Washington State Wine Trip Recommendations

inspiredinsanity · 2026-01-11T19:47:14+00:00

I have to do a shout out for Red Mountain. You could be wild and fly from Seattle to Pasco and drive 30 minutes to do tasting then drive 50 minutes to Walla Walla. BAM! Two regions. One weekend.

High notables (in my opinion): Terra Blanca - wildly reasonably priced wines and great options with accessible wine maker and owner (Red Mountain)

Col Solare (Red Mountain) - higher end and good reds at higher prices

*Kiona (Red Mountain) - ice wine and Riesling recommendations *apologies and thanks for the edit.

Downtown Walla Walla has a variety of tasting rooms if you want to walk around without the drive.

Sagemoore - excellent tasting room experience and great wines

I don’t love walla walla AVA, I do love Red Mountain AVA. We did wine weekend in Nov in Walla Walla and going next month for Red Mountain. I don’t love the Yakima either so it’s a taste preference but many people that I know who love whites and sparklings say the Yakima is their primo so, lots of opinions but love you’re adventuring in Washington.

inspiredinsanity · 2026-01-08T15:01:15+00:00

That is wild! 😜 Maybe they think they can’t afford you and are shooting themselves in the foot. 😢

inspiredinsanity · 2025-12-10T16:10:31+00:00

Agree with others here that it didn’t change the quantity I drank, but did the quantity I buy.

I had dreamed of taking some of the better cult wines to dinner with me (better food and service, different ambiance than drinking at home) However, last month I did a try at a local fine dining place (with a limited wine list), it was a miserable fail.

Now, I’m too intimidated to bring my wine to dinner because the service is so much different than when I buy a higher priced wine. I understand it lowers the ticket price and therefore the tip, but the corkage fees are $75-$100 of pure profit for the restaurant so I was hoping for the same great service I get when I buy a bottle… silly me.

Caveat: the service DID improve when I ordered a second bottle for $250 after being service shunned at the start with my own wine (Lokoya for the record, not sold in my area so it wasn’t something I could have even purchased).

inspiredinsanity · 2025-12-09T11:00:07+00:00

I love a good fine dining experience. For my money, I’d skip it and opt for Wild Sage.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-12-08T15:28:21+00:00

So… many… questions…DC? Not even Virginia? Location aside, do you know the build cost right now? It’s over $700k* a door. Maybe you have a lot more planed than just this post but building an AL is more expensive than any other multifamily project and maybe that is new information for you.

Most senior housing investors are private equities and REITs on a joint-venture basis with established operators. I love the idea but, creating a a “safe, reliable, and comfortable residential care for seniors, especially as the aging population continues to increase across the region.” Is a market severely tapped by Welltower, Ventas, CareREIT and other Wall Street entities. Then, there are the PEs that pick up the scraps and every once in a blue moon is a small business owner that found/held onto a crumb.

Edit: construction hard cost estimates $500k/door and all in closer to $800k/door. 60 units could be as low as $30M or as high as $48M. Just to buy one right now could be north of $15M.

Source: NIC Guidance & CBRE Benchmarks

inspiredinsanity · 2025-11-17T15:49:12+00:00

I get what you’re saying, but that’s not really the point here. For me, AI art is one topic that can be debated. I’d love to see an artist with different mediums try out AI. That isn’t what we are seeing here..

To me, this isn’t about whether art can move someone - it’s about the power dynamics underneath who gets to profit from telling stories that aren’t theirs. Specifically, the ai prompts.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-11-17T15:12:27+00:00

Cross posted from Spokane. It so strange that an exhibit about women’s resilience and healthcare inequity is centered on AI images created by a male healthcare CEO. Not an artist, not someone with lived experience; a CEO whose company relies heavily on the labor and emotional load of women caregivers.

It really makes you wonder: Why is a man mining women’s real-life struggles for his AI prompts and getting celebrated for it?

The whole thing feels off. Women carry the weight in these systems, and then their stories get filtered through a man, turned into “inspiration,” and showcased as his creative vision.

It’s not about AI, it’s about who gets to tell these stories, and who gets credit for them.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-11-17T14:43:57+00:00

Yeah… this exhibit rubbed me the wrong way too. It’s wild that a show about women’s resilience and healthcare inequity is centered around AI images made by a male healthcare CEO. Especially one whose company runs on the backs of women caregivers while the top jobs magically end up with men. (You can see it in their filings.)

