of the more stellar bearded men of Orgon, but alas, I left without many shots of the not-so-elusive bearded Oregonian.
Oregonians bear their bodies with pride. I noticed a number of guts that were worn proudly, even some women with little tellitubbies wearing middrift tops. The contrast strikes me more coming from LA where the people are so beautiful and put so much effort into their appearances. I’d been saying for a while that every time I went home to the Northeast I’d walk around the grocery store for the first time and think, “Why did all the ugly people come into the store at the exact same time?” I imagine that sounds pretty vain. But live in LA for a few years, then leave and trust me.. you will notice the scale of attractiveness of the folks around you has skewed dramatically towards HOT. This is not to say there aren’t beautiful people in Oregon or New England or elsewhere – I’ve got some beauties from all these spots! But outside LA, and especially in Oregon there is way less emphasis put into clothing, shoes, makeup, even bodies. No silicone here folks. No frozen faces either.

North America, Oregon, USA

Land of the Bearded Oregonians (aka Oregon)

August 24, 2013 champagne&backpacks Leave a comment

::our first new state of the trip! woohoo!::

On our quest to find the campsite worthy of two nights, we first stopped to check out Cape Blanco. Remote as can be, we saw the cutest little doe on the drive in, who was truly a deer in headlights. I almost said literally, and then I remembered reading somewhere that the non-literal definition of literally has now beed added to the definition. Literally. So how would you know? 😉 To get to the Cape Blanco campground you have to drive a ways off the highway, past the westernmost lighthouse in the US, and into this neat homey feeling circle. Each site had electricity and water. There were also showers, a fair bit of privacy between sites, and it was near the water! We decided to continue North to make a bit more progress up the winding roads and get to an area where there was more to do for a few days (basically, cover more ground, and get up to the sand dunes). Also it was crazy windy which didn’t sound super relaxing.

We made it to Eel Creek campground, but there was no ranger or anyone to talk to, no showers, and no place nearby to pick up groceries so we kept on going.

Finally we arrived at Honeyman State Park, and while far far less remote and special feeling than Cape Blanco or Eel Creek (think 400 camp sites, kids EVERYWHERE, campsites more or less on top of eachother), it had access to a lake we could swim in, was close to the sand dunes, and only 3 miles from the town of Florence which boasted a Safeway and a Starbucks (wifi!! We can blog! Except the Starbucks is in the Safeway and it doesn’t have wifi. BOO [hence all these posts coming to you from the great coffee shop of Calypsos in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho!]). We pitched our tent, having arrived too late for a spot with electric hookup, drove to Safeway for food and more firewood, came back and cooked some BBQ grilled chicken sammies with corn on the cob. The cutest little boy and girl at the campground next to us came over with fresh s’mores and offered them up. So, OK, I guess a campground crawling with kids isn’t that bad. The bathrooms there are pretty clean, flush! and have soap and paper towels! What luxury.

P1000157 — ::we’ve entered gun country::

I finished my book “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night” while at Honeyman. Very interesting read, it’s written from the point of view of a young boy with autism. Highly recommend as it’s a fascinating insight to the way the mind works.

We spent the better part of our full day in Florence at the Siuslaw River Coffee Roasters enjoying the free wifi (along with coffee and a banana chocolate chip bread). To be honest, I don’t know if “enjoy” is the proper word, as we spent 6 hours planning out rest of trip through Big Sky with Internet that wasn’t working properly at first. I think we were going to tear our hair out. The internet productivity finally picked up, and ours along with it, and we booked lots of spots (Eugene, OR Wine Country, Portland, Walla Walla and Idaho). Felt so accomplished after that!

Back at our campsite we ate some salami and crackers and (local!) Tillamook smoked cheddar, then headed out to the Sand Dunes. HOW COOL! I absolutely love the sand dunes. You’re in this giant forest and then boom, you’re in the desert… so neat. Totally unlike anything I’ve seen before. We watched a bunch of motorbike and 4 wheeler type vehicles tear by, some people also rented sand boards and boarded the hills. We just went on foot, which is tough going uphill! I avoided death by sand spiders, those little buggers are creepy though. Alan went swimming in Cleawox lake, which was nice, like a little beach since its surrounded in sand dunes. Quick drop off, decent temperature.

