Discover Walla Walla

There are so many awesome things about the Walla Walla Valley that I could write dozens of blogs; I have a hard time focusing on just one thing each month.  A visit to Seattle this past weekend, however, reminded me of how incredible Walla Walla's location is.

The Walla Walla Valley is pretty much equidistant from any of the region's major metropolitan areas.  You can reach Spokane, Wash., with a three-hour drive, and Boise, Idaho, Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore., are all four-hour drives.

This information is helpful if you are, for some silly reason, itching to get out of the valley.  Granted, sometimes even the best places on earth make a person stir crazy if they stay too long; a weekend trip to one of those four cities should help cure any cabin fever symptoms one is feeling from spending so many pleasant days in Walla Walla.

My favorite weekend trips from Walla Walla: A Mariners game in Seattle and dinner at the Spaghetti Factory (one thing Walla Walla is sadly lacking is Italian restaurants); The Portland Zoo and exploring the Japanese and Chinese Gardens; A photo shoot in downtown Boise, including the Train Depot and Kathryn Albertson Park; Riverfront Park activities in Spokane, including a gondola and tour train ride.

Of course, those are the touristy things to do; for a more authentic city experience you should check with the locals and get recommendations from college students in the Walla Walla Valley.  Most of them travel to these cities on a regular basis and are good resources for knowing where the "happenin'" places are.

For now, I think I'll stick around home.  The Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days are this weekend, including a concert by Gary Allen and Bombshell, and the weather will be perfect for it.  I'm also thinking it's been a while since I taste-tested the truffles at Les Petite Noirs, the little chocolate shop in Milton-Freewater...