We're just back from a little 5 day road trip up to Southern Oregon.
We stayed at a motel in Jacksonville, the Wine Country Inn, which looks on their website like a B&B, but isn't at all. It's a classic, if classy, motel.
But it turned out to be great. We were almost the only ones there. The location was perfect for hitting all the new wineries in the Applegate Valley.
We met up with old friends Denny and Kim Miller for a run out to Longsword, DeVitt and around through Grants Pass, stopping at Del Rio.
Longsword....
When we got to the tasting room, we noticed a number of stripey chickens, and three big sheep hanging around the front of the patio. I thought it would be no problem, they'd see the dogs, and mosey out of the way, as there was a sign declaring that they were dog friendly.
Somehow in the chaos, Jack's leash wasn't attached to a human. Probably as I was lifting Cleo out of the car. A chicken panicked and ran. I heard the chicken and saw the red leash flying off behind Jack in hot pursuit. Sue Ann was right behind him. I've never seen Sue Ann move so fast. Then, right behind her came the winery owner in his tall Wellie boots, running full tilt. Oh...no. He wasn't armed, so I left the chase and apologies up to Sue Ann, who is better than me in both departments. I got ready for a hasty retreat from the winery.
By the time Farmer Matt and Sue Ann came back around the corner of the barn, Jack in tow, I could see that everything turned out well. We enjoyed a fine viognier and a few other local So Oregon tastes and made many chicken jokes.
The Applegate was gorgeous. DeVitt was my favorite.
Jack seemed to develop some protective tendencies now that his pack was bigger. He barked and lunged at every dog he saw. Even humans approaching when we were at the motel got his defenses up. It took him several days to settle into the life on the road, on leash and in towns. But man, was he On Vacation!
He was never skiddy or afraid, it seemed. He was wild, but he was confident! So we worked on getting the leash rules back.
Jacks favorite thing was when we went out to Cantrall Buckley park, on the Applegate River. I went swimming out there often when I was a kid, and nothing there has changed. I remembered it like I'd never left. Jack was in heaven. He ran around in circles woofing, leaping about, jumping tummy deep into the river, and back out again. He was a dog. He jumped over Cleo and ran around some more.
After that, it seemed like he settled in a bit. He was great the next day at Red Lily Winery, a beautiful log frame building with it's own beach on the river, and a nice patio. We all sat on the patio while a nice lady brought us wine, water and dog cookies. The breeze was perfect, and the dogs loved the attention.
Also of note was Dancin (Dan and Cindy) winery on the outskirts of Jacksonville. Great potential here for Pinot Noirs. Beautiful Napa style fancy place, with a big koi pond, and shady lawns and picnic tables. Dan said he really wanted a place where people could just hang out, read a book, talk, have meetings, etc. Since most of these wineries were only on their second year, it was all pretty impressive.
Great German food, wines and beers at the Schoolhaus Brewhaus. It's got patios, where dogs are welcome, but it's not as nice as the wineries.
We took a great road trip with Denny out to Crater Lake, stopping to see the Rogue River Gorge. Jack was pretty protective, and had to be in the lead all the time, but better than he had been.
We had a nice picnic on the lawn the next day, with a roast chicken we picked up at the store, some veggies and blue cheese dressing. We needed a low key day, and Jack responded beautifully to it. There were dogs all over town that day for a "Dog Walk for the Deaf" event, and he was a perfect gent.
Cleo too, responded well to the vacation. Sometimes we've had trouble getting her to eat or pee when we go on the road. Not this time! She ate better than she does at home. She loved the long walks and the attention at the wineries. She's still the Poodle Ambassador, who says hello to everyone in turn. At 14 1/2, she's still a great dog. She's a little vague, she gets stiff and needs help down the stairs, but she still loves a road trip.