::if you look closely there are some sand-boarders up top there::

Afterwards we headed back to camp and made BBQ chicken sammies for dinner again. I read by the fire and Alan worked on his computer. During the course of the afternoon and evening I read the Alchemist in its entirety. My former boss gave this to me as a gift when I left work, and it was so fitting. I won’t go on about it, as it seems like everyone and their mother has already read this, but I definitely recommend it to those who haven’t yet! It’s a bit fantastical which is normally out of my comfort zone, but it works in this case, and its totally inspiring, especially having read it at the exact right time in my life 🙂 Thanks Sanije!

P1000155 — ::macbook, the essential camping accessory::

Waking up to thunder while you’re in a tent and have to stuff everything into a convertible is a bit disconcerting. I’d stayed up late finishing the Alchemist and Alan had a bit of a cold, so we somehow slept in til 8, waking only after I finally admitted to myself that the continual rumblings I’d been hearing were not just cars passing by, but threats of an imminent rainstorm. We packed quickly as we could, deciding that since it wasn’t prudent to hang out and try to boil water for our oatmeal that we’d stop at McDonald’s in Florence and consummate this road trip with some proper fast food. Mmmm, McDonald’s breakfast. 😉 From there we continued up the coast, stopping at some vista points, and checking out the Sea Lion Caves about 11 miles north of Florence. There were no sea lions out so we got in for the discounted price of $8 a person (down from $14). Steep price, but very cool, especially given that we actually saw zero sea lions. Claims to be the largest sea cave in the world. Can also sometimes sight gray whales off the coast, but no luck for us today. Decent views of the lighthouse when the fog wore off for a bit.

Oregonian coastlines are nothing to snuff at.

P1000164 — ::running out of room there::

I’ll leave this post with one observation about the Oregonians. They are really into regulations. Every bathroom I entered had detailed information on how to wash your hands (twice), and the beaches are rife with notes, warnings and instructions. Not too mention the hundreds of “entering tsunami zone” and “exiting tsunami zone” signs as you go up and down the hilly coastlines.

North America, Oregon, USA

Oregon: Dunes to Dundee

August 24, 2013 aleavitt77 2 Comments

August 20, 2013 (Tuesday, cont’d) –We waved goodbye to California and boldly went where many have gone before: the alluring Oregon coast. The offshore rocks grow even larger and more impressive, often covered in green, some resembling small islands more than large boulders. We took the turn off for Cape Blanco and saw a young deer in the road on our way to the lighthouse and nearby campground. After much debate, we passed on staying here. It is rustic and remote-feeling with good privacy and electricity at each site, all for $20/night. There are cabins available to rent, but all were taken. Detractions included persistent strong wind and poor light, plus we preferred to get further up the coast today. The jury is still out whether we made the right call. We also declined Eel Creek Campground and continued up to Honeyman State Park.

Honeyman has roughly 400 sites and was packed with families and dogs. Privacy was non-existent. Nonetheless, the facilities were nice, everyone was very friendly (neighbors gave us s’mores, another camper took our trash to the dumpster, the host offered a homemade egg carton device as a fire starter) and the location served us well. We got a first-come site (#222) for $21/night and there were free hot showers and bathrooms with soap dispensers and paper towels. Yes, less than a year ago I was staying in overwater bungalows in the Maldives and now I’m amped about complimentary paper towels. We drove three miles to Florence and bought provisions at a mediocre Safeway. I grilled some corn and boneless chicken thighs marinated in Sweet Baby Ray’s original BBQ sauce. I think boneless chicken thighs may be the most underrated cut of protein out there. (If any of you have connections at Tyson Foods, I’m available for a marketing position.) We also bought ear plugs which helped at a crowded campground, though I was astonished at how quiet the place was each morning until about 8 am.

August 21, 2013 (Wednesday) – We rose a little after 7 am, had yogurt for breakfast and headed into Florence to Siuslaw River Coffee Roasters by the bridge. This is a nice coffee shop, but the WiFi was weak and that paired poorly with our goal of planning our next several nights. Striking the right balance between flexibility and plans is a work in progress. It is nice to wing it, less so to worry about where you are sleeping each night. The fact that it is peak tourist season exacerbates the difficulty of finding last-minute accommodation. Six hours later (seriously), we had booked all our nights through Big Sky, MT and felt good. Florence seems moderately charming with its blend of chains and small coastal town vibe.

Lunch back at the campsite was Triscuits, salami and Tillamook smoked cheddar. We walked about 50 feet over a dirt trail and emerged in another world. Honeyman sits at the Northern end of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and the sand dunes are expansive and spectacular. They span roughly two miles to the ocean. It is possible to walk all the way, but I’ve been under the weather and walking up and down large hills of sand is exhausting.

