Today it rained…on the road in the PNW
Oct 13th, 2016 | 07:14 AM
#41
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 25,597
Likes: 0
I will look for that Seufert in our wine shops. Do you have a suggestion for a slightly spritzy, spicy, flavorful but not sweet Pinot Gris? .. and don't think California does them (I've asked)>
The one I used to get a bottle carried from NZ yearly..when friends would visit.
http://www.seifried.co.nz/collection...inot-gris-2014
The one I used to get a bottle carried from NZ yearly..when friends would visit.
http://www.seifried.co.nz/collection...inot-gris-2014
Oct 13th, 2016 | 10:21 AM
#44
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 413
Likes: 0
"We were surprised that more wineries didn’t offer food. Some of our best winery experiences in Australia and New Zealand have been food AND wine centered."
Wineries are typically on land that's zoned for agricultural use, where food sales aren't permitted without some sort of use variance. Cana's Feast in Carlton used to operate an on-site restaurant where we enjoyed a number of meals, but it's located within town limits, so likely had a more flexible use designation than agricultural land.
If you haven't been through Hood River yet (and weather permitting), you might stop at Marchesi. No restaurant there, but they do offer a nice cheese and salami plate on a vineyard side patio. And no pretentiousness.
Wineries are typically on land that's zoned for agricultural use, where food sales aren't permitted without some sort of use variance. Cana's Feast in Carlton used to operate an on-site restaurant where we enjoyed a number of meals, but it's located within town limits, so likely had a more flexible use designation than agricultural land.
If you haven't been through Hood River yet (and weather permitting), you might stop at Marchesi. No restaurant there, but they do offer a nice cheese and salami plate on a vineyard side patio. And no pretentiousness.
Oct 15th, 2016 | 04:45 PM
#48
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,158
Likes: 83
October 9 –
More freaking rain. We packed up, left our accommodation, and had one last latte at Coffee Cottage.
We then pointed the Nissan towards McMinnville, but got side-tracked by the Evergreen Aviation and Space museum. Intrigued, we paid $27 each admission and spent the next three hours visiting the two museums and watching an IMAX film. This was a nice surprise – the museum is really well done.
Starving by the time we rolled Into McMinnville, we easily located 1882 Grille, which I’d put on my short list as a promising place for lunch. And indeed it was. However, our plans of ‘eating light’ in an effort to save room for Tillamook later in the day backfired. We shared an order of hummus, and an order of onion rings – which turned out to be six of the biggest onion rings we’d ever seen, dipped multiple times in beer batter. They were insanely good, yet oh-so-bad, and we gobbled up every morsel. Add a Full Sail blood orange wheat beer for Bill and a cider for me and our plans for a light lunch disappeared like a fart in the wind.
We really liked what we saw of McMinnville; we probably would have enjoyed basing ourselves there, but I’d been unable to find available accommodation that didn’t break the bank.
We forged on to Tillamook, and being tourists, we did what tourists do…we visited the cheese factory. We knew the minute we saw the enormous building and the sprawling parking lot that we were in for a mob scene. Adding insult to injury it was raining buckets, and we had park out in the Back 40, which was oddly devoid of tour buses.
We followed the crowds and entered the fray; seemingly hundreds of people were in line for ice cream, large tubs of which were leaving the counter at an alarming rate. There was a café, a fudge counter, and a shop selling all manner of cheese and specialty goods. This place was practically printing money.
We took the self-guided ‘tour’, which today (Sunday) meant nothing more than gazing below decks at a vacant production room filled with huge pieces of silent equipment – nothing was happening except two guys wrapping 40 lb blocks of cheese, but this didn’t seem to deter the crowds, who all wanted a look anyway.
Like sheep, we joined the queue for the free samples – we liked the cheese curds, never had one before. We succumbed to temptation and joined the ice cream line, sharing a massive tub of ice cream (two of the biggest scoops we’d ever seen), quite the value at $4 . We’d more than met our fat quota for the day.
As we left Tillamook we finally got a brief glimpse of that much talked about beautiful Oregon coastline… sort of – it was socked in by fog.
