Neither Brian or I are terribly decisive people. We can go back and forth for hours, even days, over the simplest of things. And there we were at dinnertime, downtown Jacksonville, Oregon. Never before had I seen a small town spanning only two short blocks with so many enticing options.

We chose Bella Union, (okay I chose Bella Union), particularly for its lively and shady back patio we could see through the front windows. A good choice, I must say. The vegetarian pizza was excellent, the wine list was local, and for some wonderful reason, everyone in the restaurant was offered complimentary chocolate mousse and champagne after their meal that night. (Our indecisiveness ended there).

And to think if we’d gone the way Brian was leaning for dinner, we’d have enjoyed a delicious, homestyle Mexican meal on a lovely balcony with top-shelf margaritas at La Fiesta, just down the street.

That’s the thing with Jacksonville. Whatever you choose, you strike gold.

Our two terrific nights in Jacksonville were at the Magnolia Inn ($99 – $139) two blocks from Jacksonville’s undeniably  adorable downtown. Homemade banana bread or cookies appeared mysteriously every afternoon to be nibbled with iced tea out on the veranda.

The inn’s proprietors, Robert and Susan, greeted us as if we were old friends, and filled us in on all there is to know and love about Jacksonville, their adopted hometown. It was this southern hospitality that so enthralled us with the Magnolia Inn– “southern” as in, Southern California. Like many other Jacksonville business owners we met, Robert and Susan made the move to Jacksonville from California after visiting themselves. It took just one visit to fall in love, and one more visit to buy their dream inn.

Jacksonville lies just west of Medford, at the foot of the wild Sikiyous, and is adjacent to one of the hottest emerging wine regions in the West – the Applegate Valley. Almost every type of Northwest outdoor recreation you can imagine is nearby, from rafting the Rogue to hiking in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. In the summer when the Britt Music Festival draws thousands to see acts of great variety in a phenomenal outdoor amphitheater setting (this summer’s lineup includes Harry Connick Jr., The New Pornographers, Jackson Browne and Brandi Carlile, among many others). I could see from my very first stroll down California Street why a vacationer might begin plotting their relocation here.

The Gold Rush found its way into the Pacific Northwest in the 1850s by way of Jacksonville; a mere sliver of history that left an indelible mark on this town. By 1868, there were seven saloons on one block (a gold rush will do that.) One hundred years later, the whole town was named a National Historic Landmark District, which is why a walk through downtown Jacksonville today feels more than a little like stepping back in time. But not totally. Just as a horse-drawn carriage passes with a couple of tourists on honeymoon, you find yourself stepping into a chic boutique.

After two short days, we left wanting more time in this area… a day in Ashland, a chance to try that great tapas restaurant in Medford, another stop at the Rogue Creamery for the best gorgonzola I’ve ever put in my mouth. The truth is, there is tons of great stuff to do in the southwest corner of Oregon, but it’s a super long drive from Seattle. I don’t know when we’ll make it back. (Airfare runs about $200 – $250 Seattle to Medford round trip, a viable option for a couple, perhaps. ) So if you go, I want to hear all about it, hear?

Our stay at the Magnolia Inn was compliments of the Magnolia Inn. Thanks, Robert and Susan, for your great hospitality (and complete collection of Disney movies!)

Sunset magazine’s Sunset Traveler blog (you can always get to it from the link in my blogroll) recently posted about crossing the U.S. Canadian border with alcoholic goods in hand after a visit to British Columbia’s Okanagan wine region. In the planning stages of a trip there myself (for wine tasting of course) I was quite happy to have the information.  Read it here: Behind the scenes at Sunset: A wine tasting two years in the making.

Here’s the deal. If you’re from the States and want yourself some Okanagan wines, you have to go to the Okanagan Valley and get it. I know, right? That’s the bright side – for you. But for the dozens of little wineries that dot B.C.’s Okanagan Valley who would love to have their wines showcased in restaurants and shops throughout their greater region, the Pacific Northwest, this is a bit of a pain in the arse. Most of the wineries cannot even send orders to U.S. customers through the mail. According to the Sunset piece, U.S. Customs has put up a such a barricade of hoops for these wineries to jump through that sending their wines to the U.S. is almost impossible.

However, U.S. Customs permits travelers to physically transport wine back into the U.S. across the border in a car or airplane for a small fee, something like a quarter per bottle.  Thus, the trip you must make to the Okanagan. Oh, the tragedy.

The Okanagan Valley stretches for 155 miles north of the Washington state border and is dotted with warm sunshine, sparkling lakes, orchards, vineyards, and charming towns. It is B.C.’s oldest  grape-growing region, but has really grown its numbers of vineyards and wineries just in the last twenty years or so. Interestingly, not all of the Valley is classified as a “cool-climate” grape-growing region; many distinct micro-climates occur throughout the OkanaganValley. In the south, sandy hot soils are great for Merlot and Cab, whereas in the cooler north part of the Valley, clay soils grow grapes for wines like Riesling and Pinot Noir.

