Oregon wine country

I was gonna recommend the Allison. It was amazing.

Visit Utopia winery, my favorite there. Painted Lady is a great restaurant. I’ll try to think of more…great trip.

look into the McMenamins hotel,

also La Rambla for tapas is fantastic. Lots of great wineries in the area. Loved Bryn Mawr winery, not sure where it is in relation to town. Core de Terre vineyard was also great.

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I second the Hotel Oregon (McMenamins) in McMinnville.

Small boutique hotel in the 100-150ish range, I would imagine. McMenamins specializes in restoring historic buildings, and will have their own wine, beer, and spirits. Multiple bars on site, including a rooftop bar.

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Basement bar, lobby bar, and rooftop bar. The only potential downside is you may have to use a community bathroom. Reminded me of living in West Laville Dorm at LSU. The walls are a mix of eerie prints and old concert posters. All rooms are themed...we were in the UFO room based on a supposed abduction in the area. The hotel is right on main street in McMinville, which we found was the best little downtown area in Willamette Valley when it came to location, shops, restaurants, and wine bars.

If in McMinville, DO NOT MISS THE EVERGREEN AVIATION MUSEUM!!!! It's on the level of a Smithsonian, and contains four buildings:

--Space Museum
--Air Museum (this is where the Spruce Goose is on display)
--IMAX
--Indoor water park--there's a 747 on the roof that you can climb up to and slide back down into the building and pool.

When touring wine country bring a map and use your GPS. Willamette is not Napa. Instead of a few main streets it's a maze of streets and unpaved roads, going every which way.

Great vacation, we loved it and will go back.

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Interesting note: My grandmother was Glenn Odekirk's first cousin. He was Howard Hughes' right-hand man and co-designed the Spruce Goose with Hughes. He was allegedly the only other person on board the plane on its one and only flight.

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Awesome relation there! However, I thought there was a much bigger crew. This if from the website "This Day in Aviation".

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.2 November 1947: Howard Hughes’ Hughes Aircraft Company H-4 Hercules flying boat, NX37602, made its first and only flight at the harbor of Los Angeles, California. Hughes and the company’s hydraulics engineer, Dave Grant, were on the flight deck. (Grant was not a pilot. He had a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan.) Donald Smith and Chalmer Donald Bowen acted as flight engineers. Other crew members were Dave Evans, chief electronics engineer, William Berry, chief electrical engineer, and systems mechanic Van Storm. Also on board the H-4 were Glenn Odekirk, Hughes’ chief assistant, and George Haldemanm an observer for the Civil Aeronautics Administration. According to newspapers, a total of about 30 people were aboard, including guests and press.

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