Week In My Life Summer Travels: Napa Valley to Bend, Oregon

[@jennalcondon]

okay monica...I think I found your new niche. travel vlogging. you are amazing at comparing and honoring the cities you are exploring. would love more vids like this :)

[@rachelfritz]

Second this! the first video i’ve ever seen from monica was when she was in sweden

[@makaylarobles]

I third this! Love literally everything about this video Monica! Give us more :)

[@andrielweir]

It would be cool if she focused on smaller places to visit. Sure we all know about the big well known cities but I know there is so much more out there to explore!

[@HenrySetGo]

Monica: "and our first stop that we're going to today is - " Shelby: "Starbucks!" hahaha 😅

[@marcelmp_]

Exactly my thought 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jj-if6it]

Oh Shelby 😅

[@Lowerqueenannie]

Bend is so sunny because it benefits from the 'rainshadow effect', where the mountains just west of Bend catch all of the rain coming through Portland and western oregon, so that by the time the clouds reach Bend in eastern OR, there's no more rain left in them :)

[@NormanF62]

Nice collab with your sister Shelby! The reviews of California and Oregon wineries/breweries on the way back to Seattle was worth it. If you guys were sommeliers, you could make a nice living just sampling wines all over the world. That said, this vlog was a welcome diversion from your usual affairs. Well done!

[@MonicaChurch]

Thank you!

[@nak223]

I couldn´t have described it any better.

[@splashaquatics4946]

“If I could be a winery, I would be this winery” - Monica after many glasses of wine

[@KavaKavana]

Good pick. Bend. Ahh been living there for many years. Snowboarding bachelor and kayaking the deschutes plus fly fishing the deschutes and hiking/mountain biking the river trail in front of my mouse plus caves and hot springs near by, camping off roading and a million more things. If you like to do healthy activities and play in the sun and snow then it’s the best.

[@healthycitizen1926]

Im a guy but can I just appreciate how comfortable your fashion choices are😂😂😂😂 . Like The usual hoodie and joggers cant go wrong 10/10 comfortable , but even your napa outfit with a loose fitted dress shirt and baige slacks looks comfortable just something i noticed😂😂🧘

[@user-sx6eu4rg2x]

This looks like so much fun, I had no idea such a place like Bend existed but it looks like a fun town to visit!

[@anaitzaroman4013]

I don’t even drink and this video kept me interested the entire time. Always love your videos

[@leanesvold]

Omg my friend works at Ashes & Diamonds! So happy you got to check out Napa!! Come back soon :)

[@BronwynAlexandriaa]

With the mountains right next to bend and the coast beyond the mountains, the ocean brings in rain and the rain evaporates when it goes over the mountains into the bend. This is also known as a “rain shadow.”

[@nak223]

WOW, from my standpoint this really is one of the best, surprising Videos you have made, so far. LOVE IT ! Thanks a lot for taking us with you. Lots of love from Germany.

[@tammybunes5242]

I just want to say, I know you have been struggling with motivation for videos but I really enjoy your content and love seeing you and shelby together! Keep up the great work

[@Nicole.Sisson]

Looks like a fun road trip!! I've never been to Napa Valley but I have been to Bend and LOVED it!!

[@nikkiep23]

Being from California, l love wineries. I visited Napa last October. Sonoma is really nices too . I'm not a beer girl but l appreciate the vibe that the breweries were giving.

[@jj-if6it]

The West Coast looks so pretty, can't wait to explore there one day and maybe do a roadtrip like yourselves. I have only seen LA and Vancouver. I love all the forests!

[@ambivalencestudios1280]

As a bay area local, Sonoma is where its at! So much more to do in comparison to Napa, and wayyyy cheaper and more down to Earth wine tastings!

[@ct8018]

Napa’s for auto parts, Sonoma is for wine…Hall has that huge bunny statue….visit Iron Horse for bubbles….Santa Rosa airport is not very close to Napa, still a long ride over the mountains from Sonoma, fly into SF…for Napa…

[@StephenOshea]

super nice video . i love happy hour great scenery . i think its so lovely

[@Cat-qn1yw]

I wish you would have shown the beauty of the mountains and buttes and Deschutes river in Bend. It’s sooo beautiful. Napa is beautiful too, but Bend is really stunning.

