"McMinnville in a nutshell" a McMinnville Travel Page by Carmanah

My parents decided to plan out a family vacation along the Oregon coast in July of 1999. We spent a few days in Astoria, Seaside and Cannon Beach before driving across the state on our way back home. My father, who's a high school teacher by day, but a freelance wine educator by night, wanted to tour the local Oregon wineries... so we spent a night in McMinnville.

There was this one winery, west of McMinnville that had an incredible display of gigantic art sculptures. These sculptures were made out of scrap metal that had been twisted and bent to look like amazing creatures. The one photo is me next to a you-know-what. ;)

The climate around McMinnville reminds me of that in the Okanagan in BC. It's hot (but not humid), and almost semi-arid. A lot of farming goes on in the nearby communities, and with that are vineyards and wineries.

The town of McMinnville was tiny, but cute. It had a very quiet, small-town, close-community American feel to it. Trees lined the streets, many old historical buildings in the downtown streets had been well taken care for. Unfortunately a lot of the stores were closed by late afternoon when we were exploring the town. We were going to go to an upscale restaurant for dinner that night, but realized we weren't wearing the appropriate clothing for the occasion. So we went to a family restaurant instead.

I have photographs of the nearby wineries that I'll scan in. The geography of this area is amazing... rolling hills, vineyards, small little farms. Take the side streets through the small towns if you want to explore. The drive is relaxing, and you really get a feel for the area.