Last weekend Frank and I made the last minute decision to savor & celebrate one of our final long weekends for a while and make a visit to Walla Walla. We booked an AirB&B on Thursday, hooked up our bikes to my car, and left as soon as I got off work on Friday.

We made a late arrival to a bunkhouse AirB&B located on a grange maybe 7-8 miles from a cluster of wineries. When we arrived at 1:30 AM we were a little discouraged once we realized there was a shared bathroom and the check-in instructions were vague and complicated. Is it my fault for not noticing these details when I booked our stay? Maybe. But by the next morning we were pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness & vibe of the stay, I’d like to think it worked out perfectly. Frank woke up before me and got us some coffees then we hopped on our bikes for our big ride of the day.

We didn’t have much of a plan, but Frank had a friend who worked at Tertulia Winery, so we figured there was a good place to start. We got there in time for their yoga outside & wine tasting event and filled our empty stomachs with rosé & leftover berries from the yogi snacks. Frank caught up with his friend and we got a hefty list of restaurants worth checking out during our short time in town.

After Tertulia, since it was still early and most wineries weren’t yet open, we biked around vineyards and set a breakfast spot in our GPS. We were going to Bacon & Eggs.

Once we got to Bacon & Eggs I immediately felt a little out of place. Most young women were made up with hair & makeup, dressed in fun rompers & flowy dresses… meanwhile I was in bike shorts (which would end up leaving the goofiest tan line that haunts me as I write this) and hadn’t washed my hair since yesterday. But nonetheless I was hungry and the food was delicious, we had come to the right place.

We sat outside and were very respectful of the mask policy. Having been actively working in a restaurant during the entirety of quarantine, wearing a mask in public is nothing new. Bacon & Eggs emphasized making almost everything in house, along with a diverse cocktail list & wide selection of hot sauces. We ordered two coffees & Frank got a French 75 for us to share, Frank ordered huevos rancheros while I got the crab cake benedict. Everything was delicious and hit the spot perfectly, especially the cocktail.

After breakfast we biked back to the AirB&B since it was almost noon and set to reach a high of 95 degrees. We decided we were done biking for the day. We got dressed and I made reservations at Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen, a place Frank had known about but was certain would be booked by now. They only had a reservation for 5:15 left, we took it gratefully.

Before heading into town we stopped by a brewery that our coworker Aaron knows fondly, Quirk. He had asked us to drop off a case of beer for an old coworker so of course we had to get a pint for ourselves. Frank opted for his classic, a hazy & juicy IPA. I decided on a Golden Rye Ale which was cold, refreshing and simple. It was exactly what I needed in that moment.

Once we got into town after delivering the beer we had some time to kill before dinner. So we stopped in Browne Family Vineyards Tasting Room and shared a flight of bubbly and then we dipped into the local bike shop, Allegro Cyclery, to check out their wares. I managed to get a camping mug with the logo of one of my favorite bike companies, Kona. By the time dinner rolled around our stomachs were nearing empty and we needed more wine!

Dinner was everything we hoped for. The menu was fresh and we were able to get a little bit of everything without feeling like we were losing track of the theme. We started with a bottle of Tranche, Pape, a grenache, syrah & mourvedre blend. Full bodied with notes of berry jam, everything about this wine made it my favorite of the weekend.

Our first course was a roasted beet & radish salad, served alongside bread with olive oil & za’atar spices. Next we had the farmhouse flatbread, with shaved asparagus, ham, caramelized onion, chili, fontina cheese & a duck egg, followed by the fettucini with albacore tuna & pacific halibut blanched in swiss chard leaves with a farrow salad. For dessert we each had a coffee and shared the chocolate hazelnut mousse with olive oil crema.

In case the pictures don’t do it justice, dinner was fantastic. With local ingredients sourced throughout the entirety of the menu each dish had its own unique roots that helped tie together the menu. From the Castoldi Farm beets and the Hayshaker chard, to the cured Oregon albacore tuna, everything had a story. No plate went without love & attention.

On our long way back to the car we stopped at Bruno’s Tasting Room for some last minute wine purchases, then headed home. The early dinner proved to be a good idea and we were able to get some early shut eye. We woke up in the morning with a surprising amount of energy and made our final bike ride of the weekend to get some coffee.

Our last stop in town was at another highly recommended breakfast spot called the Maple Counter Cafe where we have no pictures because we ate the food too fast! After breakfast we stopped back at Tertulia to get the wine we didn’t feel like biking home with in my basket, then officially headed out of town.

Frank made sure to stop by an old friend, Hightower Cellars, where we enjoyed a small pour of rosé and bought most of our wine for the trip. Once the wine was purchased, we were ready to go home.

Overall the trip was a whopping success, filled with a little bit of everything. There’s something about cramming almost 40 miles of bike riding into 2 days that makes the wine afterwards taste sweeter. This weekend Frank and I will be working a small wedding catering, next week we have 2 caterings followed by my birthday. I’ll be 25 in two and a half weeks and I have to say that despite the world sometimes feeling as if it’s going to crumble underneath our feet, I’m incredibly thankful for the company I have- and now the wine to keep me busy.