Fool Me Once

We have long been fans of Oregon's Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs. And, since we were in desperate need of a vacation, we took an impulsive leap of faith... We booked a flight to Portland and headed one hour south in our crappy little rental car to explore the great unknown.

It being wine country, we assumed a visit here would be as easy to orchestrate as our annual trips to Napa. Not so. Few maps. Fewer hot tips. Lots of wineries hoping you'll pay them a visit but one does not survive on wine, alone. It must accompany cheese and chocolate and all sorts of other sustenance, including a strong cup of coffee and a well-baked croissant.

Finding a decent restaurant was hit or miss. On the upside, Joel Palmer's and Tina's provided a beacon of hope.

On the down side, our incredibly overpriced B&B ($200+ per room per night got us a ratty old Lazy Boy chair and a tub/shower that does one or the other on a whim) left a lot to be desired.

This place has a good bit of potential. Only right now it's a hard nut to crack.

So, we're hold up in our crappy B & B, at 9 p.m. on a Saturday night. And, we're schemin' and dreamin' on how to create a resource that saves you and other winos from the same fate.

Stay tuned...

* Bed & Breakfast Inns, located in wine country, should really consider catering to women who whine. For the most part, they're all romantic little one bed per room places. There are lots of single women in the world - me being one of them and I'm sure as hell not gonna sleep with my pal T. Therefore we're shelling out $200/night for two separate bedrooms, even though we're hold up in one room yakking most of the night anyway. It's a travesty...

** Our thoughts on the subject come from years of serious research: we've never met a man who loves wine as much as women love wine. And, we've never met a woman who loves beer as much as men do. So, how about twin beds at the inns in wine country and king-size beds at the inns near Milwaukee and Shea Stadium? That's a happy compromise if ever we heard one...