As for my upcoming visit to the Okanagan valley, I’m hoping to start near the Washington state border crossing at Osoyoos, head north to Kelowna then loop south through the Kettle River Valley to return back to Osoyoos. So far, I’ve had lots of luck locating potential cheap sleeps throughout the Okanagan Valley in preparation for a family trip there. I’ve got three spots picked out, but I haven’t yet made reservations so if you have a recommendation where my family should stay, please leave a comment or drop me an email and tell me about it.

Haynes Point Lakeside Bed and Breakfast, Osoyoos. Perhaps it is the promised 100+ species of birds that have been sighted at Haynes Point, or maybe it’s the healthy, delicious breakfasts with cardamom coffee… but more likely it’s the terrific reputation June and John Wallace has earned over the years for their bed-and-breakfast on the south end of the Okanagan Valley. The spacious Roses Room is just $95 (all prices Canadian) off-season / $125 summer season, double occupancy and includes breakfast.

The city of Kelowna has nearly 100 bed and breakfasts. For real. But the Mission Creek Country Inn caught my eye for two reasons– they have their own flock of sheep, and their breakfast features home-grown eggs! Set on 36 acres of nature and farmland, the B&B is in a restored 1909 farmhouse, and it’s just 10 minutes from downtown Kelowna, Okanagan Lake, and dozens of wineries. Oh, and one more reason this place caught my eye is the price. A room here is about $80 double occupancy, and includes that home-cooked breakfast. 1 (877) 860-1909.

There is a particular hotel in the Kettle River Valley that has my captured my curiosity. The Hotel Beaverdell claims significance as the oldest operating hotel in British Columbia, and first opened its doors to business back in 1901. $70 a night double occupancy.

Planning a wine-tasting trip to the Okanagan yourself? Be sure to download Sunset’s Okanagan Winery Map and Guide, and bookmark this blog from Canadian wine columnist John Schreiner.

Photos top to bottom courtesy of Stoneboat Vineyards, Carlitos, and Megan Cole, via Flickr.

There’s nothing quite like a glass of good rosé on a warm spring day. Especially if it’s been kept nice and cool by the thick walls of an oak barrel.

Blackwood Canyon is a unique winery on Red Mountain, near Washington’s Tri-Cities. By the way, a visit there is like no other tasting room experience you’ll ever have, but more on that another time (I promise!). That’s the winemaker, M. Taylor Moore, pouring a taste for some nice folks from Olympia. We pretty much spent the day together (yes, a tasting at Blackwood Canyon takes the better part of a perfect afternoon). The wine enjoyed in the photo is Rincon Point Rosé, which had not even finished fermenting, siphoned straight out of the barrel. Delightful.

For more great photos of travel visit the Photo Friday post at Delicious Baby!

When I had a baby last year, there were a few revelations that went through my head about how our life as a carefree traveling couple had suddenly changed. For example, those lazy days of tasting our way through wine country were probably over.

Not so! Meet Jodie and James, an Australian couple living in Seattle, who inspire me to no end with their enthusiasm for travel and recreation–even with their adorable 7-month old baby in tow. (In fact, they just returned from a family holiday in the Southwest!) Jodie guest posts below on her recent family trip to the Yakima wine country. -Lauren

One thing I love about living in Seattle is the number of diverse places to explore just a short drive away. This year for our anniversary trip, our first with a child, we wanted to find out what lay beyond the Cascade mountains. We headed to Yakima and Ellensburg to see the wineries, hops and even some Chimpanzees.

Our search for a family-friendly B&B accommodation in wine country was a rocky road paved with many terse responses. Apparently, “family-friendly” and “B&B” are not often joined in the same sentence! We finally came upon the Orchard Inn B&B set in a charming cherry orchard in Yakima. At $129 for the very spacious and private family room (the other rooms are only $109 for a double if you are sans children) we could enjoy some comfort for our anniversary without breaking the bank. We certainly weren’t disappointed. Our gracious hosts greeted us warmly and gave us plenty of useful information about local places to eat and  things to see. Our gourmet breakfasts were served in a sunny room overlooking the orchard, and were divine. (My favourite one was the baked French toast stuffed with apricots from a tree right outside!) Our only regret was our timing was a little off. If we had waited another month and gone in April, we could have experienced the brilliant display of cherry blossoms in the orchard surrounding the B&B.

Yakima has long been a place of intrigue for me; when I underwent brewing training for my job at one of Australia’s largest breweries, I learned all about the hop growing regions around the world. More recently, I discovered the variety of hops used to brew one of my favourite Australian beers, James Squire Golden Ale, grows only in the Yakima valley. Naturally, the first stop for Saturday morning was the American Hop Museum in Toppenish. Unfortunately we didn’t read the fine print and found the museum closed for another few months. However, our visit to Toppenish was not in vain; the 72 murals that adorn the “wild west” town are a sight to behold.

