Weekend Getaway: Willamette Valley Overnight with the Girls

Things have been a little crazy in happy hour honeys land lately, so I decided that my 31^st bday would be an excellent excuse to get away for a night.

I’ve had my eye on The Vintages for a while, so when Kel, Dana, and Amanda said they were all in for a celebratory wine country sleepover, I booked the second cutest-looking trailer (the cutest was already taken) and went into planning mode.

The Vintages is a “trailer resort” located in Dayton, about 10 minutes southwest of Dundee. “Resort” might be taking it a little too far though. The Vintages is actually a collection of about 20 restored trailers of different makes and models attached to your run-of-the-mill RV park. The “county store” is stocked with more gourmet items than you might expect and the cruiser bikes and striped umbrellas that come with each rental are cute, but no matter what the rental price might suggest, this really is just a trailer park in the middle of wine country, not any sort of “resort”.

That said, our quick trip was definitely one for the books. Here’s our itinerary from the weekend: 

Lunch at Ruddick/Wood in Newburg

Wood/Ruddick is cute little hipster spot about 50 minutes outside of Portland. Our 12:30 lunch reservations seemed unnecessary when we arrived, but the place filled up more as we ate.

In order to prep for our day of drinking, we all ordered hearty sandwiches with fries plus a bottle of champagne to get the party started.

Meet up with Trish of No Whining Wine Tours

For me, the trickiest part of wine tasting is the driving aspect. Uber and Lyft have pretty much eliminated the need for a DD on a night out in Portland, but ride shares aren’t as readily available in wine country. Kel’s brilliant solution: hire a driver!

Trish was recommended by one of Kel’s mom’s friends and we got an insider deal. Aside from the perk of having a driver, using Trish meant that we had access to reduced tasting fees at the wineries that Trish recommended AND a personal photographer for the day. Trish also introduced us to a new winery that all of us loved and probably wouldn’t have found on our own. Basically, you should hire Trish.

Winery #1 – L’Angolo Estate in Dundee

Chase, Kelly’s third cousin (sister grandmas, sister grandmas!), opened the tasting room at L’Angolo last year and we like to go there to use Kelly’s membership to get a free tasting and to feel very fancy that we know the winemaker.

Winery #2- Lenne Estate in Yamhill

This stop was Trish’s idea and we loved the great view (which would have been even better without all the smokiness).

Winery #3- Fairsing Vinyard in Yamhill

Trish also introduced us to this spot, which I think all of us plan to visit again soon. The tasting room is built so that when you look out from the front lawn (which houses a labyrinth and lots of Adirondack chairs), there’s a visual affect akin to an infinity pool. I was getting some serious Lord of the Rings vibes, especially since Fairsing has Gaelic touches throughout the winery.

We barely made it to Fairsing before closing time at 5pm, but at that point we were ready for some food anyhow.

Supply Stop at Red Hills Market in Dundee

We had packed a snacky dinner to enjoy on our trailer “patio” back at The Vintages, but we decided to stock up on more wine at Red Hills just in case. Picking up a pizza here would also have been a good dinner option.

Dinner + Fun & Games at The Vintages

Trish dropped us back at The Vintages and we got a peek at our trailer, the Boles Aero, for the first time. The Vintages website labeled our trailer as appropriate for 2 adults and one kid, but with the double twin beds and the couch/futon, the four of us fit just fine. The trailer was outfitted with a few special touches like a cute couch, robes with slippers, and updated curtains, bedding, and light fixtures … but once again, a trailer is trailer – so don’t expect anything too luxe.

Following our dinner, we hopped on our bikes and cruised around the park for a bit before setting up Amanda’s ring and flamingo game. I also had a surprise for the girls: matching RV & flamingo pjs that I found at Target.

We spent the rest of the night chatting with our rowdy, Duck-loving neighbors, making s’mores on the BBQ, and hanging out in the trailer before hitting the hay.

Breakfast at Block House Cafe in Dayton

Before heading back to Portland, we stopped for breakfast at Block House Cafe in tiny downtown Dayton. You know you’re in wine country when you get offered a wine list at 9 am!