Side note: There is a good chance that all the jumping pictures you see will be of Jenni. She has not mastered the photo timing, so the ones of me just look like I am stretching. And as many of you know, that just looks like me anywhere in the world. Also, after several pure barre classes it appears her vertical leap has surpassed mine.

We traveled parallel to the coast perhaps one-third of a mile to Cleawox Lake. The dunes closest to the campground are off-limits to vehicles, but a little farther out is a huge area with ATVs, dirt bikes and guided tours on dune buggies holding 10+ passengers. I went for a dip in Cleawox, which was cool but surprisingly nice and refreshing. They may rent canoes/kayaks etc. at Cleawox, but if not they certainly do across the highway at Woahink Lake. The showers were empty at 5 pm, after which we BBQ’d and made another campfire.

Cleawox Lake

My new office

August 22, 2013 (Thursday) – Thunder frightened us into packing quickly and hitting the road for some McDonald’s breakfast meals. These never disappoint. The coast was shrouded in fog but we decided to continue anyway (out of the way) for what we had heard was lovely scenery up to Newport. Eleven miles North of Florence we visited the Sea Lion Caves, billed as the largest sea cave in the US. Admission is typically $14 but today it was $8 because the sea lions recently unionized and negotiated four-day weekends. An elevator descends 200 feet through the rocks to a cave viewing area with some educational displays and a short video. It would have been nice to see the famed inhabitants, but we still enjoyed the experience and views of nearby Heceta Head Lighthouse. Continuing North, the coast stays rugged and lovely. There are several places to camp and many vista points. We stopped at Seal Rock then cruised through Newport’s historic bay front with its overwhelming smell of fish. At the petrol station, I learned that Oregon is the only state aside from New Jersey where it is still illegal to pump one’s own gas. This must be a defense mechanism when overshadowed by your neighbor.

America, f#*k yeah!

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Seal Rock

We headed East on Route 20 (somewhat windy and hilly but it moves pretty fast) and 50s and foggy turned into 80s and sunny by the time we hit Corvallis. The seemingly infinite forests of evergreen made it abundantly clear why the Douglas fir is on Oregon license plates. The Oregon State campus looks pretty nice. Monroe Avenue has some bars and restaurants while 2nd to 4th streets seem more of a “downtown” area with many commercial establishments.

We ate PB&J sandwiches at our parking spot and walked around a little. Jenni traded in a book she had finished and bought two new ones at The Book Bin. We popped into Avalon Wine for some recommendations on wine country and Andy delivered this and countless tips for Portland (which he declared one of the best food scenes in the country right now, not a terribly controversial statement), plus a recommendation that we drive over the Cascades to Smith Rock State Park. Our itinerary was too full, but the pictures suggest this is regrettable.

Route 99W is the more scenic route to Eugene, and we checked into the Timbers Motel around 3:45 pm. We got a basic room with queen bed for $69. Luxurious it was not, but the WiFi worked and the water pressure was good. I have two general rules when it comes to real estate. You want to be near the gay community and not near the bus station. Despite being across from Greyhound, the Timbers is well-located. We ambled East on 13th Street to the University of Oregon campus, then down to 18th Street, back to Pearl and up to Broadway. We considered buying a $20 ticket to join the monthly chamber of commerce networking event, held this month by Summit Bank with several food and beer stations. This is not to be confused with the daily hippy and weed-smoking networking event, held everywhere else in Eugene.

Eugene fire hydrant

Eugene parking lot art

The menu and space at Belly were appealing, but we settled at Bon Mi. Good choice! Jenni got a delicious spicy noodle pho with beef and my red hot pork ban mi was superb. The baguette was just perfect. Together with a Radiant Ale seasonal brew and an Oatis oatmeal stout, each from local Ninkasi Brewing, dinner cost $20. Dessert was a captain crunch donut at Voodoo Doughnuts, just the sort of 24-hour place you’d expect to find in Stonerton. Check out the selection and the incredible tag line on their donut-holding devices.

Spicoli would be in heaven

Irrefutable

We passed a couple more beggars and schizos and were back in the room by 7:30 pm for some more planning and blogging. Had we been in Eugene a day later, we could have enjoyed the Eugene Celebration.

