John Mark took Friday off so we could continue celebrating his 30th birthday. Fortunately, his parents were able to join us on our adventure to wine country...well, the Willamette Valley Wine Country! We first met Mark and Chris at The Allison Hotel and Spa in Newberg. Beautiful but of course with a price. After drinks and appetizers we headed to Hotel Oregon in McMinnville. Hotels are not easy to come by during the summer season so we were thankful to get a spot. A family friend of the Baldwins recommended a great Spanish restaurant in town called La Rambla. Great food and fun atmosphere but don't expect to leave with a full stomach! Right Mark? We loved our wine and even kept the bottle. Of course, we never let an evening end without a few rounds of cards. The next morning we started wine tasting right away. Starting with with White Rose, next to De Ponte, then Archery Summit, ate lunch at Horseradish, and ended with a tasting at Elk Cove. You are probably wondering what our favorite winery was...I think we would both have to say hands down...Horseradish (yep, I know that is where we ate lunch-but honestly amazing!).
Next on our list for the birthday weekend was camping with the Christensens. As you can see by the photo with Meagan...our tent was not going to win any battles against theirs! We had a great time exploring the newly opened park, Stub Stewart. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot to do there (great for families though) and the weather was overcast but you can't complain when you get to make a fire....right John Mark? Ha!
I can't believe that it took me almost 30 years to finally get down to Crater Lake. I guess you could say, "A dream come true." We have been talking about this trip for years and finally due to John Mark's organizing and planning we made it! We started the drive early Friday morning (coffee in hand). We drove straight to Crater Lake so that we could start the afternoon with a great hike up Mt. Scott. The views were amazing- the closest we'll get to an overlook shot of the Lake. The hike took us under three hours and we ate our sandwiches at the top-yummy! Next we drove down to Diamond Lake where we were camped the first night. Great camp site above the water and had trees towering around us. Everything was wonderful except the millions of mosquitos that buzzed constantly around. Our dinner and s'mores were cut short due to not wanting to be outside for one more second. We woke early the next morning in anticipation to ride the rim. The weather was perfect; sunshine with a slight breeze. The ride was a challenging 33 miles with over 4000 feet of elevation gain. We were exhausted afterwards and eager to check out our second night accommodations at the lodge! We rewarded ourselves with beer, salami, brie, and bread! Our third morning consisted of a boat ride around Wizard Island and eating a snack at a beautiful view point before hitting the road back to Portland. Quick trip but extremely memorable! 
Our actual anniversary day, began with a round of golf at Caldera. After golf, the Baldwins treated us to breakfast at the Chart House. 