We turned inland on Miami River Road, and rather enjoyed what little we could see of the countryside, before we rejoined the coast road, views still obscured. We detoured through Manzanita, and liked what little of it we could see.
Even with a GPS, we managed to miss our turn into Cannon Beach – the visibility was poor and it was beginning to get dark. Blindly following The Voice, we drove all the way to Seaside, before she finally admitted that we needed to make a U turn and back track several miles.
We checked into our home for the next two nights, Ecola Creek Lodge –the rain was coming off the roof in sheets and we nearly drowned opening the door. Our room was very nice and warm though, complete with fireplace.
More freaking rain. We packed up, left our accommodation, and had one last latte at Coffee Cottage.
We then pointed the Nissan towards McMinnville, but got side-tracked by the Evergreen Aviation and Space museum. Intrigued, we paid $27 each admission and spent the next three hours visiting the two museums and watching an IMAX film. This was a nice surprise – the museum is really well done.
Starving by the time we rolled Into McMinnville, we easily located 1882 Grille, which I’d put on my short list as a promising place for lunch. And indeed it was. However, our plans of ‘eating light’ in an effort to save room for Tillamook later in the day backfired. We shared an order of hummus, and an order of onion rings – which turned out to be six of the biggest onion rings we’d ever seen, dipped multiple times in beer batter. They were insanely good, yet oh-so-bad, and we gobbled up every morsel. Add a Full Sail blood orange wheat beer for Bill and a cider for me and our plans for a light lunch disappeared like a fart in the wind.
We really liked what we saw of McMinnville; we probably would have enjoyed basing ourselves there, but I’d been unable to find available accommodation that didn’t break the bank.
We forged on to Tillamook, and being tourists, we did what tourists do…we visited the cheese factory. We knew the minute we saw the enormous building and the sprawling parking lot that we were in for a mob scene. Adding insult to injury it was raining buckets, and we had park out in the Back 40, which was oddly devoid of tour buses.
We followed the crowds and entered the fray; seemingly hundreds of people were in line for ice cream, large tubs of which were leaving the counter at an alarming rate. There was a café, a fudge counter, and a shop selling all manner of cheese and specialty goods. This place was practically printing money.
We took the self-guided ‘tour’, which today (Sunday) meant nothing more than gazing below decks at a vacant production room filled with huge pieces of silent equipment – nothing was happening except two guys wrapping 40 lb blocks of cheese, but this didn’t seem to deter the crowds, who all wanted a look anyway.
Like sheep, we joined the queue for the free samples – we liked the cheese curds, never had one before. We succumbed to temptation and joined the ice cream line, sharing a massive tub of ice cream (two of the biggest scoops we’d ever seen), quite the value at $4 . We’d more than met our fat quota for the day.
As we left Tillamook we finally got a brief glimpse of that much talked about beautiful Oregon coastline… sort of – it was socked in by fog.
We turned inland on Miami River Road, and rather enjoyed what little we could see of the countryside, before we rejoined the coast road, views still obscured. We detoured through Manzanita, and liked what little of it we could see.
Even with a GPS, we managed to miss our turn into Cannon Beach – the visibility was poor and it was beginning to get dark. Blindly following The Voice, we drove all the way to Seaside, before she finally admitted that we needed to make a U turn and back track several miles.
We checked into our home for the next two nights, Ecola Creek Lodge –the rain was coming off the roof in sheets and we nearly drowned opening the door. Our room was very nice and warm though, complete with fireplace.
Oct 15th, 2016 | 04:59 PM
#49
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 17,749
Likes: 0
Yes the museums in Mac are really good! Tillamook makes great products but as you found, visiting is different. Glad you got to see Manzanita. A tornado came through there yesterday and did significant damage. I adore Cannon Beach. Can't wait to read more of your adventures
Oct 15th, 2016 | 07:02 PM
#52
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,158
Likes: 83
October 10 –
OMG! Sunshine! I could barely contain my excitement!
Camera in hand we walked into town and stopped for coffee at the first place we came to, The Harding Trading Company, cute place, great coffee.
