The Lights of Memphis

Two years ago, on our trip around the US, we took a day with Ross and Taya to see a bit of Memphis and find some legendary barbecue. We enjoyed watching the march of the ducks at the Peabody Hotel, a tour of the Cotton Museum, and a Memphis barbecue lunch at the world famous Charlie Vergos Rendezvous.

Gary vowed we would come back someday and really do barbecue in Memphis. His dream - Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.

It is about a 2 hour drive from Little Rock to Memphis and we crossed the Mississippi River into the lights of Memphis at 9:30. As we drove past the competition grounds on the banks of the Mississippi we could actually smell barbecue in the air.

We had a bit of trouble getting to our hotel - the Westin on Beale Street, because all the streets around it were blocked off by police for a street festival. We finally were instructed by them to drive over curbs to get there.
We are actually a block from all the Beale Street action. We checking into our room and then walked over to see what it was all about.

The streets were crammed with people enjoying blues being playing in several different locations. What fun to experience a bit of the local culture.

Not gonna lie...it was a party.

Flying Fish

Before we drive on the Memphis we had dinner with the kids. Ross and Taya suggested the Flying Fish Company - a Little Rock classic that we have never been to before. It was a great choice and a perfect start to our adventures in the South.

There was a line from the order counter to the door so we knew the food had to be great. Basically the decor is hysterical - described as "jumbled miscellany". It celebrates fish with no less than a wall full of those singing Billy Bass plaques, and the motto "We catch and release (into really hot grease)" How great is that!

They are big on catfish down here so that is the specialty - in fact it was all-you-can-eat catfish Thursday. Gary did enjoy a catfish fillet, but the rest of us experienced other deep fried delectable such as shrimp, chicken and traditional hush puppies.

Ross had the most interesting dish - a whole fish deep fried on his plate - a very dramatic presentation I must say. There's just something about deep fried eyes staring at you.

And yes, silverware was included with our meal.

Isaiah enjoyed the fries in the bow of his boat!

When we left the line was out on the street. The Flying Fish is a Little Rock hot spot to be sure!

After dinner we left them and drove on to Memphis for a few days to take in a major event and a Gary dream - Memphis in May!

Finally to Little Rock

Gary and I are so excited to finally travel to Little Rock. We had to cancel our trip last November to care for Taryn after her accident.

We left Thursday late afternoon staying at a hotel near the airport where we could park our vehicle and get some sleep before catching our Friday early morning flight.

We are flying with American Airlines this trip and I must say I have not been very impressed. They really, really dinged us when we re-booked - to the tune of $340 - and then charged us $15 per checked bag. That's so not cool.

We flew thru Dallas and had about an hour there before catching a flight on to Little Rock. We were delayed for an extra hour and they had us tromp to three different gates before we finally left.

After landing in Little Rock our plane was held up for another 35 minutes while we waited for a plane to leave our gate.

We had been up since 4:30 am so we were feeling a bit rumpled when we got to Little Rock. But all of that was quickly forgotten when we saw Taya, Ross, Isaiah and Elijah! We were nothing but thrilled!

Home Again

Our first adventure this year in the bbow was fun despite the rain. When we got home the girl had a her social calendar full for the evening and begged for one last nite at Grandma H's. We went to John and Kay for our traditional Sunday nite dinner.

And now we face the two weeks of reality till we're off again, this time to Memphis and Little Rock to see our kids and grandkids. Can't wait! Check back on the 15th for the begining of the next travel adventure.

Darigold

In Yakima we stopped at the Darigold plant. They didn't have much of a tour available but we did enjoy a glimpse of the cheese plant and the history and memories displayed there.

We were ready for a late lunch and decided to hit a favorite spot of ours in Ellensburg - the Red Horse Diner. When we got there it was surrounded by bikers and we had to opt for a not-as-good burger elsewhere.

Vines and Wines

Our route home today took up I-82. On the way we stopped in Prosser at Mercer Estates who just opened a beautiful new public tasting room. It was a quiet morning there and we enjoyed a great tour and visit with Debbie.

We took the scenic drive into the vineyards surrounding Prosser before heading back to the highway and on to Yakima. Now that we were on our way home the sun was out and it was a picture perfect day.

Hamley's

At the end of our tasting tour we decided to find a place for a nice steak dinner. I had picked up a brochure for Hamleys Epic Steakhouse of the West. It looked like great fun, but then I realized it was in Pendleton Oregon.

We actually decided it would be a great drive so plugged the address in the GPS and were on our way to an Oregon adventure. It was a beautiful drive and we really enjoyed this unexpected jaunt.


And Hamleys didn't dissapoint us either - it was a most fun place to explore and have dinner. Hamley and Co. is actually two businesses - a store and a steakhouse.

The Hamley history is impressive. It goes back many generations to Cornwall England where the trade of saddle and leather craftsmanship was passed down through many generations of Hamleys.

The American history of the Hamleys began in 1850 when William Hamley moved his family from England to Ripon, Wisconsin, where he opened a small leather goods store. William’s two sons, John James (J.J.) and Henry Hamley set out from Wisconsin in 1883 with two railroad tickets and $10.00 in cash, bound for Ashton, South Dakota where they established Hamley and Co.

In 1905 John James relocated to Pendleton, Oregon and set up shop on the Oregon Trail in the same building that exists to this day.

