Weekend in Portland

Of note:

• Ten 01 Restaurant for lunch with Barbara Thomas' '07 Pinot Noir. Outstanding. Pared with a squash and apple soup and a halibut with tomato sauce dish. Rich on the front with many levels of taste coming through as the food and wine had their little conversation.
• Portland Center Stage for Ragtime. See it. See it twice. It is that good.
• The Holt International auction was big hit. Two items that were very wine related: Ken Wright, who donated ALL the wine for the event, also donated a party at the winery for 75 people in the Spring and Linda and I are going. Ghost Hill Cellars donated a day in the vineyard for picking the Rose grapes, working the crush, and getting 6 bottles when it is done plus two overnights .at the Carlton Inn.
• Stayed at the Silver Cloud in Portland, up at 2426 NW Vaughn Street  near another of our favorite Restaurants, Meriwether's .It has free parking, a great little workout room, quiet rooms, and a very nice staff.
  
• Breakfast this morning at Farm to Fork in Dundee. A bit of a drive for brekies but it was worth it many times over. Best French Toast I have EVER had! Love the feel of the place. Been back three times so far.
• A long, meandering drive through the western Oregon hills, past vineyards, odd rocks ( Linda sits atop the largest "Erratic" rock in Oregon...look it up!), and little towns got us back to Eugene in time for the Jazz King's at the Shedd.
• This was in front of a hardware store in Dallas Oregon: It is just wrong on so many levels...