Day Four - Walla Walla, WA to Redmond, OR

Our plan was to have breakfast downtown, but with Main Street blocked off for a car show we opted for the hotel. Al and Ann had already left for Idaho to play golf, so we were down to four. Breakfast was uneventful as was the rest of the day.

Caught up with the Columbia River a few miles out of town and followed along with it until reaching Biggs, Oregon. Fortunately it was Saturday, so no road paving on Highway 97. We took a quick drive through Shaniko and later passed up stopping at the Eagle Bakery in Madras. Passing up the Eagle Bakery is a major test of will, because it has just about the best raisin cinnamon rolls ever.

Once home we sorted out the wine. Without counting when buying Barb and I ended up with exactly a case. All in all it was a fun trip with good friends.

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Day Three - Walla Walla Food Tour

After a quick morning snack at the gas station next door we headed downtown to met our Food Tour guide Nancy and her assistant Sally. This being Walla Walla we started off at a winery tasting room. Along with wine tasting we were served a really great sandwich. When I say sandwich I don't mean sandwich in the tradition of a "Ham and Cheese" sandwich. No, this was a very fancy sandwich with a very fancy presentation and that would be the case for the rest of our stops.

Along the way we visited an olive oil and vinegar shop and several more restaurants. All provided an small meal and wine. We finished at a sidewalk café with cheese, crackers, fruit and both a red and white wine. Before heading back to the hotel we retrieved wine purchases made along the way.

Wine Slushies

Final Stop Click the photos

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Day Two - Walla Walla Wine Tour

Caught the shuttle at 8:00 with Neal and Phyllis for a short ride to Bacon And Eggs and breakfast. And it was a good one. Located in downtown Walla Walla it was a typical old building in an old part of town. That's not a negative. In fact, it's a positive. Old buildings, old architecture, wide streets and lots of wine testing rooms.

Today will be a wine day. 11:00 will see the six of us starting a guided wine tour, which will include lunch and I'm sure significant wine purchases.

Well, our driver Jarred showed up right on time in what looked like a new, large Ford van. This ex-marine, ex-security something and musician really made our day. Great driver, good sense of humor and very knowledgable about the area and wineries. Among his many jobs he carried out all our purchases and safely tucked them away in cases. I say cases because Neal and I filled two.

Ann had set us to visit five wineries, but because we ran a little ahead of schedule Jarred snuck in a sixth. Along the way we visited Amavi Winery, Pepper Bridge Winery, Basel Cellars, Tranche Cellars, Seven Hills Winery and Three Rivers Winery. The high point of the tour was lunch at Basel Cellars. Jarred had brought along a lunch from a place in Walla Walla that was clearly a 10. Laid out on a large plank were six kinds of meat, five kinds of cheese, bread, eight or ten different kinds of vegetables and, of course, grapes. The six of us shared a bottle of Basel Cellars Claret. Excellent. We have already talked about returning next year and once again getting together with Jarred.

We finished up the day with drinks and finger food at the Marcus Whitman Hotel Vineyard Lounge. All in all a great day. Tomorrow we have another tour, this one a tour of downtown restaurants.

Click the photos

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Day One - Redmond, OR to Walla Walla, WA

Neal and Phyllis showed up at exactly 8:00 AM and five minutes later we had loaded a couple of bags and were on our way to Walla Walla, Washington for three days of wine tasting and buying.

The four and a half hour drive was uneventful. Usually I'm driving, which means sorta keeping my eyes on the road and generally avoiding trouble. Today I was in the front passenger seat. Released of all driver responsibilities I was free to enjoy Highway 97 as never before. Not to say there is a lot to enjoy, but what there was I soaked up.

We followed 97 North as far as the Columbia river. Along the way towns ranged in size from small to small and included the near ghost town of Shaniko as well as Kent, Grass Valley and Moro. We attempted coffee in Grass Valley, but all three cafes were closed. Linda's at the Grand Central Travel Center in Biggs, Oregon was open and provided a rest as well coffee and breakfast.

At Biggs we turned East and followed Interstate 84 as far as Hermiston, Oregon. With a population of 16,745, Hermiston is the largest city in Eastern Oregon. When thinking of Hermiston my mind always turns to watermelloms, for which the area is famous.

From Hermiston it was North on Interstate 82 to Umatilla, Oregon and then East on the Lewis and Clark Trail Highway to Walla Walla. Along 82 we could see the hundreds of underground bunkers of the Umatilla Chemical Depot, where 7,434,000 pounds of GB and VX nerve agents, as well as HD blister agent were once stored.

Arriving at our hotel to early to check in we met Al and Ann (the third members of our Wine Team) at a nearby pizza for a little lunch and adult beverage.

Checking in shortly after 3:00 we hung out in our rooms until meeting downstairs about 5:00. Rather than head out for dinner we decided to stick with the bar for drinks and finger food. Martinis, beer, red wine, white wine all passed through our table, along with a similar variety of hors d'oeuvres.

Before heading off to bed we set up an 8:00 shuttle to a nearby breakfast place. So, that's all for today.

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