Walla Walla--So Nice They Named It Twice

It seems to be a time of closure.  We just returned from a trip to Montana to visit with Robin's family at their cabin located on Flathead Lake.  Their family has just made the difficult decision to sell the cabin.  They have been going to that place since the late 1960's.  That's  lot of memories.  On the way we were blessed to be able to spend some time with our former partners in Wednesday Wines, Garry and Irma.  They now live in Idaho (for grandchildren reasons) so Walla Walla was a central place to get together.  And, as it just so happens, there are some wonderful wineries there.   No, that's not the reason we met there, well, OK, maybe it was a major factor! 
The first we visited was Woodward Canyon.  They have a small restaurant in back, so after our tasting we strolled back to have lunch.  Since we were in a strolling mood, we headed over to L'Ecole #41.  It is a wonderful tasting room which has been converted from an old school building (thus the name).  They have a cool library ladder that goes back and forth on the bookshelves behind the tasting room bar.  (Someday, I want one of those in my house!)

 We found a home to stay in called The Garden Cottage.  The backyard was beautiful.  We were able to sit for many hours and drink wine and share stories.  Garry and Irma's grandsons were in the state finals for Little League, so they were excited to share all of the news.
The trip embodied some of the hardest goodbyes of my life.  It was very difficult for me to close the wine shop.  I loved that place.  It didn't get any easier when Garry and Irma decided to move away.  Now I've had to say goodbye to my church community, and Robin is saying goodbye to a family treasure.  Hopefully all of these goodbyes will be filled with reunions like the one we were able to enjoy with our friends, Garry and Irma.  What a beautiful time together.