This was an invaluable book during our trip to the Oregon / Idaho / Washington wine country.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
DAY FOUR - Prineville, Oregon (Oct. 1, 2007)
DAY FOUR - Prineville, Oregon (Oct. 1, 2007)At the end of day three, we stayed at the Crater Lake B & B in Forth Klamath. Janet and family were great hosts (including two great dogs of Toby and Shiloh). Up to this point we had stayed in a converted elementary school, a traditional hotel and a B & B. We were just getting started in our lodging part of the adventure.
Our room at the Crater Lake B&B. Our B & B was on the south side of Crater Lake. So we entertained the thought of driving back up to Crater Lake and try our luck at seeing the lake again. At the turn off to go through the park or around, we could tell the cloud cover was too dense. So instead of going back up to the summit again, we saved time and went around.
The day before, we did pick up some excellent books on Oregon hiking and campgrounds. Using these as a reference, we traveled up to Prineville Oregon. We had enough time (barely) to go on a hike at Stein’s Pillar.
The Steins Pillar trail is very deceiving, offering views of the pillar only for the last half mile of the trail, but don't expect a boring hike; the trail gives you plenty to look at all in a very short distance. The trail starts out meandering through a nice forest, but soon reaches open meadows that are covered with wildflowers during the spring. Many Cascade mountains and other green hills of the Ochoco Mountains can be seen from the open prairies. Eventually, the trail switchbacks down to the base of the tower, offering a very humbling view of the towering pinnacle.
We turned back before getting all the way to the base of the pillar. The trail wasn’t that well marked and the cloud cover was looking a bit intimidating at times. However, we were able to take a quick trip down down the road to a viewpoint of the pillar, which was amazing.
Getting back, we stopped off in Prineville to get some grub, some beer and some firewood. We were able to get a log cabin inside of an RV park. I was even able to find a link to it on the web, in case you are interested. ( http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Oregon/Prineville.html ). We ended up chatting fireside with a gentleman named John that had just migrated out from the east coast. With the beer quickly gone, we broke out a bottle of Merlot from Duck Pond and chatted for at least 2 hours enjoying the evening and the fire.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
DAY THREE - Crater Lake (Sept. 30, 2007)
From Dwayne Wright - www.dwaynewright.com
DAY THREE - Crater Lake (Sept. 30, 2007)
In the morning of day three, we woke up at the Holiday Express in Roseburg Oregon. We were very tired the night before but woke up with a very nice view out the balcony window.
We made it to Crater Lake about 11 a.m. It was snowing pretty good but the snow was having a hard time sticking. We didn’t get to see much of the lake because of the cloud cover. Still pretty cool and then we spent the night at the Crater Lake Bed and Breakfast.
DAY THREE - Crater Lake (Sept. 30, 2007)
In the morning of day three, we woke up at the Holiday Express in Roseburg Oregon. We were very tired the night before but woke up with a very nice view out the balcony window.
We made it to Crater Lake about 11 a.m. It was snowing pretty good but the snow was having a hard time sticking. We didn’t get to see much of the lake because of the cloud cover. Still pretty cool and then we spent the night at the Crater Lake Bed and Breakfast.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
DAY TWO - Portland / Oregon Coast Wineries - (Sept. 29, 2007)
This is the second part of my DAY TWO - Portland / Oregon Coast Wineries (Sept. 29, 2007) discussion. Pictures mostly, if I can swing it.
DAY TWO - Portland / Oregon Coast Wineries (Sept. 29, 2007)
On Day 2, we had breakfast at McMenamins Kennedy School and then headed out to our first winery. In order, we went to Rex Hill, Duck Pond, Torri Mor and Erath. We then headed south to get within striking distance of Crater Lake.
The third winery of the day was Torri Mor. Sorry that I don't have a link to their site but it looks like they don't have a web site. I thought the prices were a bit steep and not that tasty. They charged the most for the wine tasting of any winery on our trip. I did end up buying two things though. The brought out a Port but made us sample some dark chocolate first. Both were heavenly and I bought the port but shuddered at the $50 price tag.
The second item was a book called Wine Dogs, the dogs of the North American wineries. A fantastic photo book of dogs in great poses.
Looking over the wine list in the tasting room at Torri Mor.
Found an amazon.com link for wine dogs!
The last winery on the tour was Erath. I forgot I had a couple bottles of their wine already at home. The offered free tasting of their regular wines and a very reasonable price for tasting their premium wines. We didn't purchase any wine there but bought some Gouda cheese and bagel chips and headed south. We wanted to get as close as we could to Crater Lake before stopping.
