We are excited to add to the Requa Inn offerings- a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom vacation rental at the top of Requa Hill. Our neighbor-friends, Al and Annie, recently moved from Requa to Southern Oregon to be near their grand babies. We were sad to see them go, and honored when they asked us to partner with them to offer up their magical vacation rental to our guests!

Especially in the Inn’s busy summer months, it is hard to turn-away family groups, because there is often not enough room at the Requa Inn for large families. We love all of the magic that Requa offers visitors in the summer- the whale watching in the ocean, the gorgeous sunsets at the Klamath River overlook, the not-crowded hikes in the ancient redwood forest, views of the Black Bear across the River and the Bald eagles flying high.

So we are excited to have even more opportunities to share the wonder of Requa with more guests now- by offering the Requa Vacation rental. Featuring magnificent views of the Klamath River, the Pacific Ocean and the Redwood forest, the Requa House sleeps 6 comfortably.

The best part? The front deck hot tub with views of the ocean, the river, the flower gardens…

The Inn is excited to announce that we will now offer an evening dinner each night with a limited menu. Showcasing local and organic produce and meats, most menus will include two appetizer and three entree choices, plus a homemade dessert choice. A vegetarian option is almost always provided (and can absolutely be accommodated with reservations).

Since our Winemaker Dinner series started in January, our wine list has been refined to our very favorite choices from our favorite wineries in the region. (A great selection of local beers is also on the list, of course.)

Not staying with us, but want to eat dinner? Just call ahead and make reservations. We can almost always accommodate outside diners and love having locals (and other Klamath visitors) join us for a great meal.

Recent guest comments from a Winemaker Dinner menu:

“Brilliant”

“Amazing- the food and the view”

“Fabulous- Just perfect”

Call the Inn to make reservations, or to find out what the Chef’s got cooking: 707-482-1425. Dinner is served between 6:30pm-7:30pm.

As you may know, our feelings for the Klamath River are as mighty as the waters that flow, and run as deep as the history of the basin and its people. When we saw a wine bottle’s label featuring a topographical map of our Klamath River, and wine names like Klamath Cuvee and Confluence, we were in love.

And then we tasted the wine.

And then we met Kimberly and John Cabot. And now we are madly in love.

The last Saturday in January was particularly rainy, and the night of the Historic Requa Inn’s first-ever Winemaker’s Dinner. Truth be told, none of us innkeepers had actually ever been to a winemaker dinner. Luckily, our Chef (my brother Thomas) was wildly inspired by the Cabot’s wines, and created what turned out to be an 8 course meal, (advertised as a 5 course meal, with three surprises), each course expertly paired with the wine.

John Cabot told the story of each wine before each course. The Chef shared the locally-sourced meat or produce he was featuring in each dish and how he had used the Cabot’s wine in preparation of much of the food.

Dinner lasted nearly 3 hours. People laughed, talked, ate, made new friends.

“The best meal I’ve had in Del Norte County”

“One of the all-time greatest meals of my life”

“Loved it. Perfection.”

It was Kimberly’s birthday, and after the meal guitars came out and people sat around the fireplace in the living room, sharing stories and songs until the wee hours of the morning.

And, since everyone stayed the night, they woke the next morning to sun shining on the River, hummingbirds dancing at the windows as they ate their breakfast, and minutes later they were hiking the coastal trail, watching whales spout in the ocean, at the mouth of the Klamath River.

We have sold out of the next three dinners, and have added two more:

March 26th with Foris Winery from Cave Junction, Oregon and
April 9th with Moonstone Crossing from Trinidad, California

Our local food reporter joined us for the event. Here is a link to her front-page story and a few photos. http://www.triplicate.com/20110208111391/News/Local-News/Wintertime-diversion

We thank the Cabots, and their dear friends, for a magical evening. We look forward to showcasing their wine and good work again next winter!

Winter is upon us at the Inn, and more than ever, we’re appreciating the opportunity to get to know so many wonderful guests who find themselves at the Requa Inn, from across the globe!

Some may know that the 2010-2011 winter is the first November- February that the Inn has been open in many years. As a new family owning and running the Inn, we’re excited to see what will happen here at Requa during the “off-season”.

We’ve already noticed that the mood at the Inn has changed since the days are darker earlier and cooler more often. This summer, guests left right after dinner to catch the sunset at the top of Requa Hill’s overlook. This winter, guests now linger over dessert, take a bottle of wine to the living room, borrow a board game from the Inn’s collection, and snuggle up in front of the fireplace.

