On Friday we started fairly early on the popular Kancamagus Highway ($5 day use fee for all stops). Our first stop was the Pemigewasset Overlook, which was a little underwhelming. I think we are spoiled by the Blue Ridge Parkway. Next up was the popular two-tiered Sabbaday Falls accessed via a short paved hike with a bunch of stairs to different viewpoints. Our next stop was the Rocky Gorge Scenic Area, which had several spots of fall color, plus the rather serene Falls ... continue reading...
New England, October 2021: New Hampshire hikes and sights, part 1
The majority of our trip was spent exploring in New Hampshire, and as usual, waterfalls were a significant component. We finally arrived in NH on Wednesday afternoon (Sept 28) and managed to hit Profile Falls along the way to the White Mountains. We parked in a pullout just after the stone bridge, then followed a small trail along the river for about 0.1 miles. On our way to dinner that evening we took a detour to check out Campton Falls, which is viewable off the roadside, and ... continue reading...
New England, October 2021: introduction
We've wanted to experience a New England autumn for years, but other trips always took precedence. This year we found a great airfare deal to Manchester, NH, so we booked a week-long trip. With patience we even found a good rental car deal and were all set to explore New Hampshire and Maine. Unfortunately, nine hours before we were scheduled to fly, Southwest canceled our flights - with the standard unbelievable claim of weather (of course). That lead to a mad scramble, as we checked for ... continue reading...
Oregon 2021: wineries
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...