April looking away at the Erath Winery
April looking towards the camera at the Erath Winery
The inside tasting room at Erath
DAY TWO - Portland / Oregon Coast Wineries (Sept. 29, 2007)
On Day 2, we had breakfast at McMenamins Kennedy School and then headed out to our first winery. In order, we went to Rex Hill, Duck Pond, Torri Mor and Erath. We then headed south to get within striking distance of Crater Lake.
The third winery of the day was Torri Mor. Sorry that I don't have a link to their site but it looks like they don't have a web site. I thought the prices were a bit steep and not that tasty. They charged the most for the wine tasting of any winery on our trip. I did end up buying two things though. The brought out a Port but made us sample some dark chocolate first. Both were heavenly and I bought the port but shuddered at the $50 price tag.
The second item was a book called Wine Dogs, the dogs of the North American wineries. A fantastic photo book of dogs in great poses.
Looking over the wine list in the tasting room at Torri Mor.
Found an amazon.com link for wine dogs!
The last winery on the tour was Erath. I forgot I had a couple bottles of their wine already at home. The offered free tasting of their regular wines and a very reasonable price for tasting their premium wines. We didn't purchase any wine there but bought some Gouda cheese and bagel chips and headed south. We wanted to get as close as we could to Crater Lake before stopping.
April looking away at the Erath Winery
April looking towards the camera at the Erath Winery
The inside tasting room at Erath
Monday, October 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW: Blink
BOOK REVIEW: BLINKFrom Dwayne Wright - www.dwaynewright.com
So my boss at SolutionMakers has been on a business book on audio CD kick lately and I couldn’t be more pleased about it. Two of the books on CD she purchased are by the same author, Malcolm Gladwell and they are Blink and the Tipping Point. I actually made it through both of them before I could post my impressions. So they both will be here as separate posts.
ABOUT BLINK
The premise of this book is examining of the idea that snap, first impression decisions may be more accurate than the ones you contemplate over an extended amount of time. He uses very odd examples such as marriage counseling research, heart attack triage (or not), speed dating, autism, facial reading, military maneuvers, the Pepsi Challenge, New Coke, an ill fated police shooting and more.
MY OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
I didn’t care for this book as much as The Tipping Point but still found it informative. I’m sure I will be thinking about thin slice impressions more in the future. The book seemed more like a case study because it seemed to foster the idea trusting snap decisions and then would blast the idea as foolish.
Much like The Tipping Point impressions, I’m glad I read it. I didn’t find it to inspiring towards my business day. I will likely give it a second reading some time in the future.
QUOTES FROM AMAZON READERS
I was riveted from start to finish. I have been married and divorced, yet I chose a stray dog at a pet adoption agency in less than 5 minutes and was absolutely certain of the decision. My dog is the most wonderful companion one could ask for.
DW ON THE ABOVE COMMENT
Come to think of it, I got my dog the exact same way and he is an absolutely fantastic dog!
I borrowed the book and read it. In a blink I thought it was as interesting as it had promised. It took me more than a blink to find out, that it does not deliver:
DW ON THE ABOVE COMMENT
The book does seem to be a bit long and some topic discussions do seem that they could be condensed. I don’t agree that “it didn’t deliver” but I do think it could have delivered faster.
=
More info about the author and FileMaker in general, contact me at info@dwaynewright.com.
© 2007 - Dwayne Wright - dwaynewright.com
The material on this document is offered AS IS. There is NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, expressed or implied, nor does any other contributor to this document. WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT ABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. Consequential and incidental damages are expressly excluded. FileMaker Pro is the registered trademark of FileMaker Inc.
DAY TWO - Portland / Oregon Coast Wineries (Sept. 29, 2007)
From Dwayne Wright - www.dwaynewright.com
DAY TWO - Portland / Oregon Coast Wineries (Sept. 29, 2007)
On Day 2, we had breakfast at McMenamins Kennedy School and then headed out to our first winery. In order, we went to Rex Hill, Duck Pond, Torri Mor and Erath. We then headed south to get within striking distance of Crater Lake.
Here is April outside of the Rex Hill tasting room, with a shot at the vineyard. Heard some very strange noises in the parking lot and found out this was coming from loudspeakers to scare the birds.
Dwayne outside Rex Hill
Here is the aroma table at Rex Hill. A very interesting feature of the wine tasting room. You can see what the wine is supposed to conjure in your mind, then go to the table and sniff various tastes within a wine like chocolate, almonds, pears, etc...
April outside of the Duck Pond Winery (great pinos)
Dwayne Cheek To Cheek With Someones Future Duck Pond Wine
DAY TWO - Portland / Oregon Coast Wineries (Sept. 29, 2007)
On Day 2, we had breakfast at McMenamins Kennedy School and then headed out to our first winery. In order, we went to Rex Hill, Duck Pond, Torri Mor and Erath. We then headed south to get within striking distance of Crater Lake.
