Day 3 in Portland

Day 3 in Portland was a little less active due to our 'overactivity' yesterday. In the morning, W browsed the Tour de France action online while I took a test on the 21st Century Physician, thereby completing my Certified Medical Representative status. Twelve courses over two years and I'm finally done!!!!

We got our act on the road and drove to Dundee Hills, Oregon in the center of the Willamette Valley wine country. (For the correct pronunciation - it's Will-AM-ette, dammit!) We ate lunch at the Dundee Bistro, a swanky little restaurant and wine bar that caters to a high end clientele while sitting in a small, slightly run-down city center comprised of less than 4000 people. . We shared a caesar salad and a pizza with white sauce, chicken sausage, radicchio and garlic. Perfect for our afternoon of wine tasting! Then back in the car to the first winery.

There is a blue sign pointing the way to a new winery or tasting room on almost every corner of the towns of Dundee Hills and Newburg. This area of Oregon is known as the Willlamette Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area). Sokol Blosser winery was our first stop. The bride and groom selected it as the first stop on our tour based on the reviews of the wine, the beauty of the area and the dedication to organic production utilized there. We walked through the vineyard walking area prior to the arrival of the wedding party. We found a just hatched baby robin in a nest among the vines!!!

This area of the country is known for its great pinot noir vintages, and it certainly lived up to expectation. We also enjoyed the Meditrina, a mix of syrah, zinfandel and pinot noir grapes. Both the red wine afficianado and the die hard white drinker enjoyed this fruity red.

We met up with the groom and a few more wedding guests at Elk Cove Winery in Gaston, Oregon. (If traveling here from Dundee, DON'T follow the directions on your Garmin. The street it tells you to travel on actually ends at a gate and a grassed over road. We swear we heard banjos....call for actual directions.) The tasting room was not quite as lovely as Sokol Blosser, but the pinot was more to W's taste. We bade farewell to the bride and groom, suggesting Deschutes Brewery as a possible dinner option for the large group, and headed back into town to get ready for the evening.

Four years ago, I was paired with a roommate for hospital training with my company. Turned out to be the best 'blind date' ever. I met my dear friend Heather that way and we've talked at least three times a week ever since. She is married to a PhD (Jason), has 2 dachshunds, 2 boys and unfortunately, lives on the other side of the country from us. We see each other at every meeting (until lately when she left the company for a new opportunity) and finally got the chance to meet as friends with both of our husbands! Heather and Jason picked us up from the hotel and took us to Portland City Grill, a great restaurant on the 30th floor of a building with panoramic views of Portland. We had a great evening of food, drinks and lots of catching up. After dinner and some drinks, we headed out into Portland's nightlife. After a false start or two, we ended up at the Blue Hour. People watching, drink imbibing, and storytelling ensued late into the evening (FRL)! Midnight saw us back at the hotel and Jason and Heather at a cute boutique hotel downtown, with plans for a Sunday afternoon visit to their house in Salem firmly in place.