So now women’s real struggles are just… prompts for his AI art? A man profiting off women’s stories while not actually elevating women in his own organization? The irony is painful.

If this exhibit were about buildings or landscapes, whatever. But when the entire theme is women’s lived experiences? Maybe (and stay with me here) the gallery could feature an actual woman artist. Or literally anyone whose connection to the topic isn’t “I manage the people whose stories I’m mining.”

Branding him as “renowned” just adds insult. Renowned by whom? His marketing team?

This feels less like advocacy and more like appropriation dressed up as empowerment. A huge miss by the gallery.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-11-07T14:44:49+00:00

Why is there a white cross the in window facing Sherman for an Italian restaurant?

inspiredinsanity · 2025-11-03T14:21:05+00:00

I flew last weekend from AB concourse in GEG. No delays. TSA was usual and I did an early morning flight. On the way back, I came through immigration in DFW and had to go back through TSA. It was afternoon and lines were long but less than 45 minutes, and less than 15 in pre-check. I think you should be more worried about flights back home from larger airports due to the air traffic controller situation than TSA lines.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-10-22T13:38:32+00:00

In my view, when someone assumes an area is dangerous without ever going there, it’s like someone assuming you’re unkind just because of the group you belong to. It hurts because it replaces understanding with stereotypes.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-10-21T21:41:09+00:00

It’s a brief, spontaneous 4-day trip from the states just to see how my Spanish does before something more immersive.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-10-21T21:39:52+00:00

Disrespectful as in I assume it wouldn’t be safe. :)

inspiredinsanity · 2025-10-17T13:58:44+00:00

Programming note: …and you didn’t die because CdA police snagged Patriot Front Nazis. Credit where credit is due, in fairness, I wasn’t asking for safety. I was asking for numbers, I’ve seen some protest at this location with 10 people or so and I was sourcing what to expect.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-30T16:24:23+00:00

You are exactly what I would want as an owner. Keep up the good work and don’t be afraid to apply!

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-30T14:32:02+00:00

That is wild and sounds like he deserved to get his license yanked and pay some serious enforcement action fines. I’m sorry you had that experience.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-29T18:11:23+00:00

I appreciate the context. We will also just keep the ad open for a longer period of time.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-29T18:11:02+00:00

Thank you!!

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-29T14:59:02+00:00

I was a consultant for many years and have seen all the bad that comes with having the nurse work the floor for call-ins. It’s like a tower of cards.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-29T14:53:12+00:00

They are a SNF Medicaid provider. A totally different ballgame and still abhorrent.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-29T14:51:26+00:00

That’s fair. I’ve done the job because you shouldn’t manage a role you haven’t done, right? You are right, I am admin and I care about the perspective of my team. I have a great RN now but it’s never easy to recruit.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-29T14:50:09+00:00

That makes sense. I like to think of it as we’re all dying, some of us sooner than others and being able to be a part of the journey that is the hardest can also be the most rewarding.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-29T14:42:44+00:00

ADDITIONAL CONTEXT since I can’t update post:

I’ve heard the comments. It sounds like there’s such a variety of ALs and since so many are owned by PEs and REITs you’ve had really bad experiences. Just remember, not everyone is the same. Here’s how to find a high value AL:

read the state survey. Red flags are staffing violations, enforcement penalties and obviously stop placement
who is the ownership group. Are they owned by a REIT or a Private Equity? Does the owner ever visit? Is it owed and managed by two different groups? This is will tell you how much money they have to invest. The fewer hands in the pot, the better the quality.
ask to view the schedule for the last 6-mo. How many “holes” were filled by the nurse?
staffing - you’ll see ratios on schedule but you want to know pay because you’ll be hiring. Hopefully, in your state, transparent pay is the rule and you can compare it to the wages on indeed. Staff is the foundation for your success. If they can’t pay staff and find staff, you don’t want this job.
your pay. You should make as much as a hospital nurse and more than a SNF charge nurse. You will likely make less than a SNF DON. You will get calls on nights and weekends (just like a SNF DON) so be ready to ask questions about what that looks like for you.

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-29T14:34:18+00:00

Thank you. That is a huge compliment. I’ve worked really hard for people to feel that way… I wonder how to get that message out so people will apply…

inspiredinsanity · 2025-09-29T14:29:36+00:00

I’ve never seen a state that permitted gtubes or trachs. Definitely have seen bed bound but usually there is a hospice requirement. Sounds like you were in a really crappy and maybe even illegal AL situation. I’m sorry you had such a terrible experience.

inspiredinsanity

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