Because of COVID we had to make reservations in advance for each place, so we only did 1-2 places per day, which forced us to relax at each a bit more than in previous trips. Arborbrook Our first winery of the trip, and one we've visited many times for their Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. We were seated at a small table on the patio for our tasting. Sadly, they only had one Pinot Gris left on the menu, but thankfully it was quite nice. Leandra tried the Reserve flight which was all reds and ... continue reading...
Oregon 2021: Willamette Valley restaurants
Rosmarino Osteria Italiana, Newberg Probably our favorite restaurant in the valley (other visits), if they had been open on Wednesday we would have gone for our anniversary. Alas, this year they were only open Thursday-Sunday, so we made a reservation for Sunday night - which was quite necessary, as they were turning groups away the entire time we were eating dinner! I went in fully expecting to order the amazing blue cheese and walnut gnocchi, to the point where I didn't even look at the ... continue reading...
Oregon 2021: Willamette Valley sights
In addition to the coast and our wine tastings, we also checked out two parts of McMinnville, downtown and the Mason-Rivera Sculpture Garden. It's been a few years since we'd last been in McMinnville, and downtown felt a bit livelier. It was a lovely evening, so after dinner we walked around checking out the business storefronts, and shaking our heads at the wine puns at several street crossings. On our way to the coast we noticed the Mason-Rivera Sculpture Garden and noted it ... continue reading...
Oregon 2021: coastal drive
We left our Monday free of wine tasting reservations in the hopes of visiting the Oregon coast, and thankfully, the weather cooperated with our plans. Our plan was to check out the section from Pacific City to Newport, about 50 miles total. Given our many stops it took us about five hours. McPhillips Beach - We found a spot in the small rocky parking lot and walked down to the beach. This beach allows cars to drive on the sand, but I wasn't willing to brave that in our rental car! Plenty of ... continue reading...
Oregon 2021: Portland
Our Oregon trip was bookended by days in Portland. On Sunday morning, we checked out of the Holiday Inn and headed to the Gateway Breakfast House for breakfast. They were busy! After a short 10 minute wait we got two seats at the small counter, our own little nook, and ordered a classic ham and egg scramble with hash browns for Eric, and biscuits and gravy for Leandra. Very tasty, and we were full until dinner. With a few hours to spare until our first wine tasting reservation we tried ... continue reading...
Oregon 2021: introduction
If you asked us in 2019 where we would go for our 20th anniversary, we likely would have replied with somewhere in Asia, or perhaps the Pacific. Fast forward to 2021, and we did end up along the Pacific! This was our first flight in 18 months (!!) and we weren't up for the potential hassles of international rule changes, so we stayed within the borders of the US, and decided on Oregon. We always enjoy our trips (2008, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), plus we are members of several wineries, so ... continue reading...
NC Mountains Summer 2021: waterfalls + hikes
Although this was a 'working vacation' in western NC, we still had plenty of time with a full weekend plus some late afternoon days to do some exploring in the late summer sun. On Saturday, we headed north (almost in Tennessee!) to the Big Creek Trail which included Midnight Hole Falls and Mouse Creek Falls along with some extra cascades thrown in for good measure. Our friend Leah leads guided hikes and she showed us how to find salamanders and listed off all the blooms we were seeing along ... continue reading...
NC Mountains Summer 2021: food and drink
Frog Level Brewing - Waynesville After a 4.5 hr drive we were happy to be out of the car and ready for a beer! I took Pasha for a quick walk while Leandra scouted the brewery for seating options. She rejected the outdoor patio near the river because there was live music so that area was full and noisy, opting instead to seat us inside near the entrance. To drink, I chose the Berry sour, while Leandra tried the brown ale, and we split a brisket sandwich (ok, but a little bland). Haywood ... continue reading...
NC Mountains Summer 2021: Blue Ridge Parkway
On this trip we managed to get to the Blue Ridge Parkway twice, Sunday and again on Friday. On Sunday we decided to have a picnic dinner, first stopping to pick up food from Ingles and Publix, then driving along the parkway till we found a nice spot at the Haywood Jackson overlook. can you spot Pasha hiding under the table? Not only did it have a great view, but the temperature was about 10 degrees cooler too! On Friday we decided to take the scenic detour route home ... continue reading...