We continued wandering, and happened upon the Lazy Susan Café – people were waiting to be seated and a woman leaving told us it was her favorite place in Cannon Beach, so we added our name to the list. This restaurant is in a little house, it has only eight tables on the main floor (five more upstairs, but that section was closed as it wasn’t busy enough, lol).
We were seated within 10 minutes - I suspect this is a family run business and it was a well-oiled machine – very efficient and friendly, and the best part, delicious. Bill had the Eggs Bennie, I went for the gingerbread pancakes with pear, lemon sauce and homemade whipped cream – lovely!
Afterwards, we did what everyone else seemed to be doing – we walked along the beach – it was so nice to see the sun and have decent light for photographs. There were quite a few people walking dogs and one woman walking a ferret, and remarkably, we saw no dog (or ferret) poop.
After a five mile walk, we decided to drive to Astoria. Once again we were surprised at the suburban sprawl, but we enjoyed the drive and felt lucky to visit on such a pretty day.
We drove up to the Astoria Column, and got our first good look at the Columbia River. Holy Sh*t Batman! I had no idea it was so BIG. We soaked up the views, took a gazillion photos and then climbed the 164 step spiral staircase to the top of the column for even more incredible views.
We then walked the steep slippery trail down to Cathedral Tree, which felt very New Zealandy - wet, dark, and mossy with plentiful exposed tree limbs. We thought we heard seals, so we kept walking, and walking, and walking….hoping to come to a look out of some sort, but we never did, and the trail just became more and more treacherous, so we finally turned back and climbed back up to the carpark. We did see a very interesting slug though, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they have leeches in OR (?).
We drove back into town and on a whim decided to drive across the Astoria-Megler Bridge, surprised to find it toll-free. Before leaving the area we drove out to the marina to ogle the huge stacks of logs and for more gobsmacking views of that incredible river and bridge.
We returned to Cannon Beach, but not before making a detour into Seaside, surprised at the sheer number of hotels and condos lining the beach.
Back in Cannon Beach, as we walked back into town for a sundowner of wheat beer and cider at the Public Coast Brewing Company, seemingly every emergency vehicle in the area drove past us, sirens blaring.
The following day, we discovered why. There’d been a shark attack in the area; the first since the 80’s.
Impressions:
We enjoyed our short stay in Cannon Beach. It’d have been miserable had the sun not come out though. We were both surprised at how suburban the area felt and how little of the coast one can actually see from the coastal road.
There was an abundance of raccoon road kill and the number of dead birds on the Astoria-Megler Bridge was a shocker. Do they fly into it?
OMG! Sunshine! I could barely contain my excitement!
Camera in hand we walked into town and stopped for coffee at the first place we came to, The Harding Trading Company, cute place, great coffee.
We continued wandering, and happened upon the Lazy Susan Café – people were waiting to be seated and a woman leaving told us it was her favorite place in Cannon Beach, so we added our name to the list. This restaurant is in a little house, it has only eight tables on the main floor (five more upstairs, but that section was closed as it wasn’t busy enough, lol).
We were seated within 10 minutes - I suspect this is a family run business and it was a well-oiled machine – very efficient and friendly, and the best part, delicious. Bill had the Eggs Bennie, I went for the gingerbread pancakes with pear, lemon sauce and homemade whipped cream – lovely!
Afterwards, we did what everyone else seemed to be doing – we walked along the beach – it was so nice to see the sun and have decent light for photographs. There were quite a few people walking dogs and one woman walking a ferret, and remarkably, we saw no dog (or ferret) poop.
After a five mile walk, we decided to drive to Astoria. Once again we were surprised at the suburban sprawl, but we enjoyed the drive and felt lucky to visit on such a pretty day.
We drove up to the Astoria Column, and got our first good look at the Columbia River. Holy Sh*t Batman! I had no idea it was so BIG. We soaked up the views, took a gazillion photos and then climbed the 164 step spiral staircase to the top of the column for even more incredible views.
We then walked the steep slippery trail down to Cathedral Tree, which felt very New Zealandy - wet, dark, and mossy with plentiful exposed tree limbs. We thought we heard seals, so we kept walking, and walking, and walking….hoping to come to a look out of some sort, but we never did, and the trail just became more and more treacherous, so we finally turned back and climbed back up to the carpark. We did see a very interesting slug though, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they have leeches in OR (?).