[@MonicaChurch]

I wish I could too! Sadly I was only there for one day.. no enough time to see it all but I want to go back

[@MsCdngrrl]

@@MonicaChurch I'd love you to do Sonoma to compare it to Napa because I hear it's cheaper because, although well known, not as much so as Napa. That would be interesting and totally up your alley

[@astrocutie37]

Loved this video Monica! You kill it with this type of content every time, please pleaseeeee do more! I’d literally watch a video of you comparing how different types of paint dry 😅

[@jubbles01]

Ever since your video on Hotwire I’ve always used it to book hotels! Such a great hack!

[@tess9099]

Klamath Falls is the city of sunshine, It has over 300 days of sun. I know I grew up there. I remember Bend when before it exploded into what it is now. So glad you got to visit there.

[@AndyDJane]

Bend is my favourite place on planet earth. That's coming from a New Zealander Bend is an outdoor enthusiasts dream!

[@jnrs15]

Spent the video focusing on Monica’s hair. 😍

[@adriennegroves2897]

Sonoma (especially west county) and Mendocino are great for more affordable wine tastings, like lots of options under $30. Napa is insane. Not worth it! Lots of great hikes and outdoor activities to do in Napa and Sonoma county! Great breweries around Sonoma county!

[@alyyoung]

Yes so true I live in Sonoma county and I rarely ever go to Napa. Sonoma county is like Napa and bend Oregon had a baby. Just as many breweries food trucks and down to earth people with the addition of all the great wine.

[@cathleenhamby4723]

There is so much to do in and around Napa! But Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Petaluma and many other small towns are within a 30 minute drive with access to more affordable accommodations and a wide variety of wineries and breweries. Oh, and don' forget a mudbath and massage in Calistoga!

[@carlastutts1080]

The mudbath and massage I had up there was so nice. And you’re absolutely right

[@LolWinniee]

What were your recs for the mud baths?

[@sandy949]

First stop, Starbucks!! Haha I feel ya ❤. Great destinations, thanks for sharing!

[@SoraMTeichman]

Fantastic footage and editing! Love the style of the vid, Monica!

[@KristaHarrisSB]

Fun video! If you love wine tasting, you might consider Santa Barbara County - it’s probably a 4-5 hour drive from Palm Springs. The wines are amazing and the tastings are affordable.

[@kerrimosich6217]

Wine tasting fees are usually waived when you buy a bottle. We love bend and usually go a week or longer per year, sun river is so fun!

[@melissaanderson5462]

Loving the amount of videos posted lately!

[@musicandme5658]

Fun video! My neighbors stayed at Brasada Ranch Resort near Bend and absolutely loved it.

[@Jesus_is_savior]

Love it when u travel

[@mexicantraveleronabudget1196]

😂 loved the vlog and Napa is our destination of choice since it’s so close to us. Drink water next time. There is so much to do in the Napa area and you missed plenty. Food and wine on a budget is doable. Sonoma, St Helena, downtown Napa well maybe next time.

[@renesteinhauser2742]

I've never heard of Bend, but I'll add it to my list! Sounds right up my alley.

[@garystarr9176]

You drove right by my house! Haha. Not really but pretty close. 😊 Love this video!

[@shelleyhuskey1870]

Tip: A lot of wineries reduce the cost of the tastings when you buy a bottle!

[@lauraelisee]

Don’t forget Sonoma Valley! It gets forgotten because of Napa, but it’s awesome there! 😊

[@jessicapackard8008]

Next time you go to Bend I 100% recommend Riverhouse on the Deschutes - Super nice hotel! Our favorite place to stay when we go

[@staciarney8158]

Thanks for stopping by The Ale Apothecary, Monica! I have a couple of your fans ask what beer you were drinking at our tasting room? Was it the Sahati with spruce tips? Thanks for your help!

[@aliciaking1009]

Awe, I’m from Bend! So cool to see it in your video. You should definitely go back later in the summer, it’s super fun and there’s so much going on. Let me know if you need a tour guide! 😆

[@drama4anna]

I'm from Bend and we get about 250-300 days of sunshine a year!

[@sndashko]

Bend is the happy place to go to escape the PNW soggy weather! Also best skiing in the PNW with Mt. Batchelor…probably the only resort class skiing out here.

