A Girl from Yamhill

McMinnville, Oregon: Let's catch up. When you last heard from us, we were having a heck of a time getting the update from our satellite internet provider. Two hundred customers had failed in the nation-wide update attempt - and, dang, was there any doubt I would be one of them? They were getting to the losers as quickly as possible. A tech (my favorite tech, John W.) said if we just kept our dish up, the update would be delivered - most likely overnight.

Didn't happen.

We asked for a late check-out from the Newport Marina RV Park Wednesday morning, but when that time was up, we moved to the parking lot next door and waited for a while. Nothing. It was getting late, so we headed 40 miles north to Lincoln City for an overnight stay at the Premier RV Resort (related to the RV park we frequent in Eugene). They had a nice back-in site for us. We put the satellite dish back up. It locked-on and we just waited for the update to be sent over.

Later, we had a fantabulous dinner at the Bay House restaurant... and I am not saying this because we were absolutely starving (there is no food in our RV!) by the time we arrived, but because the restaurant is lovely, we scored the best table in the house, our server was perfect... so let's just the say the entire evening worked for us. Simple grilled salmon! Fresh caught! Local!

And now a pause in blogging for a photo of a one month old, 8 pound-8 ounce, Lucy:

What a healthy gorgeous baby! So blessed.

The internet satellite was not updated overnight and we were using the RV park wifi. Never good. I started calling the headquarters of our provider and finally a real human answered the phone. He talked me through the update - having me open a telnet session. (I know, I know, they still DO that? Boy was I surprised.) The entire download took less than ten minutes. I rebooted the system and we are once again connected to the planet anywhere we can travel in this motorhome. No more slow shared RV park connections. No more non-secure networks.

We were able to actually leave the Lincoln City Premier RV Resort before check-out time. The sun was shining at the beach, but we headed east, towards home, and were greeted with warm muggy clouds on the east side of the Cascade Mountains.

But why go home? There were several restaurants we wanted to try in the McMinnville/Dayton area, so found a campsite at the Olde Stone Village RV Park less than an hour from our house. It is a fine resort - right next to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum (home of the Spruce Goose). I mean, right next door - you can walk.

After setting up camp (ha ha), we drove into the pretty little town of McMinnville for lunch at Nick's Italian Cafe.

Nick's Italian Cafe (521 NE 3rd Street, McMinnville, OR - 503.434.4471) has been around for years and is one of the most popular restaurants in town. The restaurant is very inviting, with one entire wall covered in curved wooden sections of wine casks. We had a pizza with caramelized onions, gorgonzola and pears. Yes, we had a pizza with caramelized onions, gorgonzola and pears. It was divine. So happy we finally visited Nick's.

After lunch, we needed a walk, so we hit the pretty streets of downtown McMinnville - seat of Yamhill Country. Yamhill County is blessed with a mild climate and rich soil. The hillsides are planted with wine grapes, wheat, berries, hazelnuts and walnuts. Yamhill County and is home to George Fox University and Linfield College. As you may recall,Beverly Cleary (author of the Ramona books) is a Girl from Yamhill, and, Dear Reader, I am as well. Though I have traveled the world, I live not far from where I was born. (No need to mention, it was such a long time ago the hospital has since been condemned and torn down.)

Our stroll luckily coincided with the weekly downtown Farmer's Market!

We came back to the bus with two cookies from the Carlton Bakery, dried pasta from Esotico, and goat cheese washed in stout from Briar Rose Creamery. We talked with many local food purveyors. The variety of the goods was impressive, but I did not see any organic produce - kinda surprising - was I not looking hard enough? Continuing our walk around the quaint downtown, we found so many vineyard tasting rooms (we did not taste) and many more artisanal food shops - vinegar, chocolate, gourmet grocers - along our route. What a great afternoon!

Oregon is truly heaven for foodies.

Late evening we drove to nearby Dayton for dinner at the Barlow Room, named for beloved Oregon Trail pioneer Sam Barlow. Dayton is just the cutest town - full of old historic homes, brick school houses and shady parks.

Dayton, Oregon

Oops! I think it could be suddenly be autumn.

Autumn, and 80 degrees.

The Barlow Room restaurant space couldn't be more attractive. Brick walls, an antique bar and rough-hewn wooden tables.

There are seats at the bar and also a lounge area simply defined by a carpet. I just wanted to move into this rustic restaurant.

I also loved the photos along the walls of the dining room depicting Dayton history. At one time, Dayton was a major Oregon shipping port - the little Dayton River was/is a tributary of the Willamette River. Ships brought settlers goods to their new homes and returned with loads of local wheat. Randomly, current Chicago Bear tight end, Dante Rosario, is from little Dayton (via the University of Oregon). Another person from Yamhill County! There is so much history all around us in America.

Special local salmon Nicoise and chicken braised in India Pale Ale

The menu is quite small at the Barlow Room - a few salads and small bites, and one entre each featuring chicken, pork, fish or beef, and several interesting pasta dishes (including lobster mac & cheese). Dave had the Barrel Braised Chicken: Apocalypse IPA braised chicken breast, roasted fingerling potatoes, thyme and ale jus. I ordered the special Nicoise Salad made with just-caught Oregon Coho. Great choices!

Until my next update, I remain, your Yamhill correspondent.

RV PARK: Olde Stone Village RV Park - There is nothing olde or stony at this RV park. You are not going to suddenly think you are in England, and one side of the park is a mobile home park (looks pretty nice) with new models for sale - another sure sign you are not in Merry Olde England. The public buildings are faux-Tudor though! It is a very nice park, with long wide paved pull-through and back-in full-service sites - each with a designated parking spot (oh, I just love that in a campground!). Laundry, showers, free cable and wifi, heated seasonal pool (it was open during our stay in mid-September), clubhouse, gazebo, sports court and playground. Pet breed restrictions. We paid $31 with our Good Sam discount.