I brew coffee in my electric coffee maker for which I bought the replacement filter basket yesterday. I fry up two eggs and a small can of Spam for breakfast, listen to music and read for awhile.
Around 10:00, the Park office opens, so I can return the bathroom key and retrieve my $20 deposit. Then I'm on the road with a quick stop at Safeway for ice. Most Safeways out here carry block ice, and that's good for me. A bag of cubes will last three days in the food cooler, but a block will last six (or more).
The drive down to Dayton is a pretty one once I get off of I-5. The area is laced with little winding country roads, and wineries are randomly strewn about the area. In the town of Dundee, I spy a familiar restaurant, the Dundee Bistro, so I pull in there for lunch. Soon, I'm sipping on a glass of Pinot Gris and eating a very good Frisee salad with bacon and a poached duck egg. I follow that up with two glasses of Ayoub Pinot Noir and the charcuterie plate.
Around 1:00 or so, I pull into the Portland/Dayton RV Park, and it's pretty nice. All the spots are "pull-throughs" with water, electric, sewer and cable TV hookups. And, with my "Good Sam Club" discount, it's just a little over $25 a night.
Once I set up camp, I immediately head out for wine tasting. I really like a white wine blend called "Evolution", and the winery (Sokol Blosser) is close by. I taste six or so wines and end up buying a bottle of their new Evolution Red which, at $11 a bottle, is a pretty good bargain. Nearby are two other nice little wineries, White Rose and Vista Hills, so I visit them as well. Everything that I taste is excellent. Everybody is pouring from the 2009 vintage which is regarded as just "so-so". But while these wines won't age particularly well, they are drinking great young.
After that, I have a chance to head back to camp and read for awhile before heading out for dinner. I had a nice dinner at a place called the Joel Palmer House back in 2008, so that's my choice for dinner. The steak tartare is excellent, a grilled beef filet with morel sauce is very good, and I'm able to pair these up nicely with a few glasses of wine. My only complaints are that the meal is awfully pricey, and the staff (though competent) seems a bit "distant".
After dinner, I head back to camp for a few beers while the sun goes down. They have cable TV hookups here, and I was going to hook up my little 22" model, but I see that I'll need an adapter for the cable. So...I listen to music on satellite radio before heading off to bed.
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