Driving to Bend, Oregon gives a person much time for introspection...basically this photo shows (in my humble opinion) the main landmark between Walla Walla and Bend. The tennis shoe tree! I couldn't really check it out on the way because there are also no rest stops between the two points...well for most of the way.
I cataloged, in my opinion, the three points of interest between Walla and Bend...
1) A bald eagle
2) Sage Brush
3) A tree with gazillions of tennis shoes strung up in its branches
On my way I made a huge strategic mistake, I passed Biggs Junction without stopping at a bathroom. I basically had to go to the bathroom all the way from Biggs Junction to Madras which is about 1 and 1/2 hours. Doesn't sound far but after a huge bottle of water it felt like a three day trip. As I would pass through towns, all of which did not have a welcoming rest stop I was getting antsy...I grew up on a farm so am no stranger to the great outdoors, if you get my drift. I was starting to check out sagebrush...is it big enough to hide behind? Nope not a one, at least that was close to the highway...the song, "I can't drive 55" was blasting in my head as I was passing multiple semi-trucks trying to find a relief zone. FINALLY just before Madras is a rest stop. Good thing...guess what, just my luck, the bathroom cleaning guy was in the women's bathroom...I'm thinking great now what? I finally say, "look, can I have a few minutes? I promise I'll be quick!" He is very kind, probably sees my look of desperation and walks out. I make it to the bathroom and just as I'm thinking, yeah baby life is good, my mind says, "hey, what if this is one of those bathrooms that has a hidden camera in it?" Then I tell myself I'm a nutcase and walk out of the bathroom, of course I've washed my hands and attempted the wall air blow dryer which spits out the equivalent of a slight wisp of air, I give up and dry my hands on my pants...I walk out of the bathroom and look at the open door right behind the stalls...it's the workman's work closet, on closer inspection I see it's right behind the women's restroom so now my mind is back on the hidden camera...I then think great, if I'm on camera at least I could have been in bikini shape, not Antarctica winter wear shape. Now I'm feeling sorry for the guy if he did happen to catch anything on tape! Then I look around, I'm feeling totally relieved and realize the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day. Hey, if he did catch anything on camera it's his eyes that are going to burn out so, I forget my moment of insanity and realize I'm excited to get back on the road.
Not to brag to all of you however, during this road trip an amazing thing happened, I won my first ever karaoke contest held on a road trip between Walla Walla and Bend. After my acceptance speech in which I thanked all my fans, thanked my parents for their support, I thanked my family and friends, and finally finished by thanking the sage brush and vast amounts of nothingness...I continued on my journey.
So now, I'm totally relaxed, loving the road trip and starting to feel a little hungry. I make it to Madras and as I'm driving through town I am challenged by a sign that reads, "Best Burgers in the West - Original Burger Works" Not one to shy away from challenges I decide to stop. I pulled into an old fashioned drive in area and push the little metal button. A young woman's voice asks me what I would like...I order my cheeseburger and think to myself that if the order taker woman comes out on skates that's it, they win! She didn't come out on skates but she did deliver a good burger, fresh, great flavor, but as much as I would like to say it's the best in the west I'll have to give it a rating of "pretty darn good, not the best...but pretty darn good".
So, on to the point of this trip...to meet the wonderful folks of Bend and Redmond, Oregon and share our wine. All I can say is thank you Bend (& Redmond)! What a great place, especially if you're hanging out with the locals. I was totally taken care of by the folks at the Riverhouse Resort...talk about a room with a view!
We spent an evening at the Marz Bistro enjoying exceptional appetizers, great company and if I don't mind saying, some pretty yummy wine. We then wandered next door to meet Josh and Chris at the Astro Lounge, shared some wine and then tried a drink or two which contained "muddled items" I asked Josh if these items were confused? I kept wondering, why are his ingredients muddled? Well, he showed me his secret and then the wondrous new term "muddled" was clear as mud to me. I'm going to start muddling things too.
The next day we held a tasting at the Riverhouse Resort and it was the most beautiful day. I met many wonderful folks and after the tasting raced over to Redmond, Oregon to Avery's Wine Bar. An exceptional new spot in Redmond owned by a mother daughter team with an amazing chef in the kitchen named, Tim. He paired small bites with each of our wines. He managed this spectacular pairing by reading tasting notes, because he didn't have the wine prior to taste. The food was wonderfuuuuullllll. The place was packed and I don't think I've worked that hard in awhile. The people were lots of fun. I would have brought all them back to Walla Walla with me if I could have fit them in my car.
My best friend on this trip was Rick! Thank you Rick for taking good care of me, calling me to make sure I was safe and sound and for the great conversation. I would have stolen you too, and brought you back to Walla Walla but that means our awesome Bend, Sisters, Redmond sales person extraordinaire would not be working on selling our wines. So, darn it! I'll just have to come back and visit. Make sure when you talk to Amber you tell her we had an awful time, that there is nothing going on in Bend and it's totally boring...that way she'll let me come back! :-)
Road trips are fun.
