The Comeback Blog....Oregon

Where did the fall go?  The grandparents are getting restless....or strike that, Nana is getting restless.

My blog needs a little jump start, but to do that, I have to go back to October.

That was before life and work got a little crazy.

This is the week the blog makes a come back....starting with Oregon.

And Nana, the kids will make the next post, I promise.

In October, Andy and I were so fortunate to get to travel to Oregon, sans kids to spend time with great friends and good wine, not to mention breathtaking scenery.

On the road....and once again, the mini van just kind of makes sense.
Note, we did not drive there. Even though Oregon is just one state away, turns out it's still over a two hour flight...who knew?
 Party of 6.

Jacqueline, Suzanne, and I

It was actually refreshing to leave sunny California and arrive to misty, cool Oregon....made me feel justified wearing my fall clothes for once.

I'm going to let the pictures tell the story for this post, but just a few tid bits....

we went to the Willamette Valley, just about an hour outside of Portland....couldn't even tell you which direction, and I'm too lazy to go look it up right now....but what I do remember is that they are known for their Pinot up there.....and it was goooood.

First winery....Sineann

We had never been to Oregon, but had heard it was beautiful, which was completely true!

We stayed at the Allison Inn, and it could not have been more perfect.

On Saturday we hired a driver to take us to a few more wineries so we could just "enjoy".

The first winery and one of our favorites, Prive.

Almost all of the wineries are small, boutique like, and family owned....mom and pop, type....totally different from a lot of the ones we've gone to before in Napa.

It was harvest season and many were not even open, but thanks to some smooth talking from Mark Donat and planning with our driver, we were granted a visit......so cool.

This winery is so intimate and they do their own bottling.....I just thought this was cool.

Barrel tasting...

like right out of the barrel.

Next up was our absolute favorite....Dukes.

How beautiful is this?

The Duke family opened up their house and just invited us into their kitchen to eat drink and visit......so amazing.

I was just so enamored with the scenery, I looked like this for much of the trip.

The Duke's residence.

Storm coming in....

On to the next one....

Alexana....different experience, but still cool.

That night we had one of the coolest eating experiences of my life.

It was a "chef's table" experience.  We were seated just outside the kitchen and enjoyed and 8 or 9 course meal with wine pairings.  It was a good thing it was right at our hotel because I don't think we would have been able to roll back home otherwise.

This is an example of one of the courses....a total treat for foodies.

Me, Andy, Suz, Brian, Jacqueline, and Mark

Not done yet......one more day!

one of my favorite pics!

Ayers winery

Mark taking a test drive

Then we found a random chestnut tree grove that was just so cool....it reminded me of something in a movie!

and onto the last winery....Ayoub.

This guy was so proud of his wine, he put his picture on it.

He was quite the character, but his wine was really good.

And one of the best parts of a trip like this is the souvenirs you don't even realize that you bought, but that your UPS man shows up with for weeks after.  I like those kind of souvenirs.