August 23, 2013 (Friday) – Willamette wine country, here we come. Around 10:45 am we headed Northwest and 75 minutes later arrived at a $10 tasting at Cristom Vineyards. This winery (with a small cluster of others) is in the Eola-Amity Hills American Viticultural Area (AVA), where it benefits from cool breezes off the coast that blow through the Van Duzer Corridor. I have now shared everything I know about wine. The refined palate and erudition of my wife and father-in-law have yet to reach my upper region. Though technically located in Salem, it is very quiet here; much less crowded than the McMinnville/Dayton/Dundee area. We enjoyed the wines then continued on Zena Road to 99W heading North. At Cristom’s recommendation, we ate lunch at the Blue Goat in Amity. It is a lovely space with high ceilings, exposed pipe and brick, and a wood-fired oven. We sat at a large curved counter though there are several tables and booths. As would be common over the next few days, the menu lists the local farms from which the restaurant sources its products. We split a very good smoked chicken salad sandwich with honey-balsamic slaw on the side, and a phenomenal dish of fresh Turkish figs with blue cheese and bacon. The figs were so fresh and delicious that they beat back my disdain for bacon and blue cheese. The damage was $23 including tip. We were also tempted by Uncle Jack’s BBQ, a door or two down.

After lunch, we continued a short distance to McMinnville and walked around Third Street, the main thoroughfare. This is where McMenamins Hotel Oregon is located. It was full, but we heard it is a nice play to stay and a great place for a roof-top beverage. As with most of Oregon, there is ample free street parking. We poked our heads into Honest Chocolates and came away with a few treats, including a yummy piece of honey caramel milk chocolate with French sea salt.

Cute shop in McMinnville

Me and Ben

Walking distance from here is the Eyrie tasting room where we sampled six wines and had a nice conversation with the pourer, an East coast transplant who formerly worked in financial PR. Next up was White Rose located in the Dundee Hills. The tasting room is beautiful with great views from the property, but we were not fans of the $15 tasting of three pinot noirs.

White Rose vineyards and view

White Rose sky

We headed back down the hill and up 99W to Four Graces. Set in a charming white building with a gravel yard and several wrought iron tables and chairs, we enjoyed our $10 tasting of five wines. The staff was very friendly and we purchased the Willamette Valley Pinot Gris 2012 for $20. Nearby was a roadside stand called Bert’s Chuckwagon that we heard serves good BBQ. Some tasting rooms close at 4 pm while others, like Four Graces, close at 5 pm. We shut it down and drove back up the Dundee Hills to Wine Country Farm, our B&B for the evening. We were greeted with a multi-course complimentary tasting of the house Armonéa wines before being shown our room: the Courtyard Suite. We paid $200 for a very large room with king bed and a couch facing the fireplace. There was another room available with a queen bed but a balcony, and we might have chosen that one had we realized the views from the property would be so nice. At the tasting we met Jay and Erin, a nice couple celebrating their 5th anniversary in the same place where they married. They joined us for an 8 pm dinner at Joel Palmer House, a ten minute drive away. As the name suggests, it is set in a quaint house and the restaurant specializes in mushrooms and homemade truffle oil. The standard option is a three-course $49 menu. We split a mushroom soup and a tart to start, the filet mignon with foie gras supplement ($15) and lamb for the entrée course, and a mushroom s’more and rice pudding for dessert. Even the unemployed must take advantage of foie gras outside the totalitarian regime of California. The meal was very good but I was not impressed.

Romantic swing at Wine Country Farm

Wild mushroom soup at Joel Palmer House

I was, however, very impressed by Jay and Erin’s description of the legendary Pig-N-Ford Races at the Tillamook County Fair. Since I was hours-deep in wine and beer tasting and have never been myself, I paste below the description from Wikipedia:

Drivers use stripped Model T Fords with stock mechanicals. Five cars are lined up with the engines off at the start line of the Averill Arena horse racing track. Drivers stand next to the grandstands. When the starter pistol fires, the drivers run to the opposite side of the front straight, grab a live 20-pound pig from a bin, then must hand-crank their car and drive it one lap. They then stop, kill the engine, get a different pig, and race another lap. The first driver to complete three laps in this manner without losing their pig is the winner.

The race was first run in 1925. The official story is that two local farmers were chasing a runaway pig in their Model Ts and were having so much fun, they decided it should be a race at the next county fair. The Pig-N-Ford Races have been run every year since 1925. Drivers belong to the Tillamook County Model T Pig-N-Ford Association, and membership is often a lifelong affair. Cars and memberships are often passed down through families or sold to close friends. Some of the cars that first ran in 1925 are still on the track today.

