Shake Down Cruise!

Bike ride and wine tasting at Two Mountains

This week Dave and I decided to take a short road trip with a dual purpose.  First, leave the Seattle gloom in search of weather that resembles summer.  Second, figure out the ins and outs of camping in the VW Mini-Van (MV).  The first part was quite easy.  We went immediately east over the pass to the bright blue skies of Yakima.  Our first stop was Miner Burger and some wine country touring.  Unfortunately we were in an slightly off-the-beaten-path area and the wineries were not open on Wednesday, so we drove to the more popular Rattlesnake Hills area and did a little wine tasting at Silver Lake Winery.  After some Mexican food in Zillah, WA we settled into our campground in Toppenish, WA.  This is where we encountered some challenges with the MV, specifically the rock-hard "mattress".  In the morning after working out some kinks and getting some breakfast and coffee at Dad's, we headed back to Rattlesnake Hills and parked the MV at Two Mountains Winery.  This was our starting point for a 20 mile bike ride.  It was a beautiful morning and we beat the heat with a 10AM start.  After riding we did some wine tasting at Two Mountains (yummy Rose!), hit another winery, got lunch in Toppenish at the Warehouse and then drove on to Walla Walla. 
On the way to Walla Walla we stopped at a lavendar farm; a little touch of Provence in the Columbia Valley.  Then we checked into the RV park and walked to town for some dinner.  Back at the MV we made a few mattress adjustments - bridging the level changes between the segments with some strategically folded towels and flipping our heads so our feet, not shoulders, were on the extra-firm part.  That helped tremendously! 
The next day was some Walla Walla wine tasting and a road trip to Pullman, through Lewiston, ID.  In Pullman, I got to show Dave campus and I got to see all the new construction projects - building new box seats in the stadium, new buildings around campus, and the the bookie inside the CUB.  The campus looked beautiful and I felt a great sense of nostalgia walking around. 
That night, it was on to Othello for our last night on the road.  Our level of comfort was much improved on this third night after tinkering with the positioning of towels and sleeping bags.  After a Mexican breakfast in town we made the final drive back to Mercer Island.  All and all, a great trip with a great travel partner. 

Lunch at Minor Burger

The Lavendar Farm

Go Cougs!

Vineyard views from Amavi