After our breakfast of cinnamon roll pancakes (Block House’s specialty), huge breakfast burritos, and eggs benedict, we hopped in the car and high-tailed it back to Portland.

Such a fun birthday trip!

Portland Food Cart: PBJ's

What: PBJ's
Where: 919 NW 23rd St
When: Wed - Sun 11am - 5pm
Honeys Heart: Spicy Thai! (or all of them...?)
Follow them on Twitter! @pbjsgrilledcom

Adam has been dying to go to PBJ's for months now and we finally made it Saturday morning. We saw "the boys" (our neighbors that I refer to as "the boys") as we walked out the door and they made the excellent decision to accompany us, because these sandwiches were AWESOME.

Twitter: @AdamVinnyT

PBJ's offers "grilled gourmet peanut butter and jelly creations"on NW 23rd (closest cross street is Lovejoy). Created by Shane and Keena after moving to Portland a year and a half ago, it is their mission to serve natural and organic ingredients in tasty and creative ways, with a positive attitude! This two man - well to be more exact, 1 man, 1 woman - operation is fine tuned. One person is loading on the ingredients and the other is grilling and wrapping up the final product.

Yep, that's homemade peanut butter!

Their ingredients are sourced, whenever possible, in Oregon including jam from Oregon Growers in Hood River, hazelnut butter from the Willamette Valley, Dagoba organic chocolate from Ashland, Gabriel's Bakery in Portland, and the peanut butter and almond butter, well, that's made with organic nuts by PBJ themselves!

After much contemplation we decided to get three sandwiches, one each and one to share. The sandwiches ended up being pretty big and we totally didn't need three, but we were so excited that it was too hard to choose only two!

The sandwiches are designed to be sweet, savory, spicy, or tarte. I went for the Cream of the Crop ($5.50) with challah bread, strawberry jan, bananas, Gina Maria cream cheese, and PBJ's peanut butter. This was sweet, but not too sweet, and basically had an entire banana on it! The cream cheese warmed and softened with the jam and peanut butter was super tasty.

Being a sucker for bacon, and spicy foods, Adam opted for the Hot Hood ($5.50) with challah bread, black cherry jam, jalapeno, apple wood smoked bacon and PBJ's peanut butter. When he ordered, he timidly began to ask if he could maybe swap the jalapeno for sriracha, but Keena told him to get it with jalapenos or don't get it at all. They know what they're doing!

We shared the Spicy Thai ($5.50), challah bread, orange marmalade, sriracha, fresh basil, curry and PBJ's peanut butter based on a recommendation that it was a "favorite." It was also one of the most unique sounding sandwiches on the menu. Keena loaded on the sriracha and for a second I was nervous it would be too spicy for me, but it was absolutely perfect! Some milk definitely helped with the heat.

Rick, a fan of bacon like Adam, got the other bacon sandwich, the Good Morning ($6) with challah bread french toast (yum!), blueberry jam, apple wood smoked bacon, 100% maple syrup, and PBJ's peanut butter. He claims it was better than the Hot Hood so it's on our list for next time!

Only a couple of their grilled creations have cheese on them, one was the Oregonian ($5.50) which Charles ordered. With challah bread, marion berry jam, Rogue Creamery blue cheese and Oregon hazelnut butter this sandwich was both savory and sweet. Of course we decided it would be awesome with a little apple wood smoked bacon added!

With 12 sandwiches on the menu we still have a lot to try, I'll be back for the Betty ($5.50) with challah bread, Gruyere cheese, bread and butter pickles, white pepper, sea salt, and PBJ's peanut butter. Perhaps a slightly more interesting take on what my dad claims is a delicious sandwich - peanut butter and pickles.

We grabbed a to go menu so we'll be back!

Like many restaurants and food carts these days, PBJ's will also cater! If you have an event coming up, or want to celebrate an accomplishment like Wieden+Kennedy being named agency of the year at The Webby Award, give them a call. Learn more about their catering here.