Tuscany in the Willamette Valley...it's Oregon!

"Set amid vineyards, orchards and acres of forest the Black Walnut Inn offers luxurious surroundings in the heart of Oregon's wine country. Newly constructed and reminiscent of Tuscan villas of old, the inn is filled with modern art and amenities blended expertly with beautiful antiques, old world details and the works of local artisans."

Being on our Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild membership committee sure has its perks! What can I say...I get to see some of the most beautiful inns in the world and they are right here in Oregon.

The Black Walnut Inn and Vineyard is found at the end of a long winding driveway that takes you to the heart of the Tuscan countryside. Wait...I mean the heart of the Willamette Valley wine country. Seriously, the feel, the look and the comfort inside and out of this inn is breathtaking. Viewing the rolling hills of vineyards through over sized windows while enjoying a nice glass of pinot near the huge roaring fire place in the common area of this inn, makes for the perfect get away. We are so fortunate to have this inn as our newest member!

The Black Walnut Inn and Vineyard has nine suites and sits on several acres. Exuding European elegance, luxurious linens, soaking tubs and queen and king beds, doesn't begin to describe this special place. A visit...a weekend...a few days, whatever you have, this inn is a Willamette Valley "must stay!"

Enjoy finding your way to Yamhill County to visit our Willamette Valley Wine Country. And, rest, eat, drink and be relaxed in Oregon's own Tuscany at the Black Walnut Inn and Vineyard.

Cheers!

My Vintage Roost!

I really don't need to say much else except I will be in AZ on the first day of this sale and I am so sad that I will miss it. But, when I return... I am heading to VINTAGE ROOST!

Most of our darlings at the inn came from the Roost. So, if you have not gone, go!

Food Blogger...sweet bliss!

So we're at the Oregon Convention Center a few evenings ago to attend a Chocolate Fest. I know I am at the right place when I could smell it. An almost sweet scent that just barely wafts through the air as it somehow moves around me in swirls. I breath faster and deeper to get it all in. There are no calories in breathing in the scent of chocolate...is there?

I used to be a chocolate freak. I would pick up a candy bar at the market as it was my treat after doing my duty as wife and mother by getting the weekly groceries to feed my family. I deserved it I figured and therefore I wanted it. I would open the wrapper and eat it while driving home. My goal...finish it fast, hide the evidence and if I felt too guilty, I could just brush my teeth and pretend it didn't happen.

Giving up all sweets several months ago really helped me regain a new appreciation for good chocolate. I messed up over the holidays though and spent most of Christmas Day munching on dark chocolate almond Hershey Kisses and therefore gave up the ghost for my stench as a "I gave up all sweets" bragger. Trying to get back on the band wagon and staying off those rivers of melted delicious chocolates has been harder now since falling of that wagon. Then of course there was the Chocolate Fest last Friday night. The one thing I did notice though...I felt so satisfied with just a few tastes of really good chocolate instead of feeling like I needed to pile through a bag of Kisses all by myself. And of course that proud feeling waned when I proceeded to sample a little more chocolate than I should have. Feeling a bit sick, I waddled over the where someone was handing out "chocolate martini's" in these cute little martini glasses. Over the top, fat and sassy, rubbing my belly...we headed back to our sweet loft in the Pearl where I continued to whine about eating too much chocolate.

I evidently still have issues with the sweet stuff and now I don't even feel as if I have to complete a chore to deserve any. No work, no labor, no deserved candy bar...I just want it when I want it. And yes...all in moderation as they say...all in moderation. So, today as we entered Bend for our snow mobiling trip, we ran in to Trader Joe's to pick up a few bottles of wine to share with friends and my darling, who also has a desire for delicious chocolate, bought a big container of dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Dang it! I was doing so good...well, since Friday anyways. I had just one and decided that even though I am not a huge fan of really dark chocolate, that peanut butter cup was delicious. I wanted to have more...several more but leaving the lid on the container after we got checked in to our room, I set them gently next to Ray's side of the bed.

I haven't touched them...they are still there with the lid on them. I don't want to have to brush my teeth and pretend I didn't eat any and my pre-holiday willpower must kick in soon or I will be in trouble. But it's so hard when there are so many delicious things around me. Moderation is over-rated...don't you think?

Linn County and Albany...the perfect tour!

I spent one Saturday last December with my buddies from the Albany Visitors Assn. We rode around Linn County and enjoyed a long day of touring the countryside. We pet a whole lot of farm animals and enjoyed some amazing food and a glass or two of really good Oregon wine. Sampling what we try to sell here in Albany is one of things I absolutely love about being a part of Linn County and living in a "town on the cusp" of something great!

Albany has been a city for well over 100 years. It has experienced heydays, hard times, growth spurts, a few more heydays and those hard times have come and gone a few times too. Pretty much the norm for any town this size in any part of the country. And, since we have moved to Albany, we have had the pleasure of placing ourselves in the middle of one of the best heydays these parts have seen in a very long time.