NY Summer 2021: Wine and beer tasting
Much like previous summers, we spent a few afternoons visiting local wineries and breweries in July. Lenz Winery, Peconic We've been members for years now, and Lenz always has some interesting wines available. This year they still had the outdoor tables, and we were able to get a shaded spot on each of our two visits. On visit #1 our focus was tasting newly released wines. Our favorites included the 2015 Sparkling Cuvee and the stainless-steel Chardonnay (a pleasant surprise both for ... continue reading...
NY Summer 2021: shucking oysters!
A few days after we arrived on Long Island I started noticing "Local Oysters" placards popping up along the side of the main and north roads. Normally, I would get my oyster fix once or twice a summer at Case's but what if I learned to shuck my own oysters? Considering the local prices at restaurants were about $3 per oyster, I figured it was worth a little research. I landed on picking up some oysters from Little Ram Oysters as they are a female-owned business (and a couple). Plus, their ... continue reading...
NY Summer 2021: daytrip to Orient
On a Thursday with beautiful weather we set our emails to out-of-office and drove with my parents out to Orient, the very end of the North Fork of Long Island. Our first stop was at Opties and Dinghies for lunch. This small restaurant had a handful of tables (outdoor only) and a menu that included Asian dumplings, sweet and savory crepes, gelatos and pastries... our biggest problem was narrowing down a reasonable amount to order! The char siu bao had a flavor we'd been missing without ... continue reading...
NY Summer 2021: Food
We were much more active this summer compared to 2020, and since things were generally open, we were able to return to old favorites as well as try some new spots. In general chronological order: Roadhouse Pizza, Riverhead Really tasty traditional thin-crust NY pizza. Leandra liked the option for fresh mushrooms! We got takeout from them twice. Greenport Creamery, Greenport Walking around Greenport on a warm weekend afternoon I really wanted ice cream, so we stopped in here with my ... continue reading...
NY Summer 2021: beaches
In 2021 we made a concerted effort to get to a beach for sunset several times a week - while conditions didn't always cooperate with great light, each visit was still worthwhile. Bailie Beach A great beach for walking, with sandy cliffs and piles of driftwood and shells, plus dog-friendly and uncrowded. Mattituck Inlet After storms most of the afternoon there was a short break just around sunset, and Mattituck Inlet had great light on my way to Bailie ... continue reading...
NC Outer Banks, May 2021: Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Reminiscent of our experience at the World of Birds in South Africa, this NC bird park located in Scotland Neck had a reasonably photogenic collection of birds to check out, only 2 hours from RTP. We got there near the end of the day, so it was uncrowded, which was a bonus. More photos on Flickr! ... continue reading...
NC Outer Banks, May 2021: Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park and Museum
On the way to the beach Leandra surprised me with a stop at this fun little park in downtown Wilson hosting a collection of large whirligigs - the blue skies were a great backdrop for the colorful sculptures. Casita Brewing Company, Wilson We spotted this brewery next to the Whirligig park and decided to check it out, and we're glad we did. Interesting beers on tap, and a relaxed environment. Koi Pond Brewing & The Tipsy Tomato, Rocky Mount Leandra had been to ... continue reading...
NC Outer Banks, May 2021: beaches and lighthouses
Bodie Island Lighthouse We didn't try to go up the lighthouse, but enjoyed the views from the ground. On the far side is a boardwalk through part of the marsh where we saw an Eastern King Snake and an egret. Cape Hatteras Fairly incredible that you can move a lighthouse! But they did just that to protect this landmark from erosion in 1999. This tower is currently closed for repairs but it's free to park and walk around the base and the nearby history museum is worth a quick ... continue reading...
NC Outer Banks, May 2021: Introduction
With full vaccinations (!) and a desire for a quick getaway, Leandra planned a two night trip to the NC Outer Banks for my birthday. There were several firsts on this trip: (surprisingly) the first time we'd ever been to this part of NC in the 15 years we've lived here. our first trip without Pasha since early 2020. the beach restaurants were the first places we went that didn't require a mask on entry. We used some points at the Holiday Inn Express in Nags Head - it was as generic ... continue reading...
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