This week’s eFlyer newsletter features an article on Valentine’s Day travel. It quotes a recent survey which found that 89 percent of respondents listed vacation trips as the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. The article then proceeds to list a number of great travel deals currently offered to some romantic locales. It got me thinking about some of the places I’ve been and some that I have yet to visit with my sweetie.

We got married on a Labor Day weekend 27 years ago, and because we were both teachers at the time, our honeymoon was restricted to just a few days on the Oregon coast before the school year started. That Christmas, though, we spent a fantastic week in Hawaii, strolling palm-fringed beaches, enjoying lush tropical flowers and sipping exotic cocktails while viewing amazing sunsets. I also remember a wonderfully relaxing week we spent in Napa wine country. We left our two-year-old daughter with the grandparents and rediscovered our identity as a couple as we winetasted and dined our way from Healdsburg to Sonoma to Yountville. Not too long ago we spent a long weekend in Victoria, B.C., and reveled in the gardens, shops and fine dining there.

Both of us have been to some very romantic spots . . . just not with each other. Harry made two trips to Europe before we met (but WITHOUT a female companion, he assures me) and visited Paris, Rome, Monte Carlo and the Greek isles. On a girls-only cruise with my sisters several years ago, I too visited Rome and the Greek islands (and sorely wished my hubby was there to share them with me). That still leaves me with a long list of places with a high romance factor I’d love to visit:  the Taj Mahal, Venice, Paris, Provence and Tuscany, some remote South Pacific island like Bora-Bora,  the Caribbean, and I’ve always wanted to tango in Buenos Aires!

In the meantime, we are fortunate to live within driving distance of some very lovely spots for a nice romantic weekend. In five hours we could be in San Francisco, and a little more than that would put us in Tahoe. There are lots of cozy inns and B & Bs all up and down the coast, and an equal number of lodges and resorts in the mountains, the most venerable and romantic of them all likely being Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood.

When it comes right down to it, I think if you’re with the right person, just about anywhere can be full of romance. Any of you out there willing to share some of your favorite romantic spots?

 Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

I read with great sadness this week of the closing of a venerable old hotel located on the Columbia River in Hood River, Ore., the Columbia Gorge Hotel. Built by timber baron and philanthropist Simon Benson in 1921, she sits on a bluff overlooking the river, surrounded by beautifully landscaped grounds and highlighted by a 208-foot waterfall that tumbles over the cliff to the Columbia below. In her early days the hotel was referred to as the “Waldorf of the West” and was host to presidents (Coolidge and FDR) and movie stars (Clara Bow, Rudolph Valentino and Shirley Temple). Its distinctive red-tile roof and Mediterranean-style stucco exterior houses just 39 guestrooms and several public rooms, all boasting the craftsmanship and elegance of a bygone era.

The current owners, Boyd and Halla Graves, rescued the place from a future as a retirement home almost thirty years ago and restored it, but they cite age, ill health and the current economic woes for the closure. They have had two sales fall through in the past year when the buyers weren’t able to secure financing, and their attempts to cover their mortgage have come to naught. Financiers and others have suggested that other factors, such as the limited number of rooms and poor management, have also led to the abrupt closure, but the reasons are of secondary concern for those most closely affected by the move.

Thirty employees were suddenly informed that they no longer had a job, and some had not been paid for several weeks. The hotel employs about 130 workers during the busy summer season, and several businesses in Hood River and beyond benefit from the traffic the hotel draws. There are a number of creditors left wondering if their invoices will ever be paid, and likely hundreds of future guests with prepaid reservations and gift certificates who may never see a refund. And there are 18 brides out there who had weddings scheduled at the site between now and this summer who are out their deposits and no doubt in a panic over what to do next.

There are great hopes that a white knight will come riding in to purchase the hotel and make it a viable operation again. One suggestion is that the property is just the kind of place that Colin Noble’s Noble Hospitality Inc. specializes in: small, failing properties that can become profitable again. Others point to Oregon’s own McMenamin brothers who over the past thirty years have been very successful at buying up old schools, theaters and even a former poor farm (Edgefield Manor) and turning them into boutique hotels, entertainment venues and brewpubs. All agree that whoever takes the project on will need to invest in upgrades and renovations and may need to add rooms to make it a viable business.

I sincerely hope that this beautiful, grand place can be rescued and reopened to be enjoyed by the public. One of my fondest memories is of our stay at the hotel on our third wedding anniversary, accompanied by our three-month-old firstborn. Living on just my husband’s teaching salary at the time, we were counting pennies, so our overnight there seemed a real indulgence. We felt welcomed, though, and really enjoyed the beautiful setting and rooms. The next morning we gorged ourselves on the hotel’s famous and enormous Sunday brunch, for which people drive 90 miles from Portland without a second thought.

I know I’m among thousands who hope for a return of the Columbia Gorge Hotel. As John Wroblewski pointed out in his blogs on the demise of the Purple Hotel in Chicago and the Brickyard Crossing Inn in Indianapolis, while it is understandable when age and/or declining business cause these institutions to close, it is a shame to lose that connection to the past and their glory days.

Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

The last time I was in NY for a GT function, my accommodations were well documented (if not well kept). This time, for GT’s Annual Wines on the Wing Airline Wine Competition, my lodging was top notch.

I needed to start and end my trip at GT’s world headquarters in Yardley, PA. Therefore, I needed to stay fairly close. The Pineapple Hill Bed and Breakfast Inn is located in New Hope, PA, about 15 minutes away from GT’s offices. I don’t usually stay at B&Bs on business, but GT is not your usual company. The Pineapple Inn is not quite your usual B&B either.

The Inn has five rooms, three suites and one apartment suite. Innkeepers make sure that everything is right. All of the rooms are meticulous, attractive and comfortable, decorated with locally obtained antiques and artwork. Each room has a small fireplace and cable television (a must for me). The parlor is open to all and features a fireplace, books, television and games.

For a previous stay, I know the Pineapple Hill B&B Inn serves a wonderful breakfast. Unfortunately for me, due to logistics, I had to be on the road by 3 a.m., but Cookie made sure I had a hearty bagged breakfast. I was extremely grateful for this extra special effort.

New Hope is a beautiful town. Whether you like antique shopping, outdoors activities, or quaint (and tasty) dining, you will be happy with your visit. When you are done for the day, stay over at the Pineapple Hill B&B for the perfect ending of that day and beginning of the next.

-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist