A Toast to King Estate Winery

The drive to King Estate Winery near Eugene, Oregon (in the Willamette Valley) is a long, winding road through beautiful trees and pasture.   Your drive suddenly breaks out of the forest to acres and acres of vineyards.  In the middle of the vineyards, on the top of a hill you see an enormous, stunning Tuscan villa surrounded with lavender and multi-colored flowers.  A little like the Emerald City in the Land of OZ, but with grape vines replacing the poppies.  Spectacular.

Mike and I sat on the patio and enjoyed the view looking out over the vineyard while we sipped wine and waited for our lunch. I had the pinot gris and Mike had the chardonnay, both were some of the best white wine we've had in a long time.  Lunch was unbelievably good--I had smoked chicken in a wine butter sauce with local mushrooms and Mike had the hamburger.  Not an ordinary hamburger, the buns are baked at the winery, estate cured bacon and all the fixin's are bought locally.  And get this, they make their own ketchup.  I didn't want the afternoon to end. 

Oh, and the service was over the top--from the guy who got us our table (he ran to clear off the table!) to the wine tasting bar server (she was a hoot!).  Everyone made you feel welcome, comfortable, and most of all, NEVER hurried.  Of course, we bought wine!

It was my fantasy of a Tuscan afternoon in Italy.  Ahhh!

Recreational Equipment, Inc.- a.k.a. - REI

Today, we drove to Hillsboro, Oregon to shop at their large REI store.  We were in the market for a hand-held GPS (for hiking and geocaching), a small pair of binoculars, another daypack and socks.  The trip was a success!  (Note:  The picture was copied from the Hillsboro, Oregon REI website, but the weather and storefront were exactly as we saw it today.)

We now have an amazing hand-held GPS that is setup for hiking AND geocaching AND a digital camera (for documenting that you did, indeed, find the geocach prize).  The GPS has topographical maps, accurate distances, and we are going to use the heck out of it!  Add a cute little waterproof binocular and we're ready to go hiking again, in style.

We needed (okay, we wanted) another daypack with outside pockets; and now, we each have a pack to split the load.  One person carrying all the rain gear, water, etc. is hardly fair. 

Ever worn a pair of SmartWool socks?  They are wonderful.  If you know my past and the challenges I seem to have with shoes and socks, you'll know I am somewhat blister prone.  However...I have never had a blister when I wear the SmartWool sock.  This is the new wool that you can wash, and they are so soft -- pricey, but worth it.

The drive through the upper Willamette Valley to get to Hillsboro was also a treat.  All around, a good day -- a little dent in the pocketbook -- but a good day.