I feel lucky to be a part of this growth spurt that really isn't measured by size or quantity. It is measured by quality. The quality of what is happening in Linn County and Albany along with many other smallish towns around here is amazing! The creation of our Oregon Country Trails, our Albany Nosh Tours, the revitalization of most of our downtown buildings and so much more, can tell any visitor, any travel writer or anyone passing by, that this town is preparing itself for greatness.

I walk a lot around town several times a week. It's not unusual to see photographers, sight seers and groups of people pointing at and talking about our historic homes and buildings. Albany is very photogenic and has won the eye of more than a few photographers as evidenced by the amount of publications it has appeared in over the past year. Travel writers writing for books, newspapers, Travel Oregon and more, have become quite smitten after visiting Albany. We have heard statements such as..."we didn't know Albany was like this!" "We usually just stay on the I 5 and never get off the freeway!" "I've been back several times since the time I took the wrong road from Corvallis and had to go through Albany!" My fav..."I used to think Albany had no good restaurants. Now we come back here to eat!"

So, whether you wanna enjoy our Linn Countryside and pet a few Alpacas or taste our local cheeses and blueberries or whether you just wanna walk around our historic neighborhoods, or head downtown to be amazed by our historic buildings, or if you are just hungry... get off the I 5! Take the side road, head to the farm or the sweet downtown where you will find that slow is good especially when it comes to good food...and wine.

Let us know if you need a map to that goodness. We know how to get there!

I'm in a gray mood!

Some people would tell you that this time of year the Pacific Northwest is gray, cold and wet. At times it is! However, I happen to love gray...it's the perfect backdrop for taking photos. The "cold" is perfect for hiking or city trekking and the wet...well we do get a lot of it but wow...the hundred shades of green we see around here make all that wet worth it!

We kind of got off our hiking and walking kick a bit over the holidays. It's a little hard to keep it all up while visiting family, eating all that holiday food and traveling by car for two weeks. Is that enough excuses?...am I good? Hope so cause that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

We visited Portland last week and decided to get back on the band wagon and took off on foot to explore the "other" side of the Willamette. I discovered as before, there is some really good food over there. We walked over to the Newspace Center for Photography first where I was able to listen to Gloria Baker Feinstein as she told of rediscovering her love of photography after she turned 40 and her love of Uganda and the children there. She has spent five years photographing the children of Uganda and has captured some of the most spectacular moments and faces of that region. Learning that she is now taking photographs with her iphone using a new app she found, made me realize that I love my little inexpensive camera and plan to continue using it for those candid, unplanned and impromptu photos I love capturing.

After the lecture, Ray and I continued walking and happened upon Sweetpea Baking Company. It was well past lunch time and even though this was a vegan restaurant, we decided it was worth a try. Greek Lentil soup, a sandwich and an oatmeal raisin cookie for two was pretty good. What a great place for people watching too. It cracks me up when I see so many young people that literally look exactly alike. Dark clothing, dark tousled hair, backpacks, boots, and oh I could go on forever. So, yes...Portland is great place to people watch too! Hmmm...I wonder if this what Gloria sees in Uganda? All the photographs she takes of the children there have the same disparaging looks on their faces. Sadness, hunger, sorrow, loneliness...it's amazing what can be captured in a simple photograph. What a difference in the looks in the faces of the children from two very different cultures.

I am not sure if it's my "gray" mood but I have been enjoying taking my photos in black and white. It may be because I have seen so many photographs lately and it seems to be the trend. The details are deeper and more meaningful somehow. Maybe it's just sensing the loss of time, the retro feel or the classic way black and white can capture sophistication in it's shadows that draws me to do it. Who knows but it works!

So, gray, cold and wet works for this amateur photographer, hiker, city trekker and everything else I love to do in Oregon! Just have to remember my umbrella!

New Year At The Inn!

If I can do and experience half the things I did in 2010 this year in 2011, I will be content! Here's my list of what last year was like for us at the inn. Join me in my journey around Oregon and the PNW......

I discovered a ton of new recipes and used them on our guests, I fell in love with Cannon Beach all over again, I went snowmobiling...twice, (once most def isn't enough). I hiked all over Oregon...near Corvallis, over five miles up a very difficult mountain at Multnomah Falls, again with my daughter Sherry near Mt. Hood and all over the city of Portland! From our new loft in the Pearl we have hiked to the Pittock Mansion, The Rose Garden, The Japanese Garden to Washington Park, on the boardwalk near the Willamette River and everywhere else our feet would take us.

I have ridden a beautiful black horse in the most lush wine country in the world that just happens to be in my state. I have become a "Trail Boss" after the creation of our Oregon Country Trails. I have begun our Albany Nosh Tours along with my friends at the local visitor's center after attending my very first Epicurean Walking Tour in Portland and hosting my very first tour in Ashland this year too. We have taken the train a number of times to Portland and once to experience Seattle. A little B & B with a view of Pike's Market is the perfect way to go. I loved watching the fish flying in the air at market, seeing the Space Needle at night and I especially enjoyed this because we got to spend it with some friends from SoCal.