Here is April outside of the Rex Hill tasting room, with a shot at the vineyard. Heard some very strange noises in the parking lot and found out this was coming from loudspeakers to scare the birds.
Dwayne outside Rex Hill
Here is the aroma table at Rex Hill. A very interesting feature of the wine tasting room. You can see what the wine is supposed to conjure in your mind, then go to the table and sniff various tastes within a wine like chocolate, almonds, pears, etc...
April outside of the Duck Pond Winery (great pinos)
Dwayne Cheek To Cheek With Someones Future Duck Pond Wine
Monday, October 8, 2007
DAY ONE - Portland (Sept. 28, 2007)
From Dwayne Wright - www.dwaynewright.com
OCTOBER VACATION - DAY ONE - Portland (Sept. 28, 2007)
We didn’t get out of town very early on Friday and it was totally my fault. I just couldn’t seem to get all the little things done before the trip that I wanted to get done. We finally pulled out of town about 1:30 PM and arrived in Portland about 5:30 PM. We had reservations at the McMenamins Kennedy School. This is a elementary school that has been converted to a hotel and is extremely cool.
So about the McMenamins Kennedy School, loved it. It is a converted Elementary School in Portland, Oregon. There are a number of unique McMenamins hotels in Oregon and Washington. In fact, the seven hotels available can be found on their web site at www.mcmenamins.com .
Dwayne at the front of the school looking fat and happy after a big breakfast!
Here is April at the same spot!
Another shot of the front - sans tourists
Just inside the door!
Our room was the Thumbelina room, it was one half of an original classroom. The other half was the Mr. Toad room. I have a couple movies on the room at the below links...
Room Movie Number 1
Room Movie Number 2
Going Down The McMenamins Hallway (1)
Going Down The McMenamins Hallway (2)
Might as well wrap this with some more photographs.
Looking outside one of the windows to the courtyard.
OCTOBER VACATION - DAY ONE - Portland (Sept. 28, 2007)
We didn’t get out of town very early on Friday and it was totally my fault. I just couldn’t seem to get all the little things done before the trip that I wanted to get done. We finally pulled out of town about 1:30 PM and arrived in Portland about 5:30 PM. We had reservations at the McMenamins Kennedy School. This is a elementary school that has been converted to a hotel and is extremely cool.
So about the McMenamins Kennedy School, loved it. It is a converted Elementary School in Portland, Oregon. There are a number of unique McMenamins hotels in Oregon and Washington. In fact, the seven hotels available can be found on their web site at www.mcmenamins.com .
Dwayne at the front of the school looking fat and happy after a big breakfast!
Here is April at the same spot!
Another shot of the front - sans tourists
Just inside the door!
Our room was the Thumbelina room, it was one half of an original classroom. The other half was the Mr. Toad room. I have a couple movies on the room at the below links...
Room Movie Number 1
Room Movie Number 2
Going Down The McMenamins Hallway (1)
Going Down The McMenamins Hallway (2)
Might as well wrap this with some more photographs.
Looking outside one of the windows to the courtyard.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
VACATION: October 2007
From Dwayne Wright - www.dwaynewright.com
Well, this is my first entry in my personal blog. I’ve been blogging about technical content (mainly FileMaker) for about 5 months now. I didn’t think I would ever do a personal blog ... but ... here we are. I have no idea where this will take me but here goes!
I’m going to start the ball rolling discussing the vacation I just came back from. My girlfriend April and I left Friday (Sept. 28, 2007) on a combination winery tour, trail exploring, camping excursion type of vacation. We had the most brief outline of what we wanted to accomplish and then let the winds guide us during the in-between spots. I’ll try and do a separate post for each day of the trip and link back to a page that discusses it in more detail.
We did have a guide though, the Northwest Wine Country Hill Guides was something that April picked up before the trip.
DAY ONE - Portland
We didn’t get out of town very early on Friday and it was totally my fault. I just couldn’t seem to get all the little things done before the trip that I wanted to get done. We finally pulled out of town about 1:30 PM and arrived in Portland about 5:30 PM. We had reservations at the McMenamins Kennedy School. This is a elementary school that has been converted to a hotel and is extremely cool.
DAY TWO - Portland / Oregon Coast Wineries
On Day 2, we had breakfast at McMenamins Kennedy School and then headed out to our first winery. In order, we went to Rex Hill, Duck Pond, Torri Mor and Erath. We then headed south to get within striking distance of Crater Lake.
DAY THREE - Crater Lake
We made it to Crater Lake about 11 a.m. It was snowing pretty good but the snow was having a hard time sticking. We didn’t get to see much of the lake because of the cloud cover. Still pretty cool and then we spent the night at the Crater Lake Bed and Breakfast.
