We and some friends took a road trip to Walla Walla this past weekend, in the observation of the Labor Day long weekend. Well, actually, it's more like let's get out of this city. :)
Day 1
It's a 4.5 hour straight up drive, so we decided to stop by different places along the way. The first stop is the Fred G. Redmon Bridge. Okay, truth to be told, we didn't stop by here because of the bridge, but because we wanted to have a stretch break. The valley is dried up, looking magnificent with the robust bridge as the backdrop.
And this is the time we realized Washington state has such different scenery and climate from west region to east region, as the heat was burning! Let's get back to the car, please.
Mr. Travel wanted to check out the Hanford Nuclear site since we went to a museum where we got to know the plutonium made on this site was used in the bomb sadly dropped on Nagasaki in Japan during WWII. Too bad it was closed for the long weekend (not for me and another girlfriend we are traveling with though :) , we just drove by. And of course, none of us remembered to snip a picture.
At 2 clock, we were officially hungry and found ourselves in the town of Kennewick. So we checked out D's Wicked Cider place, where we got to try 6 flavors of their locally made cider, from Baked Apple, to Green Apple, to Apple with Cherry and Vanilla flavor. All delish!
Sandwiches at Graze made us so satisfied. This is literally one of the best veggie sandwich I've ever had - zucchini, ricotta, roasted garlic, avocado, and arugula. Mmmmmm, devine!
Instead of going straight to Walla Walla from Kennewick, we decided to have a swim in Bennington Lake. Even though only Mr. Travels got into the water, we all had a great time walking around the area, checking out where mini frogs were hiding.
And at 5pm, we were officially in Walla Walla! After another swim in the hotel pool, we started our wine and dinner at Brasserie Four. Pate, calamari, and seafood stew were all amazingly delicious. More importantly, we have close friends with us, interesting and endless conversations, in this quiet summer night.
Day 2
What do you do in wine county? Start wining at 10am. Yes, that's quite proper. Yes, that's what we did. Our first stop is Amavi Cellars, where you could enjoy the tasting in the patio along with the scenery of vineyards one after another.
Waterbook was our next wine tasting destination, and who knew they also serving tasty cheeseboards and other lunch dishes. I bought a bottle of 2016 Viognier, white wine on their ICON menu with a unique apricot taste. I like the way they offer wine tasting options, there is ICON and Classic. ICON is a list of wines that you can only purchase from the winery directly, not from any other retailer or liquor stores, which makes the experience quite unique. The most fresh, juicy delicious tomatoes in the world!
On the way back, I was on a mission to look out for signs put up by local farms, and hoping we can grab some fresh tomato, onion, corn,or any fruit back. And we saw one by a gas station on the highway. Everyone was eager to jump out of the car, and we ended up with peaches, plumps, walla walla onions (5lb sack, seriously), and chilies.
Then Mr. Travels spotted Chukar in the town of Prosser. To some of you who don't know Chukar, this is our favorite brand of chocolate covered cherries. And they bring these treats to the next level! Using all local Northwest cherries, blending white and milk chocolate together, creating cherry salsa and all kinds of cherry dessert sauce? Are you kidding me? I'll take one each please.
The staff were so kind and accommodating, pretty much let us sample all the flavors that's pictured here. I was literally full after walking out of the store, so were our hands as we picked up so many treats for ourselves and families.
Here's the map view! Who knew we could pack so much fun into just 36 hours ;-)
