You can sleep it off in a luxury, silo bed-and-breakfast
Used to be folks wondered how to get the boys back on the farm after they'd seen Par-ee. Given these hectic urbanized times, it's a wonder anyone living on or visiting a farm would be willing to leave all those bucolic charms behind. Oregon's Abbey Road Farm bed-and-breakfast certainly does its darnedest to make it hard to say adieu.
Located in rural Carlton in the rolling hills of Willamette Valley about 32 miles from Portland, this 82-acre farm is a working enterprise with its own farm-made goat cheese and a menagerie of other farm animals in residence. Guests stay in a striking setting: Three shiny metal farm silos converted into luxury rooms with views of the farm.
This is Oregon wine country, and some of the state's best wineries are a short distance away. Across the street is a Trappist abbey, Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose bookstore sells the monks' own fruitcake. To the southwest, in McMinnville, is the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, home to Howard Hughes' giant ''Spruce Goose'' flying boat.
ROOMS
The curving exterior wall is the only real giveaway that you're sleeping in a giant silo, with the windows looking out onto the farm. The cathedral-ceilinged Alpine Suite is warmly decorated.
My queen-size bed was sheathed in sheets of soft Egyptian cotton. I didn't need the alarm clock; the rooster crowing out in the barnyard the next morning was enough. Opposite the bed were two wicker chairs and a small table. There's no television in the room.
I stretched out in the bathroom's Jacuzzi and let the water jets loosen travel-knotted muscles. There was a separate shower. The bathroom was well-stocked with plenty of towels, a heated towel rack, water glasses, cotton swabs, tissues and Vykasa Tea Tree shampoos, soaps and lotion. There was a blow-dryer, too.
The silo complex holds five guest suites, fronted by a grand-entry foyer; there's where you find menus for nearby restaurants. To the rear is a roomy parlor with sofas and chairs, a wine refrigerator and wine glasses. Don't worry if you forgot to pick up a bottle at a nearby winery. Wine and farm-made goat cheese can be purchased at the front desk.
PERKS AND PEEVES
The sights and sounds of a working farm -- which includes goats, sheep, chickens and a llama -- make for some memorable moments. You can do farming chores or just enjoy the farm fields and the rose garden when in bloom.
Abbey Road Farm, 10501 NE Abbey Rd., Carlton; 503-852-6278; www.abbeyroadfarm.com; rooms $210.
-- BILL DALEY
Chicago Tribune
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