This is obviously not where Starbucks got it's name because this town is so small that there isn't…read moreeven a place to put a Starbucks. I would guess that the population is around 100 people which wouldn't seem to warrant a post office but there are only two cities in the whole county so I guess it makes sense unless you want to drive over to Walla Walla County. It's pretty rural as well and what I remember is that people were burning trash in their front yard when I went in an almost uncontrollable fire. This post office looks more like a refrigerated meat storage area. They were closed when I went as I went on a Saturday and they're only open for 1 hour and 45 minutes which doesn't even seem like a reason to open, but whatever.

"When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go downtown ... "…read more Walla Walla's downtown has several tasting rooms (at least one fully functioning winery--Seven Hills Winery), several restaurants, coffeehouses (Starbucks at perfect center of downtown--Main and 1st), a visitor center, bronze artworks on the sidewalks, the Marcus Whitman (a historic building), a Macy's (housed in a historic building), Whitman College (on one end), a couple of banks, and several other small locally owned businesses. Street parking (some diagonally, some regular parallel) and a couple of parking lots, are usually sufficient for tourists and regulars (currently, roadwork is causing havoc with street parking and limiting some spaces). The downtown area is very walkable, day or night. So, come on down. I LOVE downtown. "Things will be great when you're downtown!" (Thanks, Petula Clark.)

Downtown Walla Walla has been transformed over the past few years into a quaint yet hip small town…read moredestination. The wine industry has definitely had a major impact on the way Walla Wallans do business. We want people to visit and experience our town. We have a number of quality eating establishments. Not on par with a big city, but enough choices to satisfy anyone who is visiting to sample the local wines.

I was here for the July 4th holiday. The drive from Portland was about four hours without stopping…read morefor breaks. This little town on Main Street has a very quaint and retro feel to me with very friendly locals. We were standing on the side of the street looking for Safeway and out of nowhere, this nice lady asked if we needed help and directed us to where we needed to go. A lot of restaurants were closed on July 4th in this town, so we were stuck having to eat in our hotel. Our hotel restaurant was extremely crowded, apparently it was the only restaurant open in town on that holiday so be aware of this if you were to travel to Walla Walla on any major holiday. The reason for the 3-star rating is because I feel this town is lacking good food and wine. Not good enough to warrant the long drive back. I think it's worth checking it out at least once if you're a wine lover.

Well, I was taken into custody for writing really wicked mad Yelps.....I wish this were true…read more ACTUALLY, my experience with the Columbia County Sheriff's Dept. was due to a vehicle accident. I was in the snowy mountains of the Blue Mountains with my brother, his girlfriend, and my two dogs. We had just finished a nice snow shoeing trip (http://www.yelp.com/biz/blue-mountains-trails-dayton). After feeling a bit tuckered from an awesome snow workout, we were all ready to hit Waitsburg and check out some of their cool establishments. We hopped in my truck, and slowly left the Sno-Park. Johnny Cash was playing on my iPod, and during this track, I took a leftward curve in the road and felt a little slip on the road. For a second or two we slid toward the UP-side of the hill, but the road then curved to the right, and this is when I lost it. We were now sliding full on toward the downside of the hill to the valley creek below. I had no control, and the edge of the road quickly approached. The Johnny Cash song was still playing. The nose of the vehicle went down first and the butt-end swung forward (rotating us 180deg). Then we rolled 2-3 times down the hill (40-50ft below). We were fine and eventually all climbed up the snowy hill to the road above. Passersby were flagged, and 911 was called. The Sheriff arrived super-quick---a huge feat since there were only three officers on shift in the whole county at the time, and we were in the back country. The sheriff was very helpful and super nice. My brother (a cop as well) helped the Deputy with making the area safe---laying out flares and eventually directing traffic. EMTs arrived soon thereafter as well as a tow truck. A scary part which re-pumped the adrenaline was when a truck pulling a snow mobile trailer barreled around the corner (the flares had fizzled out). It narrowly missed the tow truck and the rest of us on the road. The sheriff let my brother's girlfriend & my dogs hang out in his heated cruiser/SUV for the whole time. After my mangled "pony" was pulled onto the street, I went to check up on my bro's g-friend and the dogs. The door closed behind me, and I was then stuck in the back (so, THAT'S why it's hard for criminals to book from the back seat of a cop car!) :) The Sheriff gave us all a ride back down to Dayton (20 miles away), and we were allowed to stay at the Sheriff's station until our ride from the Tri-Cities arrived. Many thanks to the Deputies who responded to the scene. Columbia County is in good hands.

Received a creepy message from a local from Columbia County, but live in Portland and the sheriff's…read moreoffice didn't want anything to do with it and asked me to file it with our local police here. Well, after 10 attempts, no one answered the non-emergency phone here in Portland. I grew up with a police officer that actually cared. Today, issues seem to be someone else's problem, but yet when crimes are unsolved and go cold, they turn to the public for help. Perhaps if there was more pro-activity than reactivity, some of these crimes could be solved by actually having proficient people to take in the information and actually follow up on it and do the due diligence. I always wonder if something were to happen to the people that have information they need to share with the police, if the the police would actually step up to the plate, take responsibility and say; "We should've listened."

The Good: Price was good for the accommodations. Has propane lights and a propane gas fireplace…read morethat all work very well. The rangers were kind and made sure the lights all had new mantles installed prior to our arrival. The location and scenery were fantastic. Portable toilet is a death trap for my two year old so we used a bucket. Otherwise the toilet was clean and stocked. We saw several white tail deer and one cinnamon black bear on the road heading out to the cabin. It was 95 degrees in the valley down by Dayton but 65 degrees clear and beautiful at the cabin. No mosquitoes despite the natural spring sitting next to camp. The Bad: No potable running water (we brought our own), and the propane fridge was not functional during our stay (we were forewarned so we brought ice and coolers). The front door has a latch that automatically locks upon exiting the cabin. Without a key, there is no way to re-enter. DO NOT lock yourself out as there is no help for many, many miles. Lead based paint is failing miserably all around the exterior of the property. If you have kids or pets keep them away from paint chips etc. The Weird: This place is absolutely haunted! My boys and I were the only ones here. We brought a ball to kick around the house for fun (my boys are two and four years old). It ended up down the hallway later in the evening after which the boys fell asleep on my lap in one of the recliners in the living room. I was sitting in front of the fireplace enjoying some quiet time while cuddling with my boys and suddenly the ball came BOUNCING down the hallway and hit the wall next to the kitchen as if it was kicked or lightly thrown. I've never stared so long and hard at a dark hallway before. I investigated and only found a chair sitting in the corner of the adjacent bedroom in the dark. Creepy. Later that evening, we were lying in bed in the attic. It was maybe 2am or so when I heard what sounded like a hand dragging across studs in the unfinished area of the attic. No sleep for me.

This has been my go-to library since 1990 except during a recent battle of county versus city…read morelibrary jurisdictions, but due to a recent annexation, this is my library once again. There are lots of activities here at the physical library, but I tend to use this library as my springboard into the electronic library for books on my tablet, particularly for travel. There are those times, however, when having a physical book in my hands just feels right and here is where browsing the shelves for that perfect read is actually fun. The librarians are helpful and knowledgeable and always friendly.

Three families were trying to return books today, including me, and there was no book drop open…read more Is it not possible to have a place to return materials when the library is closed? J.M.