August 24, 2013 (Saturday) – Breakfast at the Wine Country Farm was excellent. It was a veritable feast of fresh biscuits and homemade jam, an egg casserole dish, sausage, bacon, and hash browns. On our way out of town to Portland, we stopped at the Red Hills Market in Dundee. This is your typical, classy wine country market with food to order, gourmet salts and sauces, charcuterie, cheese, wine, recipe books, etc.

We had a great time in the Willamette Valley but I was underwhelmed (at best) by the wine. I did not love the product and disliked the value. The wines we tasted at White Rose cost $60-80/bottle. There are far better pinots available from California’s central coast, and for less money. On to Portland…

California, North America, USA

NOR-NorCal (like, real North)

August 23, 2013 champagne&backpacks Leave a comment

Who knew California was soooo incredibly long!? But what a lovely surprise to me. After Cobbler Hill we still had miles and miles of craggy coastline to enjoy. Driving on after our fabulous stay, we stopped to check out the little town of Mendocino and grab some fixings to cook up for dinner. They sure do have some fresh and delicious food in that neck of the woods. I could have wandered around that tiny provisions store for hours. Northern California (true Northern California, not NorCal) is full of quaint sleepy little towns that hug the coast. Each town seems to center around the PCH for a few blocks or so and contain only a handful of the most charming shops.

Some WINDY roads though, made me a little sick to my stomach. My motion sickness has gotten worse as I grew up. So uncool. I remember loving those amusement part rides as a kid… now the mere thought of reading my iphone for directions on the PCH is enough to make me queasy.

We stopped at Mystery Hill (World Famous, obviously) to do the road trip thing. I love me some “world’s largest/tallest/strangest” stuff!

Further on we saw a handful of wild elk grazing in the blackberry bushes. They are beautiful majestic creatures. Santa might consider subbing reindeer for elk at the helm of his sleigh 🙂 It helped that the sun hit the moist air in just the right light as if to spotlight the animals in a magical spotlight. I was jealous of the elk, so indulged in some fresh blackberries myself. SO juicy. MMM.

Mill Creek Campground served as home for us in Del Norte for a night. The camp was moist and lush. Small campsites, fairly crowded, but a nice spot for sure. We cooked bacon cheeseburgers for dinner, and finished the wine we had opened in Mendocino. I have to mention one of the most useful items we brought along with us on the trip: the camo boat chairs. OH MY GOD, I love these things. We bought these at a WalMart in Napa while there for a music festival and desperate for some seating in the hot hot sun. They were all out of traditional camping chairs (apparently we were the last people to have this thought), but what a fortuitous mistake, because the boat chairs are the best thing since toast (toast is so good). We’ve ended up bringing these to the beach, concerts, lake sides, and they make picnic tables infinitely more comfortable. And to think we almost left them behind! But I digress… the best part of Del Norte, BY FAR, was the epicly beautiful hike we did the next day.

P1000124 — ::my man, cooking up some mean cheeseburgers::

P1000125 — ::please pardon the unwashed hat hair. and note the boat chairs!::

After making some oatmeal for breakfast we faced the dreaded daily task of packing up the car once again. Sometimes we feel like its getting easier, sometimes it seems like our stuff fits worse than the day before. This prompted our decision that wherever we wound up next would be our home for two nights. We just couldn’t bear the thought of waking up and folding up our wet tent and stuffing all our things into the car one more morning. The packing tetris game got old fast. More on that later (this post will conclude CA… it’s on to Oregon next!).

In order to get in some much-needed exercise, we drove south about 4 miles to Damnation Creek Trail, located at mile marker 16. We parked on the street, took our daypack and began the 4.2 mile round trip, in-and-out, 1000 feet drop hike to the shore. The trail books and signposts warned of a steep, strenuous trail, but it was not bad at all, and most definitely worth the trip. The path down switchbacks through a dense, moist redwood forest, and when you arrive at the end, you stumble out into the most stunning shoreline view. There is a little rocky beach where you can sit for a while and watch the waves crash into the rugged coastline.

::Alan inhaling California’s intoxicating coastline::

Back at the car we fixed some PB&J sammies, and then hit the road again in search of a campsite that would work as home base for the next two nights. Onward and Oregon bound!