Squeaker in Walla Walla

We took a family trip to Walla Walla from Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon, April 10-12, for the annual Pacific Northwest American Studies Association (PNASA) conference. First, the most obvious thing about Walla Walla: it's a name funny enough to be recognized on the Simpsons episode when Homer goes to clown college:

Krusty: OK, memorize these funny place names: Walla Walla. Keokuk. Cucamonga. Seattle—
Homer: [laughing] Stop it! You're killing me! [laughing more] Seattle.

We've never been to Keokuk or Cucamonga, and our last visit to Walla Walla was in 2000. It has changed a lot, mostly because the local economy has been riding a wave of wine since then. Southern Washington has an ideal grape-growing climate, and Walla Walla has become the wine capital of the region. The tourism, restaurant, and hotel businesses have all benefitted.

Here we are strolling along Main Street in the charming downtown:









Both evenings after dinner, we stopped at Bright's Candies, where they make their own chocolate treats and serve ice cream, which was the main reason we were there. Maeve was like a kid in a candy store, as you can see:





Here are a few shots of us outside and inside the beautiful, historic Marcus Whitman Hotel, where the conference was held. The whole town is really big on Marcus Whitman, who founded the place in the 1830s as a missionary with his wife, Narcissa, along the Oregon Trail. The local college is named after them.









Finally, here are a couple of video clips of Maeve inside the hotel. In the first, she's just goofing around and being silly. In the second, she engages in her latest favorite activity: going up and down steps.