We drove back into town and on a whim decided to drive across the Astoria-Megler Bridge, surprised to find it toll-free. Before leaving the area we drove out to the marina to ogle the huge stacks of logs and for more gobsmacking views of that incredible river and bridge.
We returned to Cannon Beach, but not before making a detour into Seaside, surprised at the sheer number of hotels and condos lining the beach.
Back in Cannon Beach, as we walked back into town for a sundowner of wheat beer and cider at the Public Coast Brewing Company, seemingly every emergency vehicle in the area drove past us, sirens blaring.
The following day, we discovered why. There’d been a shark attack in the area; the first since the 80’s.
Impressions:
We enjoyed our short stay in Cannon Beach. It’d have been miserable had the sun not come out though. We were both surprised at how suburban the area felt and how little of the coast one can actually see from the coastal road.
There was an abundance of raccoon road kill and the number of dead birds on the Astoria-Megler Bridge was a shocker. Do they fly into it?
Oct 16th, 2016 | 07:09 PM
#53
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,158
Likes: 83
Just saw the news about the horrible weather at Cannon Beach. Feeling pretty lucky that we missed it.
--------------------------
Oct 11 –
Still sunny!
Most places in Cannon Beach are closed Tue and Wed, at least this time of year, so we popped into the first open place we came across for caffeine – a small café with disappointing lattes. We continued walking to the Pig and Pancake, which was doing a booming business. Bill went for his usual, and I barely made a dent in an enormous serving of potato pancakes; both were good.
We checked out of our hotel and then asked The Voice to direct us to Bend. There seemed to be an abundance of outlet stores around Portland metro and one strip mall after another, but eventually we left the urban sprawl behind.
We got our first glimpse of snow-covered Mt Hood, and the changing leaves were beautiful, much more orange and red than we typically see in Colorado.
The further south we got, the more mountain-like our surroundings felt, even though we were only at an elevation of 1,500 feet. There were trees, trees and more trees, and sure enough, when we got out of the car for a break, it smelled like Christmas.
Mt Washington eventually came into view, looking a bit like the Matterhorn.
The trees looked incredibly healthy and free of the diseases that plague our forests in Colorado, but all of that beautiful green came to an abrupt halt when we reached the B&B complex burn area from 2003 – 19,000 acres burned, devastating. Lake Detroit was a surprise too, as all the trees seemed to have been cut down, tree trunks everywhere.
The landscape eventually changed, startlingly so, becoming much drier as we approached Bend. It was quite a contrast.
Five hours after leaving Cannon Beach, we were checking into our second Air BnB accommodation of the trip; a fabulous modern apartment over the garage of a home in Bend. We thought we’d died and gone to heaven.
We wasted no time in doing what visitors to Bend do, we sought out a brewery – in his case the Silver Moon. Then it was off to the Taj Palace for some pretty good (and much missed) Indian food.
--------------------------
Oct 11 –
Still sunny!
Most places in Cannon Beach are closed Tue and Wed, at least this time of year, so we popped into the first open place we came across for caffeine – a small café with disappointing lattes. We continued walking to the Pig and Pancake, which was doing a booming business. Bill went for his usual, and I barely made a dent in an enormous serving of potato pancakes; both were good.
We checked out of our hotel and then asked The Voice to direct us to Bend. There seemed to be an abundance of outlet stores around Portland metro and one strip mall after another, but eventually we left the urban sprawl behind.
We got our first glimpse of snow-covered Mt Hood, and the changing leaves were beautiful, much more orange and red than we typically see in Colorado.
The further south we got, the more mountain-like our surroundings felt, even though we were only at an elevation of 1,500 feet. There were trees, trees and more trees, and sure enough, when we got out of the car for a break, it smelled like Christmas.
Mt Washington eventually came into view, looking a bit like the Matterhorn.
The trees looked incredibly healthy and free of the diseases that plague our forests in Colorado, but all of that beautiful green came to an abrupt halt when we reached the B&B complex burn area from 2003 – 19,000 acres burned, devastating. Lake Detroit was a surprise too, as all the trees seemed to have been cut down, tree trunks everywhere.
