Walla2

The road home from Idaho took us through Walla Walla and, of course, we stopped to taste some wine. Walla Walla has certainly changed since the last time we were there. There are numerous upscale restaurants, lively entertainment, great local art, and many winery tasting rooms on and around Main Street. The town is looking more like a mini Napa than ever before. We also happened on a huge antique car show with more than 400 cars on display. Our favorite, a 1930s Model T Ford with the original exterior paint, motor, and interior upholstery, complete with window shade that belonged to the owner's grandmother, Mabel. Even the license plate is the original but he has never been stopped or given a ticket for the (really) dated 1930s plates. He drives the car to work every day and intends to pass the car on to his own son (who is a toddler right now). (FYI - he did put new tires on the car.)

Among the highlights was a side trip to Milton-Freewater (OR) to the Blue Mountain Cider Co. to purchase some wonderful hard cider. There, we were tipped off to a fantastic chocolate boutique down the road after we tasted a Petits Noir chocolate truffle with Blue Mountain cherry-flavored hard cider. At Petits Noirs, www.petitsnoirs.com, we were greeted by a little nymph is a blur of pink and a heart-melting smile who beat us to the front door. She happened to be the proprietor's young daughter. The gracious couple are recent transplants from New York City who made a life change two years ago when they opened their boutique in this Walla Walla area community. She was in advertising and gave that up to apprentice to a NYC chocolatier, he is a artisan bread maker. We tasted some of the best chocolates ever. They specialize in matching their chocolates to specific Walla Walla brand varietals. She even gave us an extensive chart with chocolate/wine combinations. The chart needs to be updated each year to accommodate changes in taste profiles from vintage to vintage. (Boutique colors - turquoise and Chinese red -- see gift boxes this page)

Some additional photos from this beautiful area include Long Shadows newly built winery, photos from the farms between Walla Walla and Milton-Freewater, and an old
hops drying barn. We didn't capture pictures from our Bocce Ball game, but suffice it to say, I (Denise) beat Tom. Yeah!