Day 8 – Aircraft, Wine, Hops, Hemp and a Comedy Club

Our hotel in McMinnville - lots of buildings like this there

This time our bikes had been secured in a basement and lo and behold they were there for us to collect. After a ride up and down the main street we headed east. Initially, the route was easy to follow then there was a somewhat series turns we had to make resulting in us missing a turn entirely that would have have kept us off the main highway. So much for the GPS we had been provided with.

MIG 29 outside the museum

In McMinnville they have a large air museum with some rather interesting aircraft to view, some under cover and many not. Bev was not that keen to go looking at the aircraft but indulged me. There was a MIG 29 and a F14 Tomcat just to name a couple aircraft that were on open display. I could see a far wider range undercover. Sadly after fifteen minutes we needed to leave to ensure that we got to our destination, Silverton, on time at 3pm to be picked by Christy.

We next rode past the municipal airport which had a couple of roads closed off for an airshow which I presumed was going to be on the coming weekend. We followed a series of very quiet country roads past lots of farms which seemed to be mostly cropping although there were a few dairy farms where I assume they harvested the grass and then fed it to the cows who were in a feed lot. Not a great way to treat animals in my opinion.

Outside the winery

About half way to Silverton we had to cross the Willamette River on a ferry. On the banks close to the ferry was a winery which had been suggested would be a good place to stop for a tasting and lunch. The winery, called the Wheatland winery, was down a gravel road which was rather nice to ride along with lovely trees shading the road. They started their tastings at 11am just as we arrived. In fact we were the first people there. The wines were ok with the best probably being a Pinot Gris. They provided some cheese to go with the tasting so we spent a nice hour or so tasting wine (not swallowing of course).

Our ferry over the Willamette River

The ferry ($US1 to cross) was vehicular as well as for pedestrian and cyclists. Once we crossed the river we were in Hops country with harvesting in full swing as we rode past the plantations. Soon after passing the Hops plantations we turned a corner at which point Bev become very excited as we rode past fields of what looked like cannabis. Unfortunately for her it was industrial hemp, confirmed by a sign we came across shortly afterwards. I could just imagine her being a bit like the hedgehog in the comic strip Bogor (by Burton Silver) that was a feature of papers in 1980s, sitting smoking a joint and smiling contentedly.

Cannabis excitement

Prior to arriving in Silverton we went over a small covered bridge, which is apparently one of the last in existance in Oregon. It was very cute. We arrived at our destination a few minutes late and then had a bit of trouble finding Christy. After a text we soon located her and while she loaded the van we had a cup of tea overlooking a stream. It was a good way to finish our 66 kilometre ride.

Covered bridge

An hour later we were being dropped off at our new accommodation, quickly showering and changing so we could go to a stand-up comedy show that Bev had booked. (We really had no idea what we were going to see).

The venue was not far from us and the bus took us almost to the front door. We arrived quite early we thought, but it turned out to be really good timing as the show was sold out and a queue for seating had already started. Looking around, I think we would have had a least 20 years on everyone else there! We ordered food which was vast and a wine and beer.

The show had a Samoan comedian who was very good and then the main drawcard, Jason Mewes, arrived. He had a long story about drugs and sex which was not that funny but the final ten minutes of his delivery was side-splittingly funny. It was a great way to end our last full day in Oregon.