From Toppenish, we circled back to Yakima through the Rattlesnake Hills wine region. While the region is not as famous as some there are some really nice wines to be found and the search is always fun. For us our favourite of the day was a black Muscat from Piety Flats winery. This winery is worth a visit for the old mercantile building and vast array of condiments, jams and other treats. Another notable stop was the Wineglass Cellars.

We awoke Sunday morning to the soothing sound of rain in the desert. While we were reluctant to leave the friendly atmosphere of the B&B, there was more to explore along the way back to Seattle. The mist swirled around the snow-covered sage bush hills as we headed west; Spring was slow to come to the Yakima Valley this year. We enjoyed a coffee in old town Ellensburg as we watched the snow, which lent an air of romanticism to the morning as we strolled the streets enjoying the pretty historic buildings.

Ellensburg is home to the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute at Central Washington University, which hosts the highly informative “Chimposium” sessions. During the one hour session you can interact in sign language with their resident Chimpanzees. Walking into the Chimpanzee viewing area slightly hunched and trying not to show my top teeth felt a little silly. However this is how you behave to be a good guest in the home of the Chimpanzees. The Chimpanzees put on a territory-defending display while we signed to them that we were friends. For the next twenty minutes we enjoyed interacting in basic sign language to the two chimpanzees. It sure was an amazing experience and much better than any zoo.

As we headed  slowly back over the pass in a heavy snow storm, we had plenty of time to reflect on our trip and ponder why it had taken us two years of living in Seattle to finally visit such a beautiful region. We vowed to return in the summer for the bountiful cherry harvest. And we think you should, too.

Photos: Orchard Inn B&B, a mural in Toppenish, and a sign outside the Paradisos Del Sol tasting room near Yakima.

Pinot noir and bicycling go together like bread and butter. If you don’t believe me, you’ll just have to try it and judge for yourself.

If you have a bike and a free weekend this month, head to the Willamette Valley south of Portland. You will not be disappointed.

August is perhaps the best month to tour Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country by bicycle. The Eola Hills Wine Cellars near Salem organizes Bike Oregon Wine Country every Sunday in August, at a cost of $65 per person. This fully-supported ride guides you through the scenic Eola Hills and Mid-Willamette Valley wine region, biking through lush vineyards and some of the most picturesque countryside in the Northwest. Short and long loops are available, ranging from 45 to 70 miles a day. All rides start at 8am at Eola Hills Wine Cellars. Lunch is provided at one of the participating wineries, and all wine purchased in-route is transported back to Eola Hills by a separate vehicle. After the ride enjoy a fantastic BBQ feast and a glass or two of Eola Hills wine. Click here for more info.

It’s not a bad deal for $65, but of course you can pack your own picnic lunch, put your bottle purchases in panniers, and do a similar route on your own. Try the Oregon Wine Center (503-228-8336) for brochures with maps to help plan your route. Their website also has wine explorer to help plan your trip. For more info and an inspiring read, check out this New York Times story from 2006 on touring wine countries (including the Willamette) by bike.

For a great night’s sleep in the area, check out the Bookmark Bed and Breakfast in Salem (503-399-2013), which has two charming rooms, $90 – $110 a night. After your long bike ride the day before, you’ll be delighted with a full, home-cooked breakfast, like Evelyn’s “Souffle” with Tillamook cheese, fruit salad, honey lemon muffins, juice, coffee, and tea. Children are welcome, but no pets. (Salem, for some odd reason, limits its B&Bs to only two rooms, meaning the local proprietors don’t make much money, but guests sure get plenty of personalized attention.)

Island life. A pace or two behind the city, of course, but isn’t that why you go there?

South Whidbey Island is one of the quickest, hassle-free getaways for those of us that live in the Seattle metro area. You just pack up your car, head to Mukilteo, and get yourself on a ferry. It would be perfect, indeed, if it weren’t so expensive. Well, it’s not entirely expensive.

The little seaside, art-filled town of Langley probably has more bed and breakfasts per capita than anywhere else in the Northwest. An internet search to narrow down a possibility can be dizzying, and unfortunately, most of them are rather pricey. For our recent weekend getaway, I booked us a $70 room at Drakes Landing, which is not a bed and breakfast after all, but perhaps the cheapest sleep in the Langley area. And, its not bad. (Update – Drakes Landing is closed until further notice- click here.) Their phone number is (360) 221-3999.

