My Adventure in Southern Oregon with Harry & David

A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of traveling to southern Oregon to be immersed in a world of delicious gift giving with my new friends at Harry & David.

In case you have not heard of Harry & David, stop what you are doing (well, right after you finish reading this post) and head over to their website. If you have any hard-to-shop-for-folks on your holiday list, Harry & David just may be the answer to your gift-giving dilemmas. They sell everything from chocolate truffles to whole turkeys, gift baskets full of goodies to monthly fruit and cheese clubs. Most recently, they started selling wine and are now shipping cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. To honest with you, I’m surprised I left Oregon and came back to Pennsylvania!

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We started off the trip in beautiful southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley at one of Harry & David’s Pear Orchards near Medford. It was simply stunning to see it in the fall. Absolutely picturesque!

From left to right, this is the fabulous group of bloggers that I had the privilege to spend a few days with in Oregon.

I was so excited to see some familiar faces, including Julie and Robyn!

Harry & David is well known for its pears, and they grow most of them right in this area. I was amazed at how much care and work goes into growing their fruit.

Later in the day we visited their pear sorting and weighing facility. They are rigorous about providing only the best pears to their customers. I know this because my brother gets them for my grandparents every year for Christmas and they always rave about them.

Time for another group photo!

There was obviously a lot of delicious food involved in this trip. We had a fabulous lunch at at Deja Vu Bistro. Of course, pears were included in the menu.

Harry & David is also a wonderful source for sinfully good chocolate so we spent some time in their “Chocolate Factory” as well. While there, we met Charlie. Yes, Charlie of the chocolate factory.

There we got a chance to craft our own chocolate leaves.

This was such a joy! I had never had the chance to paint chocolate before. I’m actually hoping to recreate this at home and host a chocolate painting party with friends. Once I do, I’ll share the details so you can paint your own chocolates, too.

Walking through the chocolate factory we got to see where they make Moose Munch. It took all my self-control not to break through the glass and dive into that pot of deliciousness.

We also saw where the chocolate truffles are made.

Another part of the trip involved visiting their basket-making facility. As some of you may know, I used to create baskets as part of my gift shoppe, so I was really impressed to see how this place functioned.

You would not believe the speed and efficiency of these folks. It was unreal.

To test our skills, they had us put together our own baskets. It was such fun to see everyone create their gifts. Harry & David even shipped our creations to the recipient of our choice. Needless to say, my grandparents are enjoying their basket.

Each basket includes a gold pear which is a signature for Harry & David. And you know me, with my gold obsession, this was a favorite. It’s basically just a pear in a gold wrapper, but we clearly know that’s the best one.

Rogue Creamery was another stop during our travels. They provide the cheese for Harry and David.

While there were so many highlights to the trip, being a cheese lover, this was among my top ten. Their cheese, especially the Oregon Blue, was out of this world.

I was most excited to see a powdered blue cheese. Yes, you heard me right, powered blue cheese. You can bet I’ll be in the kitchen whipping up something delicious with this stuff.

Speaking of favorites, I was completely enchanted by lunch at the fabulous Penny & Lulu’s Florist Studio in Medford. These two ladies, who are brimming with spunk and personality, gave us a gorgeous space for a magical lunch. The food was catered by Fresco and perfectly complemented the space these two created.

The table setting was nothing short of a masterpiece. That buffalo check tablecloth literally gave me goosebumps.

As you can tell, Angie, Melissa, and I were excitedly enjoying the design and the food.

If I could have, I would have packed these two ladies and their entire studio into my luggage.

We wrapped up our trip with a visit to the Harry & David Country Village Store to do a little shopping. I mean, after sampling their treats for the past two days it was imperative that we bring a few home. What do you think of my shopping cart?

I also wanted to mention that we stayed at the picturesque Winchester Inn. Their restaurant, Alchemy, served us the most fabulous breakfast every morning. If you are ever in need of accommodations in southern Oregon, I strongly recommend their establishment. Even if you are just passing through, stop for a bite to eat.

I cannot thank Harry & David enough for a truly incredible experience. Visiting Oregon has been on my wish list for quite some time. I couldn’t imagine a better way to experience such a beautiful state. Hats off to Sandy for organizing this fabulous event with a truly amazing group of people.

For more about Harry & David, check out their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. They also have a new blog where you’ll see some of these talented bloggers posting all kinds of delicious things!

This post was created as part of my collaboration with Harry & David. As always, the opinions and ideas are my own.