I'm sure regular readers have noticed, that I'm blogging about events that are over a year old! We are just too busy running around and enjoying life, that these amazing activities that we've done rack up and I don't have a chance to write about them in a timely manner. I actually hope that I'm never current, as it will mean that we have a travel dry-spell. I love blogging about our lives, but documenting is certainly not as important as simply living and enjoying the moment.
Our amazing friends Bill and Melissa took it upon themselves to make sure that we enjoyed local Oregon activities during our year of living in Portland. One of these activities was a trip to Woodburn to the Tulip Festival at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm. We did a day trip with them last May to see the tulips, eat ice cream, and visit a few of their favorite wineries.
My first tip for visiting the Tulip Festival is to arrive early. Luckily, Melissa and Bill knew this and we avoided long waits. Be there when they open, because it's popular. When we left, just a few hours after they had opened, the line of cars to get into the dirt parking lot was enormous. We probably would have spent more time waiting for parking, than enjoying the flowers.
Before seeing tulips, we saw some old farm equipment.
There are a few rules to keep the flower beds safe and pretty.
When I visited Holland a few years ago, I visited a windmill farm, but it was after tulip season. They only tulips that I saw, were fake ones at the Tulip Museum in Amsterdam. I knew that tulips came in many shapes and colors, but seeing them in person was gorgeous. The entire farm was awash in color.
Pictures of us!
Another tip: Wear rain boots or shoes with good traction that you don't mind getting dirty. It had rained ( it's Oregon) and the fields were very, very muddy. A lot of people brought their dogs, which were having a great time playing in the mud!
Tulip close-ups.
The Tulip Festival had a large craft fair, live entertainment, and food. Of course, there were several tents where you could purchase tulips.
Being Oregon, they had a tent with wine tasting too. No, ten in the morning is not too early for a little taste, not even on an empty stomach.
After getting our fill of flowers, we spent the afternoon visiting local wineries. Oregon has A LOT of wineries. So, so, so many....that even a search for where we might have visited, doesn't leave me with any names that rang a bell. I remember that they were very good and at one, people were throwing a birthday party for their dog on an outside patio. You don't forget things like dogs having a party!
We also didn't take a single picture at the wineries. We did however, take a picture of this amazing ice cream truck that was parked outside of one of the wineries. Ice cream always trumps wine. Cream NorthWest was delicious. I vividly remember the scoop of Coldbrew Coffee & Caramel that I devoured. Yummmm
We had a wonderful day out with friends enjoying local activities. If you're visiting Oregon in the spring make sure to add the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm to your itinerary.