Drakes is a renovated 1914 house situated right on the Langley Marina, and from here it’s just a short walk (uphill) into downtown. The owner of Drakes Landing is Christine (her parents were the Drakes) and she manages the four-room inn with her husband. Christine let us into our (small) room and had a few suggestions and menus for restaurants in town. Drakes is a friendly establishment, affordable for Langley, and in a great location. Our room was small but comfortable, with a double bed, an antique bedside table with a lamp and alarm clock, one small window, and a bath with a shower. The room is carpeted and has a coffeemaker. No phone or TV. In addition to the two $70 rooms, we saw Room C which goes for $90 and is comfortably bigger with far more natural light, a slight view, and high ceilings. There is evidently an upstairs suite as well.

After getting settled at Drakes on a crisp spring Saturday afternoon, we started our Whidbey weekend with a trip up the highway to Greenbank, specifically to the Greenbank Cellars tasting room. We’re particularly fond of their Alsatian style sauvignon blanc which has a taste that I can only describe as the best granny smith apple you’ll ever have. Brian likes to visit tasting rooms where he can actually talk to the winemaker, so I left him to that and went off to browse their art gallery, which features prints and cards and original artwork by Betty Rayle, one of the owners of Greenbank Cellars. Of course, Betty staffs the gallery herself, so I got to chat with her for a bit. After our purchases there, we headed to South Whidbey State Park for a late afternoon walk along the Discovery Trail. We found beach access to be closed due to winter storm damage until further notice. Hopefully the washouts will be fixed in time for the campers who come to this lovely spot in the summertime. (For your information, there is no longer a day fee to visit Washington State Parks, but donations are gladly accepted.)

Dinner options in Langley run the gamut from pricey (The Fishbowl is a particularly good splurge) to good and cheap (try a pint of beer and a homemade veggie burger at the Doghouse – cash only.) (Update: The Doghouse is now closed.) We opted for in between and hit Prima, a bistro upstairs above the grocery on First Street (the main drag) that has great summer deck dining in the-you guessed it- summertime. Alas, it was March. We were fortunate to get in without reservations – several tables were already reserved. We find this to be the case most places in Langley – so be forewarned. I had a great plate of fish and chips (mostly fries, but they were great fries) and Brian enjoyed a small bowl of pasta. One of Prima Bistro’s high points is the wine list, which has a good selection by the glass at reasonable prices.

Langley has a sleepy nightlife, but that was fine by us. We passed on the second-run movie theater and retired to bed in hopes of waking up early enough to watch the sun rise from the docks of the marina across from Drakes Landing.

It turned out to be a perfect sun rise, slow and relaxed as it rose from behind the Cascade mountains. After that, we packed up, hit The Braeburn for some stuffed apple strudel french toast and strong coffee, and headed out for a quick hike at Ebey’s Landing before catching an afternoon ferry back home, more than satisfied with our relaxing weekend that didn’t break our bank account. Our whole weekend getaway cost us about $135, including the ferry trip.

There are so many reasons to spend a long weekend in Oregon’s lush Willamette valley south of Portland. Pinot noir, pinot gris, and pinot blanc, just to name three. Hazelnuts, fresh fruit, charming farms, hiking in the nearby Coast Range, and great birdwatching are a few more reasons. And of course, a two-night stay at Gahr Farm.

Gahr Farm is situated on a 350-acre conservation farm and forest, which is managed as a native plant and wildlife reserve. There are 150 acres in forestland, and the remainder is in meadows, wetlands, and riparian areas. Several hiking trails wind through the property, and don’t forget your binoculars! Wildlife abounds. When we stayed at Gahr Farm we got up at the crack of dawn for an early morning stroll to watch the numerous songbirds and hawks that reside in the native habitat conserved here for them.

The guest quarters are actually a spacious cottage that is separate and private from the main family home. The cottage sleeps four, with a queen size bed and two twins in two separate bedrooms. There’s a full kitchen in the cottage with all the cooking supplies you need, and we brought our own fresh food to cook into a delicious dinner each evening we were there to go with the best bottle of wine we’d bought that day. After dinner, relax together beside the wood-burning stove as you finish off the bottle. Of course, nearby McMinville is full of fabulous restaurants like this one should you have some extra cash or just prefer to leave the cooking to someone else.

Aside from the gas money you’ll need to tour around to the wineries, and the occasional purchase of a fabulous bottle of vino, visiting the Willamette Valley is an inexpensive weekend trip. Most of the tasting rooms in the Willamette are free. On our numerous trips there, we only encountered a few that charge a tasting fee (for example, those closest to Portland and some of the fancier new tasting rooms).

Gahr Farm’s rates simply can’t be beat for what you get — just $115 for one night, or $95 for two or more nights double occupancy. (additional guests $25 each.) This includes, by the way, an absolutely fabulous home-cooked breakfast, served in the main house, or at your cottage should you prefer. We recommend taking your breakfast with your hosts, Ted and Harriett, and soaking up the history of this fabulous farm as you do so.