[@BronwynAlexandriaa]

I hate beer, but love Bend, Oregon. It’s one of my favorite places I’ve ever been too and I want to go back so bad

[@justinewhite-hadley3138]

Ok this is Hilarious! I used to work at Mumm!! It was such a good time of life. I am now a pet sitter with my own business, and I work in Yountville and walk by RH daily! I also pet sit at Senza! What a hoot! Oh and the words you were looking for in the car in regards to allll the tasting you had were The Napa Happys or slightly Over Tasted lol

[@alliesauer4388]

you should've stopped in Livermore!!! Livermore is about an hour and a half from Napa or like 45 mins to an hour from SF. Livermore valley has SO MANY amazing wineries!!!! Highly recommend!!!

[@MonicaChurch]

Next time!

[@angelakaiser3110]

I lived in Bend. Ale Apothecary sour brew is my favorite!

[@jamienotjaime00]

Your hair is so pretty in this video!!! Can’t wait to visit Bend one day!

[@JilliannShea]

This is so fun to watch as someone from central oregon!

[@summeryoung8325]

For the best wine country experience, Sonoma County is the way to go. They have amazing wineries and it’s more affordable than Napa. There’s also so much to do outdoors in Sonoma County. There’s redwoods, the Russian River and the beautiful coastline all within reach.

[@thetypical]

Monica, you should take a trip out to Texas Wine Country! Fredericksburg, Texas is about a couple hours outside of San Antonio, and it’s such a fun vibe to go to each winery. You would definitely get more of a Texas experience more so than Austin or Dallas. Highly recommend and very affordable!!

[@chicagofan7057]

Man, I bet Shelby is so happy to have her Tesla back with these crazy gas prices.

[@MonicaChurch]

Seriously! I wish I had one now!!!

[@johnsaxongitno4life588]

I am going to watch this amazing video later on today as it is 4 am here in Australia on Sunday morning xxx

[@khatrenreed731]

Ah sending love from Bend, OR🌲 you should visit again for longer though to see all it has to offer!

[@Jesus_is_savior]

I’m going to go when I can 🥰

[@fashionbyally]

you guys should stop in yountville or st. helena for food next time, it's super walkable and cute!

[@4mmccall]

Easily my favourite video of yours! Incredible and soo funny 😂

[@Krista16K]

I've been missing Bend so much. We're heading up the Seattle in a few months and definitely need to stop back off at Bend

[@pgriff0]

Bend Oregon is one of my favorite places I’ve ever been! I’m from Florida 🥰

[@marysolsousa8518]

Really enjoyed this video especially the collab with your sister ! 👌Hope we get to see more this type of videos 😁🤞🏻

[@bmartens2009]

I live 2 hours from Napa and Bend is one of my favorite cities.

[@marissa9860]

Love seeing y’all live y’all best life. Also hair looks great ❤️

[@karlyd7274]

Yup, if you want more reliable sunshine in Oregon, the Bend/Redmond area is the place to be.

[@raquel2905]

I now want to plan a trip to Bend 🌿

[@ImDrivingwalkingAround]

I love the road trips 😍 and your vlogs too ❤️.

[@christinabrame679]

Napa is Insane, Sonoma is where it’s at! I remember having 10-15$ tastings there.

[@Michelangelo-m1o]

I love this road trip vlog!😃❤

[@omradiant]

“ The wine .. oh I’ve had a lot of wine”! 😂😂

[@cedarforest4621]

I like flying into Sacramento rather than San Fran to get to Santa Rosa. Less crowded, less traffic to get there.

[@TaylorONeal]

I keep doing that road trip PS to Seattle too. Such an interesting landscape in the high desert especially in winter (though carry car chains in case). The snowshoe trip in Bend to a bonfire with local coffee vodka tasting was awesome! The Humm kombucha tasting or CBD soda like Ablis are good too. The refurbished motel to adventure motel LOGE is great to learn and be right on the mountain bike trail.

[@megaprimegamer1184]

DO more of these vlogs! Napa is beautiful but yeah its just wineries. You did go to Yountville which has a lot of the fancier restaurants in the country..

[@meganlabbe3392]

I'm going to Bend today for a work trip and this just made me sooo excited to go!! If anyone is looking for another great option to stay in Bend check out Riverhouse on the Deschutes!

