Lovely day spent in the minivan driving to Eugene. Some of the travelers got to spend some quality time (and quality money - I'm sure the state of Oregon appreciated their efforts in stimulating the local economy) at the Woodburn Outlet Stores while T and I made a slight detour for reasons that will not be revealed here.
We had a great dinner that night at a new local brewpub Hop Valley Brewing with a great friend. It was nice getting caught up on all the gossip from the last three years. Thanks Haas!
July 10....
What an experience. T and I got to spend our third day at a local institution while the folks with us got to experience not only Oregon Country Fair, but the 40th edition. Much fun was had people watching. Surprisingly we managed to see about 4-5 people that we knew there...best line was from one of them when they recognized us - "You don't live here!"
I saw some things there that I had a hard time forgetting...not sure if there is a picture below, but the old dude painted up like a fairy (completely painted save for his g-string pouch holding his junk) was a show stopper. Oh, and there's a video in the gallery of the drum circle.
Then we had a great night of more local friends and local beers.
July 11
The area around Eugene is known as the Willamette Valley, and is home to some great local vineyards (the climate is perfect for growing Pinot Noir grapes...if you can find an Oregon Pinot you won't be disappointed) so we as a group decided to hit a few of the tasting rooms in the valley. But first we had a stop or two to make....first for what I think is the best coffee in the city. Full City Coffee. Hit the small stand for the best white chocolate mocha and then made our way across the street to stop #2: Saturday Market. Walked the shops - T was looking for a souvenir for a friend and we were looking for something we weren't able to get before we left: a hand made cutting board in the shape of the state of Oregon. Okay, we're weirdos. Live with it.
Then after a quick lunch (we continued with the local only eating) we headed out to the first of three wineries. Now, I'm driving because I'd started to come down with a cold and wasn't feeling quite 100% so that freed up everyone else to imbibe freely...and imbibe they did! Between the tastings (uhm, folks? when you taste 7-8 different wines at each place that adds up) and the full glasses of wine at each place you might say that I was chauffeuring around a bunch of drunks! Much wine was consumed, and much wine was purchased - more about that in the next installment - and some tired, and drunk, people called it a night
1 comment:
totally jealous of this trip. great recap :)
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