The landscape eventually changed, startlingly so, becoming much drier as we approached Bend. It was quite a contrast.
Five hours after leaving Cannon Beach, we were checking into our second Air BnB accommodation of the trip; a fabulous modern apartment over the garage of a home in Bend. We thought we’d died and gone to heaven.
We wasted no time in doing what visitors to Bend do, we sought out a brewery – in his case the Silver Moon. Then it was off to the Taj Palace for some pretty good (and much missed) Indian food.
Oct 17th, 2016 | 12:27 PM
#58
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 17,749
Likes: 0
I'm still awake too
You hit two of our fav spots in CB, the Lazy Susan and Public Coast.
That fire near Suttle Lake was devastating. That is where our family camped during the summers when I was a kid. We came through there towards the end of the fire and I was really shaken by what I saw.
Detroit is amazing when it is dry, isn't it? Feels like something out of Planet of the Apes, lol.
Bend is one of our favorites areas of the state.
Be glad you are not in the valley today. Torrential rain, thunder and lightening. I ran errands earlier, which was still bad, but am hunkered down now while carpets/floors are being redone.
You hit two of our fav spots in CB, the Lazy Susan and Public Coast.
That fire near Suttle Lake was devastating. That is where our family camped during the summers when I was a kid. We came through there towards the end of the fire and I was really shaken by what I saw.
Detroit is amazing when it is dry, isn't it? Feels like something out of Planet of the Apes, lol.
Bend is one of our favorites areas of the state.
Be glad you are not in the valley today. Torrential rain, thunder and lightening. I ran errands earlier, which was still bad, but am hunkered down now while carpets/floors are being redone.
Oct 17th, 2016 | 02:55 PM
#59
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,362
Likes: 0
Hi Melnq8, we're enjoying your TR! Sorry about some of your yucky weather, but you seem to manage to have a good time in spite of it.
Interesting that you mention wineries that serve no food. When we were in S.I. NZ, we experienced some of the same. We loved the Rippon Winery outside Wanaka, and the experience turned us on to Sauvignon Blanc. But they just had wine tasting. . .no food.
Also, we returned last month from France, and most of the wineries we visited did not serve food.
We eagerly await more of your trip experience.
Interesting that you mention wineries that serve no food. When we were in S.I. NZ, we experienced some of the same. We loved the Rippon Winery outside Wanaka, and the experience turned us on to Sauvignon Blanc. But they just had wine tasting. . .no food.
Also, we returned last month from France, and most of the wineries we visited did not serve food.
We eagerly await more of your trip experience.
Oct 18th, 2016 | 07:33 AM
#60
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,158
Likes: 83
Nice to see you here tomarkot (and glad the rest of you are still awake!)
Yeah, no food at Rippon, which is a real shame as those views are fabulous and would make a lovely lunch setting. We have visited wineries in both NZ and Australia that didn't serve food, but so many of them do, that we'd usually have a tasting first, then settle in for a nice lunch with some wine. If you ever make it back down under, be sure to visit Amisfield in Arrowtown, although they've gotten a bit pretentious, their food and wine is wonderful.
We arrived in Hood River yesterday, although my trip report is still back in Bend. We hadn't planned to visit any wineries here, but there just happens to be one down the road from the our Air BnB rental, and the owner recommended it, so that's where we sat out yesterday's afternoon rain.
Yeah, no food at Rippon, which is a real shame as those views are fabulous and would make a lovely lunch setting. We have visited wineries in both NZ and Australia that didn't serve food, but so many of them do, that we'd usually have a tasting first, then settle in for a nice lunch with some wine. If you ever make it back down under, be sure to visit Amisfield in Arrowtown, although they've gotten a bit pretentious, their food and wine is wonderful.
We arrived in Hood River yesterday, although my trip report is still back in Bend. We hadn't planned to visit any wineries here, but there just happens to be one down the road from the our Air BnB rental, and the owner recommended it, so that's where we sat out yesterday's afternoon rain.