We have enjoyed showing our friends from the fire dept in Corona our home in Oregon! Treating them to a taste of Portland and Albany and the Willamette Valley was a treat for us! I have had a blast becoming an avid amateur photographer watching my photographs hit the newspapers, on-line maps, print brochures, Facebook profile pics and hanging in abundance on the walls of our Portland loft. I have enjoyed cook offs, "Show-Off's" and everything else to do with food here. I have learned that using locally grown food, grass grazing beef, eggs from happy chickens make a huge difference in what I prepare for my guests and family. I have learned foremost that it really is "ALL ABOUT THE FOOD!"

I saw Crater Lake this year too! I floated in a boat on the lake and then I hiked to the top of the mountain in that lake. Straight up over 700 ft. in about an hour. Yes...I was pooped out but seriously...shame on you if you have never seen Crater Lake. It's unreal!

I have tasted local cheese's, homemade breads, fruits, berries, veggies...you name it and it was just across the street at my Farmer's Market every Saturday. I have enjoyed watching our guests gather goodies from the market and enjoy their bounties with a bottle of the best Oregon wines. And I have also discovered that even though I do like good wine, I am seriously "in love" with beer. I decided not to fight it and just sit back and enjoy it. My fav???...Ruby Pale Ale from McMenamin's.

I have played the innkeeper all year and I have also played the guest at many inn's in Oregon. I have tasted the berries and cherries at Sakura Ridge. I have fallen for Tilly my friend Mary's sweet dog at The Old Parkdale Inn. I have enjoyed the view from the Mt. Hood Hamlet and I have smelled the mountains and fresh air in Joseph at Heather's inn, The Bronze Antler.

I have discovered new inns, learned to inspect them and played an integral part of being on a team. A board member of the Albany Visitor's Assn. and The Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild has provided me the experience of teamwork, the importance of travel in Oregon and the joy of sharing it all with our guests, friends and travelers from all over the world.

I flew to Texas in August and met my grandson Aiden. He was only 6 days old when I got to hold and kiss him. I was graced with the presence of my grand daughter Kaelynne the whole entire time...24/7 while her brother Justin was in school during the day. It's amazing just how well black nail polish looks on you when your grand daughter paints it on your nails. I don't think I have ever giggled so much in my life. My grand kids are amazing!

I have learned that I love the lattes at Lovejoy Bakers the best. I have learned too that they taste so much better in a "real" cup and they are even better if you take your time sipping especially if you are sharing that moment with a friend or your daughter.

I visited Pennsylvania Amish Country and had meal with an Amish family. I saw the sweetness and innocence of the valley and realized the sad truth that a lot of that valley is being bombarded with commercialism. But, I also enjoyed the company of my sister, her boys and my parents along for the ride too. I also discovered that me eating my way through Oregon evidently didn't stop there. We did pretty well at finding those unique pubs in PA too!

One of the best things that I experienced this year was being a tourist on one of our Oregon Country Trails. I actually had a conversation with an Alpaca. She tried to nibble on my jacket but all in all I loved the interaction. There's something to be said about eye contact when an animal is ogling you and without words you know the enjoyment of each other's company is mutual.

I have realized that Thanksgiving is fun in Portland...heck everything is fun in Portland. Black Friday shopping, the eating the drinking and the visiting family made it perfect! Thanks to two of my children and my darling husband for making our first Thanksgiving in Portland a wonderful memory.

December went by fast as I rode in our local "Twice Around Parade" in a hay wagon being pulled by two Percherons that were absolutely stunning. I sipped a hot toddy to keep warm, I waved and enjoyed watching the children smile, the parents enjoying their children and realizing then that after being here for three years, it felt like home!

Oh, I almost forgot...I played a witch for Halloween and realized that it was very fun! Black looks good on an old witch!

We spent most of December on the road. Three days at the Belagio in Las Vegas for my parents 50th wedding anniversary was a blast! Seeing family and friends we haven't seen in years and seeing my parents together for so long was such an inspiration and made me realize that love can last a lifetime.

Christmas with our daughter in SoCal was perfect. Her first dinner for everyone and that sweet lit and decorated tree with all the gifts tucked in was so cute. Dinner was delicious by the way and so was the company! Another week on the road visiting family and friends then back home.

I am smitten with Oregon in case you haven't noticed and I truly believe that no matter the season or the time of day...Oregon is the most beautiful state I have ever seen! With every season comes a new admiration, a new love and a new respect for this place.

So cheers to my friends, my family and our lovely guests that grace us with your presence all year long. We hope to see you all sometime this year and hope that we can share our home, our city and Oregon with each of you. We look forward to showing you the difference between Quaint and Quintessential, taking you to a place where we have found perfect wine and the perfect place to introduce you to the best food you will ever taste in your life.

See you at the coast roasting weenies on the beach, in Southern Oregon strolling through the sweet town of Jacksonville, over in Joseph hiking the Wallowa's, at Crater Lake photographing that blue water, picking pears in Hood River or eating a donut from Voodoo as we are moseying around downtown Portland. It's all good here and we love to share!