DAY FOUR - Prineville, Oregon
Our B & B was on the south side of Crater Lake. So we entertained the thought of driving back up to Crater Lake and try our luck at seeing the lake again. At the turn off to go through the park or around, we could tell the cloud cover was too dense. So instead of going back up to the summit again, we saved time and went around. We did pick up some excellent books on Oregon hiking and campgrounds. So we went as far as Prineville Oregon, saw Stein’s Pillar and spent the night in a cabin at the local RV park.
DAY FIVE - John Day Painted Hills / Emmett Idaho
We left Prineville and proceeded to April’s childhood friends house in Emmett Idaho. We decided to take Highway 26 and visit John Day Painted Hills National Park.
DAY SIX - Emmett Idaho And Surrounding Wineries
We decided to spend a second night in Emmett and in the morning went for a great hike in the high desert landscape. Then visited three local wineries of Ste Chapelle, Williamson Vineyard and The Winery At Eagle Knoll. A wonderful dinner with our hosts and wrapped up by watching A Night At The Museum.
DAY SEVEN - Hat Rock / Tea Pot Service Station / Leavenworth / Home
We headed out early and made very good time on day seven. We stopped off at Hat Rock National Park and had a great hike along the Columbia River. Getting back into the car, we didn’t stop until April got excited about a highway sign indicating the Tea Pot Service Station was the next exit. This is some sort of National Monument or something. Very cool and then we decided to head all the way to Leavenworth Washington and perhaps all the way home to Snohomish. Leavenworth was great but we hit it just shy of closing time. A quick by quaint dinner later, we set out on our last leg home.
Well, this is my first entry in my personal blog. I’ve been blogging about technical content (mainly FileMaker) for about 5 months now. I didn’t think I would ever do a personal blog ... but ... here we are. I have no idea where this will take me but here goes!
I’m going to start the ball rolling discussing the vacation I just came back from. My girlfriend April and I left Friday (Sept. 28, 2007) on a combination winery tour, trail exploring, camping excursion type of vacation. We had the most brief outline of what we wanted to accomplish and then let the winds guide us during the in-between spots. I’ll try and do a separate post for each day of the trip and link back to a page that discusses it in more detail.
We did have a guide though, the Northwest Wine Country Hill Guides was something that April picked up before the trip.
DAY ONE - Portland
We didn’t get out of town very early on Friday and it was totally my fault. I just couldn’t seem to get all the little things done before the trip that I wanted to get done. We finally pulled out of town about 1:30 PM and arrived in Portland about 5:30 PM. We had reservations at the McMenamins Kennedy School. This is a elementary school that has been converted to a hotel and is extremely cool.
DAY TWO - Portland / Oregon Coast Wineries
On Day 2, we had breakfast at McMenamins Kennedy School and then headed out to our first winery. In order, we went to Rex Hill, Duck Pond, Torri Mor and Erath. We then headed south to get within striking distance of Crater Lake.
DAY THREE - Crater Lake
We made it to Crater Lake about 11 a.m. It was snowing pretty good but the snow was having a hard time sticking. We didn’t get to see much of the lake because of the cloud cover. Still pretty cool and then we spent the night at the Crater Lake Bed and Breakfast.
DAY FOUR - Prineville, Oregon
Our B & B was on the south side of Crater Lake. So we entertained the thought of driving back up to Crater Lake and try our luck at seeing the lake again. At the turn off to go through the park or around, we could tell the cloud cover was too dense. So instead of going back up to the summit again, we saved time and went around. We did pick up some excellent books on Oregon hiking and campgrounds. So we went as far as Prineville Oregon, saw Stein’s Pillar and spent the night in a cabin at the local RV park.
DAY FIVE - John Day Painted Hills / Emmett Idaho
We left Prineville and proceeded to April’s childhood friends house in Emmett Idaho. We decided to take Highway 26 and visit John Day Painted Hills National Park.
DAY SIX - Emmett Idaho And Surrounding Wineries
We decided to spend a second night in Emmett and in the morning went for a great hike in the high desert landscape. Then visited three local wineries of Ste Chapelle, Williamson Vineyard and The Winery At Eagle Knoll. A wonderful dinner with our hosts and wrapped up by watching A Night At The Museum.
DAY SEVEN - Hat Rock / Tea Pot Service Station / Leavenworth / Home
We headed out early and made very good time on day seven. We stopped off at Hat Rock National Park and had a great hike along the Columbia River. Getting back into the car, we didn’t stop until April got excited about a highway sign indicating the Tea Pot Service Station was the next exit. This is some sort of National Monument or something. Very cool and then we decided to head all the way to Leavenworth Washington and perhaps all the way home to Snohomish. Leavenworth was great but we hit it just shy of closing time. A quick by quaint dinner later, we set out on our last leg home.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
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