[@Xezero]

We were just in Walla Walla this weekend! Would definitely recommend if you haven’t been before! We love it even more than Bend and Napa! Especially driving through the Palouse fields this time of year! :)

[@hastyink]

Walla wall, wa?? That small college town? Might as well recommend Yakima wa as well. I may be biased because I live less than 40 minutes away, but i wouldn’t compare it to bend or Napa. I would compare walla walla to; yakima, tri cities, prosser wa, hermiston, pellenton, and umitila oregon.

[@redial38]

Go to Healdsburg instead of Napa, it’s cheaper and the vibes are way more chill!

[@FittyFreckles]

"wow im a little wine.. i've had a lot of wine" ahahah i love you

[@sleeepyt3042]

Not a hint of dirt 😂😂😂 omg that was so funny to me

[@farmgirlwithcurls]

Love this video so much, going to save this to travel to both places!

[@YulaTsheringSherpa]

Now I’m really looking forward to visiting Bend, maybe after receiving the new Sony 24-70 GM ii lens sometime this month, which I’m soo looking forward to also. Thank you for this vid 💗

[@hayley9546]

This was such a fun video Monica!! Makes me so excited for my trip this August with my boyfriend to a spot in northeast Wisconsin that's known for its wineries! Ahhhhh I can't wait. I'm a beer lover but like to drink wine occasionally too. Would love to visit the wineries and breweries on the west coast some day!

[@TuckerPearce]

Sweet vanilla creamed cold brew USB🔥🎉 Had to give them up as I like a refill and well I can’t drink more than one cold brew a day. Caffeine jitters 🤣 Love a good oat-milk latte as well with some caramel or vanilla.

[@MrVikingsandra]

Hah! I'm gonna do a wine tasting activity in OR...😄 Apparently they have really good pinot noir

[@wineguy68]

Been to Napa region a number of times and i much prefer staying in Sonoma or Healdsburg. Much more laid back. Calistoga and St. Helena are cool too on the northern part of Napa valley.

[@MegaNerdification]

Bend is in a rain shadow! Similar to Port Townsend in Washington.

[@achromatic03]

Have you done the wine train in Napa though? That was surprisingly not super wine- centric, but so fun!

[@berniceezeifo1440]

Wine tasting are so nice

[@cedarforest4621]

Bend is awesome and has an amazing Foodie scene.

[@chrischristakis3744]

Fun video Monica!

[@JUDDLILIHA]

Yountville!!!! its pricey, but its worth it.

[@lindseyhavniear4548]

Well I live in Bend so you know my vote

[@jbm602920]

Where was that white button up shirt from that you were wearing? So cute!

[@monicarobs]

Amazing job! Need more videos like this. Loved it 🙂

[@gabrielleg.1347]

I use to live in the bay area so pretty familar with Napa but I've always been curious about Bend (I used to live in Oregon as well) so this was really cool to see. I would just add that in addition to the obvious wine aspect of Napa, food is very big there as well. So for people that are foodies that is another big draw. The quality of pretty much every restuarant there is higher than your average place due to the food and wine culture, so you can get some delicious meals without breaking the bank but then theres world famous places like the French Laundry where basically you want to be flush with cash to even consider going to. Napa is insanely hot in the summer though. Like I would never go there mid summer....your going to be doing wine tastings in 100 plus degrees. That being said, both Napa and specifically Bend will often have terrible wild fires nearby in summer so I would consider a summer or early fall visit a bit of a dice roll for potentially being smoked out.

[@Ardna53]

Maybe go get your furniture in LA and bring up to your new apt!

[@youknowwithMartyKauffman]

You should’ve went to the last remaining Blockbuster

[@CoffeyBrew]

Sonoma County wine is better! I might be biased, though, since I live here :)

[@BronwynAlexandriaa]

Where did you get your pants that you wore @ Hall Winery??? They’re so nice 😍

[@krystalreyes6499]

Awesome reviews! I’d love to get your opinion on how Sonoma compares to Napa. Seems like an alternative a lot of people visit but don’t know much about it.

[@mrslisalindgren]

I loved this capture of Bend. As a local I still saw some things I haven’t seen but also as a local… let me give you some hotspots for your next visit… if you’re interested in more of the “local” feel. Another video!? (i.e. best Fish Taco’s you have ever had! or best Locals Brewery, or best Locals; this or that).

[@MaiaDeg]

I love this content!!!! Seriously! This is so interesting!