McMinnville, Oregon

The Alchemist Coffee and Bakery in McMinnville, Oregon. Easily the best spot in town!

McMinnville, Oregon

December, 2024

This was an extreme instance, but still…that’s a lot of ice.

Departing Seaside a couple of days after Thanksgiving with a fondness for sea lions thumping their chests for fish nestled warmly in my heart, and a sense of “hesitant and disgustingly gross completion” in my soul from the Hallmark Holiday, we ventured inland. December was fast approaching, and we were lulled into complacency by the Pacific Coast’s mild temperatures. Granted, Mother Nature controls the coastline with a furious fist, with bursting high winds and relentless mist and fog, but she comes up shy of total vengefulness by making the temperature around there at least tolerable. This is not the case when you head inland. Some Guy, a registered Florida Man, was going to struggle.

The 88 miles of winding road between Seaside and McMinnville, Oregon went by as though it was both a treacherous but effortlessly quick drive that somehow felt like it took forever. Confused? Good. The trip took two hours, but my hands felt like it took forty. My mind felt like the trip took about an hour, but my eyes were pissed at my mind because for exactly two hours they did not blink. There was snow. There was ice. There were turns. There were changes in undulation. All of those things are not found on the roads of Florida. The music was good though. This is a very good thing…

If we did not have a similar taste in media, things would probably be considerably more “bumpy”. Good tunes can set the whole mood, and on this adventure, there will undoubtedly be times when a moral boost is required. A good song can do the trick quite nicely. We had plenty of those on that drive to McMinnville, Oregon. 

…And as the snow fell, we pulled into our place for the next couple of nights in McMinnville, Oregon. We made it. 

The Place:

Beautiful Wine Country Cottage:

The place is a very cute albeit small cottage on a corner lot in a neighborhood full of houses just like it. Every street in the neighborhood runs a perfectly straight line connecting with other perfectly straight line streets full of houses that look a lot alike. This is not a knock by any means, rather a bizarre compliment, for during the holiday season, which this is, it feels very cozy. They aren’t big houses, but they are all nice houses. Stopping to take account of everything, I realized that all the vehicles are nice, the houses all meticulously maintained, the names on the restaurants all sound fancy, as do all the shops in the downtown district, we are in between the coast and Bend, Oregon, in the middle of fancy wine country. Yeah, this place will be expensive.

You step inside and you see the fireplace to your right, couch to your left, barn door sliders separating the living room from the bedroom, and kitchen to your right. Tight but cozy would be the perfect description. I understood the price after assessing the surroundings. Yes, it is small, but we are not visiting a depressed, forgotten about area. We are in pinot noir country, where the people that never feel a pinch like to play. Knowing now what I knew then, wouldn’t have stopped there; nothing wrong with it, just not our scene per se. We typically work in these types of places, not play. 

I will say: the couch was super comfortable, which is a rarity in the AirBnb game. If there is both a comfy couch and a comfy bed, you’ve won. Usually you get one or the other, but you can’t get both. Not here, here they were both equally refreshing to rest upon. As well, the television was a big one and had cable. I was even able to watch football in the living room. 

The hardwood floors, bathroom, and the modern appliances were all nice touches. Overall, the house was a very nice one to stay at. The cost, for the area, was not bad at all. At the cost of a resort in Key West per night, you’re paying for the location, not the amenities. As you’ll see with places like Neskowin, in later posts, if it were up to me, I’m staying at the beach house overlooking one of the best views I’ve ever seen for a few nights, and not in the snow in wine country in a tiny house for the same exact amount. I love good wine. I love Mother Nature more. 

The Town:

Ventureing out into the cold beautiful town that is McMinnville, Oregon, we decided upon the highest ranked restaurant in the area for eating. If we are in Rome, and it is going to cost a fortune anyways, we might as well enjoy it, right? La Rambla Restaurant & Social Room was set up to kill it! The ambiance is amazing, set up as though you are in a small cafe in Spain. The host, wearing a full suit, took us to our seats like we were royalty.

A tremendous roar was heard throughout the land later that evening. A tsunami? A hurricane? Just some guy.

 I partook in the Coria Estates Pinot Noir, which was darn tootin’. We had the crispy pork belly and pan seared scallops. Don’t get the scallops, but do get the pork. Seriously, don’t get the scallops( I got a bit “under the weather” later in the evening with only the taste of fish in my mouth. Not fun, but could happen to anyone) Everything else was really good though, including the charcuteria, because I’m a glutton. After paying the tab and slamming what was left of a 17 dollar glass of wine, we went and saw Gladiator 2 at McMinnville Cinema 10. The day ended.

Battling the Cold:

The next day, I went for a very long walk in the cold to try and be sweet and get fresh coffee and donuts from Mac Daddy’s Donuts, which I have since found out has closed, which is very sad. The coffee was perfect and the donuts were amazing! All the houses look the same. All the streets look the same. I got lost for a bit in the cold on the way back. Two Yetis equals two cold hands exposed walking in the snow flurries. The gloves…long ago lost and determined not to be needed as we got used to the Pacific Coast’s warmer temps, were sorely missed at that moment. The Yetis did their job though, and the plan did work.  What donuts? There were never any donuts. 

We hit the town for the day, which only took a couple of hours. Two Dogs Taphouse is worth a visit every time. Excellent food and a selection of beer that could trigger anxiety issues. We strolled into Left By West for new gloves, and I drank a beer and bought some socks and a shirt. We finished off the strolling and perusing through antique and thrift shops with a visit to The Alchemist Bakery and Coffee. My lord, go there. Eat there, drink there, and purchase some jams from there. You will not regret it. Some Gal finally got her Cardamom Latte!

…and as the day was quickly turning into a windy cold night in December, two people retreated back into their rented little cottage to curl up and watch movies nestled under the blanket they had made a couple of nights before. The next morning held promises of mountains and rivers on the 157 mile drive in a southeasterly direction to Bend, Oregon.