Our only wine tasting for the day was EFESTĒ to pick up our semi-annual allotment and try out some additional wines. Since it was Monday, we were the only people in the tasting room which meant a...
Blog posts from USA Travel
Pacific NW: Woodinville Wineries and hanging with friends
After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel we met my friend Barb (from high school) & her husband, Jon at Davenport Cellars at noon. Phil was our wine pourer and he definitely opened up a bit when...
Pacific NW: Willamette Valley and drive to Seattle
Stopped in at the Sweet Oregon Berry Co again for another round of raspberry and pumpkin hand pies, then headed to our old favorite Arborbrook Vineyards. Per usual, the tasting here was good, it's...
Pacific NW: Willamette Valley, day 2
We met our friend from college, Nate Wall, at Day Wines for a tasting and tour. Got to try a bunch of different wines and have a great conversation about wine making methods. Our next destination...
Pacific NW 2017: Willamette Valley, day 1
Our flight into Seattle landed at 10pm, so fortunately our friends Dave and Jake who offered to host us for the night live just a few minutes from the airport. Of course we stayed up talking and...
Pacific NW 2017: Introduction & where we stayed
For the past two years we've had a Southwest Companion Pass that lets us buy one ticket, get one free. With only a few months to go before the pass expires we made it a priority to get back out to...
A warm weekend in Minneapolis / St. Paul
In late September we flew to Minneapolis to visit friends and explore the area, and lucky us, it was warmer there than back home in NC! The heat made us a little lazier than we might have planned,...
Memorial Day Weekend in downtown Chicago
Over Memorial Day weekend we took advantage of the Monday off and flew up to Chicago for a short trip. We spent half the time in the city (using up a free night certificate) and half the time with...
2016 Travel Overview
Previous years-in-review – 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 Some of our travel stats for the year: 82k total air miles on 11 airlines: American Airlines, Southwest, British Airways, Cathay...
Leandra’s 40th: Silver Falls State Park
We've been wanting to go to Silver Falls State Park since our very first trip to Oregon, but it always fell off the list for one reason or another. This trip we set out to rectify our previous...
Leandra’s 40th: Columbia River Gorge
Our original plan for our last day in Oregon was to drive to the coast, but I vetoed four hours of driving in favor of returning to the Columbia River Valley and visiting some waterfalls we hadn't...
Leandra’s 40th: food & drink
Thursday First day in the city, we checked into the hotel then walked a few blocks to a cider place nearby - Cider Riot!. Eric had a nice collaboration triple with cascade while I had the dry hopped...
Leandra’s 40th: wine tasting in Willamette Valley
Wine tasting in Willamette Valley is one of our favorite activities in Oregon, and one of the main reasons I wanted to go for my birthday trip. Staying in Newberg for the weekend gave us easy access...
Leandra’s 40th: Mt. Hood
On this trip to Oregon we originally intended to spend Friday wine tasting in Willamette Valley. However, with an expected temperature of 95F, we decided to escape to a higher elevation in search of...
Leandra’s 40th: a birthday in Portland
For Leandra's birthday she decided that we would go to Portland to celebrate with wine tasting, hiking, good food, and unbeknownst to her, a concert too. There are so many things to do within a few...
Eric’s 40th: a day in Boston
We had the option of a four hour layover or a ten hour layover, and since we hadn't been to Boston, we choose the ten hour option. Because we would have carry-on bags we knew we'd need to store them...
San Diego Breweries
Looking back through my draft posts, I realized that I never completed the beer post from last year's trip to San Diego. So! To keep better records, here is what we tried in 2016 and a list with...
Seattle 2015: Breweries & Pubs
Post Doc Brewing - Our flight landed a bit early, so we had just enough time to stop in here for a quick beer before they closed. The bartender was very friendly and mentioned there was no rush as...
Our Itinerary
2025 Trips
Tampa Bay, FL (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Villa la Angostura, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls, Argentina + Brazil (Feb)
Miami, FL (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Mar)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)
Doha, Qatar (May)
Bristol + London, UK (Jul)
Long Island, NY (Jul)
Slovenia (Sep)
Treviso, Italy (Sep)
Bologna, Italy (Sep)
Turin, Italy (Oct)
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London + Manchester, UK (Dec)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)