McMinnville Inn - McMinnville, Oregon

ANTICIPATION…

The drive from Portland to McMinnville was filled with old memories…and new sights. We knew there would be LOTS of changes since our last visit. And I knew the area is now home to many wineries…including some that produce Internationally acclaimed award-winning Pinot Noir. But it was mind-boggling to see the number of road signs pointing to vineyards…in EVERY direction off of 99W! (Ooohhh..a HAPPY PLACE!)

We arrived at the McMinnville Inn, and we were pleased to find the proprietor, Sanjay, was willing to juggle rooms for us to give us a downstairs room for three nights. This was important, because we needed to unload EVERYTHING from our trunk so we could put our convertible top down to tour the town and the beautiful countryside. What good is a convertible with the top UP on a beautiful day in wine country??

Our room was clean, and spacious…and we could park right outside our door.

http://www.hotelmcminnville.com/

We decided to take a short drive around town to check things out, and to have lunch before we called our friend Rick. So off we went.

Our first stop was to find our very first home where we lived after our marriage…

We rounded the corner…and there it was. Still looking almost exactly the way it did nearly 44 years ago! (It was obvious WE have changed much more than our house!!!) But we both remarked at how much smaller the house and the yard seemed to be…

And then we headed downtown to “Drag the Gut” on our own. And Fred was amazed at how NARROW the street seemed. But he soon realized how many trees had been added to the streetscape since we left…and how large those trees had grown!

We turned the corner, debating on where to head for lunch, and we stumbled onto a WONDERFUL Farmers Market event…

So after strolling up and down the street, we noticed City Hall-right across the street…in a GORGEOUS building! So we dropped in to see if our friend Mayor (Rick) Olson was in. (We LOVE the element of SURPRISE…)

We were sorry to find him “out of his office” so we headed back downtown to find a spot for lunch. And we found a GREAT spot, to be sure.

The BLUE MOON TAVERN…

A GREAT Lunch…with Fresh Home Made Fries…

So after lunch we headed back to the hotel for a shower and a nap. And then Fred called Rick. And they talked. And talked. AND TALKED. And Rick said he’d swing by to pick us up to head downtown…just like the old days for those two young-at-heart guys.

And that’s when our McMinnville Magic began.

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