Hamley was known as a harness and saddle maker, but the business soon developed around its saddles and became known throughout the west as the maker of “the finest saddles man could ride”.

The saddle shop still produces handmade custom saddles and we really enjoyed viewing the shop with several saddles in various stages of production.

The rest of the store is filled with western gear, clothing and antiques, and is complete with spittoons and pulley-operated ceiling fans.

The steakhouse is next door and was an adventure itself. It is stunning after being extensively refurbished in 2006. It is designed to resemble an old western saloon complete with swinging doors, impressive woodwork everywhere, tin ceilings, copper hoods and a very magnificent old bars unit they found in Grangeville Idaho.

There is also a stunning Western bank front that separates the bar area from the restaurant. It was found in South Dakota and has an interesting history all it's own as the last bank robbed by Butch Cassidy.

Towards the back of the building is a stone-lined winding stairway down to an incredible private dining wine room that can be reserved for private events. Very nice!

What really appealed to Gary is that they serve hand-cut dry aged steaks.

Our steak was delicious, but our server was none too brilliant which was a bummer. It was only her second nite so I'll cut her some slack on that, but it was disappointing to have less than great service.

We really enjoyed our unplanned adventure in Oregon and would recommend you visit Hamley's when you're in Pendelton. It's not just a steakhouse, it's an event.

The Estate Winery

Entrance to Basel Cellars Estate Winery
Eagle and Horses!

Estate Entry

Front Door

Subterranean Production Area

Tasting Room

Estate Views

Walkway to Offices

Glancing thru a magazine I spotted an ad for Basel Cellars and suggested we go there next. I didn't realize it was actually an estate. We gasped when we drove up to the gate. Even their driveway was beyond impressive.

Basel Cellars Estate Winery planted their first vineyards in 1997 and began production in 2002. All of the production is done on site in their amazing 9,600 sq. ft. subterranean structure. We actually got to go down there and taste a wine right out of the barrel. So cool!

But it is the house that is beyond belief - a 13,800 sq. ft. rustic castle is what I call it. The entry itself takes your breath away with massive logs on either side of the exquisite, intricately hand-carved door.

We could not tour the main estate but read it has eight guest rooms, meeting rooms, a gourmet kitchen, multiple fireplaces, an indoor hot tub, sauna, a theme bar, private outdoor pool and separate poolside Cabana.

The attached tasting room was lovely and they very pleasantly visited with us answering any questions we had. This had to be one of our most amazing stops of the day.

Spring Release

L'Escole No 41
Tasting Room

Three Rivers Winery

What we didn't know is that this is a "spring release" event weekend when new wines are released for the first time to the public by various wineries. There were buses and limos touring with us.

There are now over 1,400 acres of vineyards in the Walla Walla valley and over a 100 wineries in the Walla Walla Valley and they come in every shape and size - from very basic, nondescript buildings to very elaborate estates.

Many have tasting rooms open to try sips of their "spring releases" and other signature wines. It was kinda cool. I had never done this before.

Our first stop in the pouring rain was L'Ecole No 41. They have been producing premium wines in the Walla Walla Valley since 1983 in the historic Frenchtown School in Lowden. What a fun and unique building this was.

They were very friendly, greeting us at the door and instructing us how one "does" a tasting. I was feeling awkward and was thankful for their direction. There is usually a suggested order to how you would taste their wines starting with the whites and moving to the reds.

They also served wonderful cheeses and breads. We both fell in love with Cougar Gold - a cheese made by WSU.

Our next stop was Three Rivers Winery. Gary was here last year and enjoys their Riesling. I went bananas over their lodge style building and could so picture it someday on Eagle Ridge West.

This tasting was a completely different experience. Each event is different and that's what really makes it fun to visit several.

Three Rivers sits atop a small knoll overlooking their surrounding vineyards and features a 14,000 sq. ft. cellar and barrel room used for the production and storage and a 4,000 sq. ft. lodge-style tasting room and store.

Drip Drip Drip

That was the unexpected sound we heard when we woke up this morning. Can't believe it is raining here on the east side. No running today, but the coffee sure was welcome.

Our plan is to explore the wine country around Walla Walla today. Gary was here last year with John Eide when he bot my horse trailer and was fascinated by all the wineries in the area.

When they were here last spring the vines were lush and beautiful. We are here weeks earlier and they are barely sprouting. There truly is a stunning amount of acreage devoted to grapes around here. Who would have thot?

Hood Park

Our only destination idea was to stay somewhere near the Tri-Cities tonite. We ended up finding a wonderful resort right on the river called Hood Park. To say it is beautiful is an understatement!

We got a very nice site right on the lake and really enjoyed the peacefulness of this place. Gary got some great sunset pictures.

The View Out My Door

Desert Canyon

One of the reasons for this trip was to check out Desert Canyon. It's a very impressive place. There are some rather large beautiful homes there wrapped around a golf course. We parked by the Great Links units and Gary walked around and took pictures.

After that we headed along the Columbia towards thru Quincy, Moses Lake, Othello and into Pasco.

Good Morning Wenatchee!

Woke up to amazing sunshine this morning but very cold. I stayed under the covers listening to news while Gary ran. I didn't remember how to start the bbow furnace so just decided to stay warm.

Made breakfast and then went on down the road to Desert Canyon.