It was a memorable Memorial weekend of scenic, twisting highways, wine tasting, dog activities, time together, family affairs, and even some comedy to cap it all off. Our first stop was in Kennewick, Washington at Farmhand, a small winery with a unique story. The owner lost a finger in a farm accident and his labels are imprinted with four fingers as a proud tribute to his personal challenge. We bought a case, enjoyed dinner at Red Lobster and settled into our dog-friendly Fairfield Inn room for the night. In the meantime, I had made contact with a DNA cousin and got directions to his home in nearby Pasco. 

The next morning, the puppy dogs got their second of three “Schnauzertons” over the weekend. They deserve this after many long hours in a moving car, a strange hotel room, and waiting patiently while we dined, hoping for a tasty reward . After another of multiple breakfast stops at McDonald’s, we dropped in to see Cousin Terry, a man that I originally connected with through the 23andMe website nearly 3 years ago. The dogs got to run around in their fenced-in orchard while we talked about how our genealogical paths might have crossed. My wife and I then spent the rest of the day visiting wineries in the Walla Walla area. 

From Woodward Canyon and its neighbor L’Ecole to the downtown Canoe Ridge tasting room, we sampled the reds of Walla Walla and finished the afternoon at The Marcus Whitman Hotel, along with some clothes shopping. The walls of the landmark hotel are covered with paintings that depict the slaughter of Marcus and Narcissa, missionaries who came to the area to work with the local Cayuse tribe. It had been recommended that we stay there, but it is not dog friendly, so we chose much less luxurious accommodations an hour away. I tried to buy a round of drinks at the local VFW in honor of these veterans, but the doors unfortunately were locked. Hopefully, the thought counts. (See Post #954). We got back to Kennewick in time for a Texas Roadhouse dinner and another good night’s sleep. 

On our way back to Portland the next morning, we were about to stop at a McDonald’s near the Dalles but instead followed some signs to a nearby winery called Tierra De Lobos. We were charmed by the owner and added a few more bottles to the growing collection in the trunk. In fact, it would have been a reasonably priced weekend if we hadn’t spent over $1100 on wine, $1000 on food, and another $1000 on gifts, keeping in line with our excessive $1000 a day travel budget. (See Post #320). Our room was mostly free thanks to Marriott Rewards with the exception of $60 for the two dogs. Most of the food expense came from last night’s pre-show dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse with my wife’s daughter and fiance. We ended the weekend at the Keller Auditorium with the entertaining cast of Schitt’s Creek and went to bed after a good laugh. It was a great ending to a memorial Memorial weekend.

This morning I’m back in “homebody heaven,” enjoying the second season of Deadwood. I sent some thank you flowers to my cousin as a follow-up from yesterday’s visit and will slowly get ready for this afternoon’s dentist appointment. I hope to spend every night at home until our next car trip with the dogs to Vancouver, British Columbia in 38 days. It will be another long holiday getaway for my working wife, who left for the office this morning while I return to the retirement life of leisure.