A few general things we noticed while dining out in Oregon... people are generally very nice but not chatty. Three times we were greeted at the door and expected to follow the hostess into the dining room without so much as head nod or "follow me!". This is probably completely normal, but I am used to the uber-chatty South apparently. w xyz aLoft Hotel bar—Our hotel had a nice bar with comfy couches and a good DJ, so when we arrived on Friday night, we changed out of our travel clothes and … [Read more...]
Oregon wineries, day 2: Anne Amie, Carlton Winemakers Studio, Lemelson, Erath
November 5, 2008
by
by
See the wineries we visited on the first day, Oregon wineries. day 1: Montinore, Kramer, Arborbrook, WillaKenzie. Anne Amie Vineyards—Fruit flies were competing with us for the wine here, but we still managed to sneak a few samples in. The woman pouring the wine was very nice and we got to hear all about her family vacation to Mexico with teenagers—thankfully that won't be a challenge for us anytime soon! Eric had the advantage here as the regular $5 tasting only included one Pinot Noir … [Read more...]
Oregon wineries, day 1: Montinore, Kramer, Arborbrook, WillaKenzie
November 4, 2008
by
by
After several miles of hiking to some beautiful waterfalls on our first day in Oregon, we headed south into the Willamette Valley to spend two days wine tasting. The weather could not have been more perfect, mid-sixties and sunny the entire time. Plus, the vineyard leaves had all changed to a stunning yellow, which made the wineries even more picturesque. Montinore Estate—This winery was recommended by our friends at Wine Authorities here in Durham and since it was furthest north of the … [Read more...]
Oregon waterfalls, part 2: Multnomah to Elowah
November 2, 2008
by
by
To get the first part of the story, check out Oregon waterfalls, part 1: Latourell to Wahkeena. Multnomah Falls. The most photographed waterfall in Oregon and the second tallest falls in the United States at an amazing 620 feet. I always find waterfalls that have their own snack bar to be slightly less impressive (see Snoqualmie Falls), but as you can see, this waterfall is still beautiful even with the crowds (which Eric skillfully cropped out of this photo). :) Horsetail Falls. … [Read more...]
Oregon waterfalls, part 1: Latourell to Wahkeena
November 1, 2008
by
by
Latourell Falls. Our first waterfall of the trip and the height of this one was stunning. Little did we know that all the waterfalls along this stretch are very, very tall. We just don't get that in North Carolina and Georgia. This one was an easy walk, but we had a bit of an adventure on the second one. Upper Latourell Falls. The hike up to this one was moderately easy, we found ourselves heading uphill and downhill quite a bit throughout the day and I think the extra uphill walking on … [Read more...]
Columbia River Valley views
October 30, 2008
by
by
After a filling breakfast at Heidi's, we headed east out of Portland along the very scenic Historic Columbia River Highway for some beautiful views of the Columbia River Valley. Washington state is on the left and Oregon is on the right. That tiny building on the right is the Vista House at Crown Point. A beautiful lookout point with stained glass windows and a wrap around balcony for 360 degree views. This is also the place where Eric shot this panorama from... (click here to … [Read more...]
A beautiful weekend for wine tasting
ericOctober 27, 2008
by
by
We've been touring around the Willamette Valley visiting a number of wineries and vineyards and we haven't visited a bad one yet. The weather has been near perfect- sunny, upper 60's- and the fall colors are beautiful. This photo of Lemelson Vineyard is a good representation. … [Read more...]