Luke has graduated from high school, moved out of our house and is a freshman at Clemson University. The nest is empty (cue the tears), so our weekends away have been planned with a focus on rekindling our Party of Two days while our only child enjoys his first semester at college.
First stop: wine country on the West Coast. Tacking onto a business trip in Portland, we recently spent a long weekend in the Willamette (rhymes with dammit) Valley during a spectacular time of year. Escaping the continued oppressive heat of late summer in Athens, GA, the September Oregon temperatures were in the low 70’s and sunny during the day with cool breezes and mid 50’s at night. How delightful to wear blue jeans again!
Day 1
We pointed the car south from Portland and made our first stop at Swan Island Dahlias in Canby, which hosts its Dahlia Festival every August and September. I had chosen this stop after my mom turned me onto these stunning flowers a few years ago. Mitch was amenable, but as we walked through the fields of blooms in hundreds of colors and geometric shapes, I could tell he was impressed. (He admitted later that it was one of his favorite parts of the whole weekend.)
Between the food trucks, the live music and acres of flowers, we could have stayed all afternoon. We finally pulled ourselves away for the Mercantile, which is so full of beautiful, unique things that you could knock out half your Christmas list in one stop.
From there we headed to McMinnville to begin our Willamette wine education at the beginning, with a tasting at the downtown room of The Eyrie Vineyards. Founder David Lett pioneered both Pinot noir and its white wine cousin, Pinot gris, the two grapes that define Oregon wine today. Our guides were the real highlight: witty, smart and full of knowledge about the history of the valley and how winemaking took root here. We came for the wine and left feeling like we’d been to a great history class. (If you go, make a reservation.)
We stayed in McMinnville for an early dinner at the well known French spot Bistro Maison, an easy walk from the tasting room. We always order escargot at French restaurants, and these didn’t disappoint. Our Airbnb was between McMinnville and Dundee, convenient to all of the wineries we had on our list for the next day.
Day 2
Our East Coast bodies woke us early the second day, so we hopped in the car and headed an hour west to the Oregon coast. Pacific City beach was packed with surfers, a wide expanse of sand to stroll with commanding Haystack Rock arch out in the sea beyond the breaking waves. Once we worked up an appetite, we joined locals in line for breakfast burritos at Ben and Jeff’s and local coffee from Stimulus.
Later back in the Willamette Valley, we spent our second afternoon tasting wines with spectacular views at Domaine Drouhin and White Rose. It was a nice combination of a premier, high end tasting with crowds and a smaller, quiet, quirky winery built into the mountain like a hobbit’s home with a view of Mount Hood in the distance. Later, while the sun was setting, we enjoyed appetizers and watched kids play at Stoller Family Estates. Their expansive lawn with Adirondack chairs facing the vineyards offered the perfect place to finish the weekend.
Watching those kids race around the grass, I thought about the years when Luke was one of them; he’s seen his fair share of wineries around the world! While Luke wasn’t with us, he wasn’t gone, either. We shared texts all weekend, and every one he sent made us smile. He’s off building his new life at Clemson, and we are still learning our new normal. But, if this weekend was any indication, Party of Two is going to be just fine.
