Yakima, WA - Tuesday 22nd

Although the signs on the Interstate said, Seattle 147 miles, we elected to take the "scenic" route, i.e., through Yakima wine country. The above photo is from the Hyatt winery, one of three I visited. Margaret, with her reduced sense of smell / taste from the bug, didn't participate.

To say visiting the wine country was the highlight of the trip would be overdoing it. However, I enjoyed it immensely. It is not like Napa (yet) - we were the only folks in the parking lot (which was good considering where I had to park and turn around!). The young ladies (all ladies and all young) were most gracious. All were particularly interested in the motorhome and where we had been, crossing the country.

One lady was amazed at the size of our RV. When I tried to convince her it isn't the largest around, she kept saying, "I've never seen one so large." Either she was pulling my leg or simply, as Margaret observed, she'd never had an RV parked in their parking lot - which wasn't very big.

We didn't get a picture of the "best" winery - BonAir. It was the last of the day and had some really good wine. Unfortuately, the U.S. laws are still cloudy on where wineries can ship and where they can't. Mostly due to various / and varied state laws. I did support the local economy and bought some wine at each of the wineries visited.

The drive this a.m. was horrendous. Crossing central Washington state, down along the Columbia River gorge and up into Ellensburg, was very difficult. The wind was out of the NorthWest at roughly 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph (estimate). It was tough keeping the beast in the lane.

After our winery crawl, Margaret spotted a town by the name of Toppenish. Virtually every square foot of wall space in town is covered with a painted mural of the old west. Almost all signs in town are in Spanish indicating the large influx of Latinos working the crops in Yakima valley. In addition to the grape / wine aspect, there are many orchards of cherries, apples, apricots, peaches, nectarines, and plums.

We went into an Amish store but didn't find anything we needed to buy.

Tomorrow it's off to Olympia, WA for a reunion with old friends and some time at the casino for Margaret to win more money. (Another story for another day.)

Wayne