I can’t believe our trip is almost over. I feel like we’ve been away for a while, but it also feels like it went by very fast.

Overall, we had better weather than we expected – there was some drizzle yesterday but little to no rain any day. Today it’s quite cold – I’ll probably layer on everything I have and still be cold.

Our last wine-tasting day today was successful. We stumbled on a very small winery with some very nice, elegant Pinots – we shipped a case home in addition to the mixed case we put together earlier. So we’ll have an interesting mix of wines to try once we get home.

Our last hotel here in Portland (the Paramount) is a disappointment compared to the first two. The Heathman in Portland was an elegant boutique hotel with excellent service. A Tuscan Estate in McMinnville was a cozy B&B with an opinionated and entertaining French chef and owner. We also met a nice couple there who own a B&B in the Fingerlakes – we may be seeing them again. The Paramount was billed by Fodors as a boutique hotel, but it’s more Hilton/Holiday Inn than Heathman. Oh well, it’s only for one night.

But it’s time to layer on some clothes and prepare to venture out one more time for some food, drink and hopefully, shopping.