And another magic is happening in the evenings at the Inn- as guests gather near the fireplace in the living room, they strike up conversations with one another! One favorite recent story was of a lovely family who came to the Inn for several days to celebrate their father, Ira Samuels’ 91st birthday, and his wife, Juanita King Letson Samuels’ 25th wedding anniversary. The wife was actually born on Requa Hill, and the couple had met at a Hospice dance, after they’d both lost their first spouses. The husband’s daughters had traveled from near and far to help celebrate their parents’ anniversary.

After dinner one night, the family was sitting around the Inn’s living room, enjoying the fireplace, and I poured a round of champagne for an anniversary toast. Another guest, a lovely young man who was at the Inn with his wife, pregnant with their third child, couldn’t help but overhear the anniversary celebration, and asked the wife if her husband was a veteran.

It turned out that both men had served in the US military, and although there were several decades separating them in age, they shared many similar experiences as veterans of war, and swapped stories of oversees travel and surviving warfare. Gratitude filled the air- for the service both men had rendered for this country; for the love each shared for his wife; for the generosity of both men to share their stories; and for the mere fact that they were here at the Inn with their families on this day.

These lovely guests not only shared with us their stories, they let me take their photos, and to share these stories with you on this blog.

A little behind on this post, but we spent a delightful September evening at the Klamath Blackberry Festival put on by the Klamath Chamber of Commerce and our friends over at Camper Corral. Anyone who has been to Klamath, or anywhere in Del Norte County will know, blackberries are a ubitquitous part of the landscape, sprouting up anywhere there is a patch of open ground. On Requa in particular, it seems like our blakberry friends grow larger, quicker and stronger than anywhere else – Requa IS a relaxing place after all. Our bounty of blackberries translates into a plethora of blackberry related dishes, typically involving icecream and generous helpings of whipped cream.

The festival, a celebration of all things blackberry, is in its second year and was very popular with vendors selling local redwood carvings, photos and, most importantly, all manner of blackberry foods. Once we get to run off the additional lbs from this year’s festival (yeah right) we’ll be all prepped for next September’s festival.

Baby tomatoes, fresh from the garden- are there many more precious tastes in the world?! We love these harvest days of summer! The last few weeks have brought the Inn fresh eggplant, grilled corn on the cob, sweet green peas and ruby-red beets!  My brother Thomas just moved home to the Inn to be our head dinner chef and has already connected with our local organic farmers to bring farm-fresh, and absolutely delicious, produce to the Inn.

Thomas moved “home” from Portland- where he’s been making and eating good food (and maybe some beer, too) for the last few years and he’s brought with him lots of inspiration about what a great dinner should be: real, whole food, made special and delicious with love, attention and great spices.

The most playful concoction was an eggplant marmalade, covered with a tomato jam and topped with a basil whipped cream- served up in a sundae dish with a parmesan cheese “cookie” on top.  Even one of the fisherman diner asked for the recipe!

My favorite dish so far is a tie between his cauliflower soup- so thick, creamy and delicious, and the homemade salmon lox (made from Salmon he caught in the Klamath in front of the Inn!)- served with cream cheese and capers.

We’re so excited to see what tomorrow night’s dinner will be!

Fresh traditional cooked salmon off the fire; life is good!

We spent a delightful August 21 at the Klamath Salmon Festival; a fixture of Klamath for well over forty years and an opportunity to celebrate Yurok life and culture and the life of the Klamath River. Each year, thousands of people flock to humble Klamath to watch Indian stick games, cultural demonstrations, stock up on great arts and crafts, or to enjoy the much anticipated salmon dinner (replete with potato salad and pan bread). For members of the Yurok Tribe, the festival is also an opportunity to reconnect with family members and others from afar who come home for the annual event.

On a personal note, this was the first time in almost six years that we hadn’t been involved in some way with the festival – usually Geneva would have a booth promoting her charter school, or at various times we would have been responsible for coordinating the entire event. It was nice to spend time with the kids (bouncy house was very popular) and to indulge in mandatory festival food: Indian tacos; salmon; fried bread; and pinocalada smoothies (ok, not standad issue festival food, but enjoyed by all none the less).

On another note, we also look forward to the Blackberry Festival coming up shortly hosted by the Klamath Chamber of Commerce. For anyone who has been to Requa knows, blackberries grow like wild fire around our area and it seems appropriate that we take a day to recognize them. I’m hoping that there will be pies involved, and, of course, the ever famous Requa Inn Blacberry Cobbler. Oh yes! Stay tuned for photos and updates…

Oregos watches for salmon

…for all things salmonid at least. Sunday marked the opening of the Yurok Tribe’s commercial fishing season and Requa dock has been abuzz with commerce since the opening bell sounded. Every year the Yurok Tribe allocates a portion of its fishery towards cultural and subsistence purposes – smoking fish for elders, or setting aside fish for high ceremonies during the end of summer – or for its commercial fishery – a fishery that many tribal members depend on as a source of their annual income, or to buy supplies for the upcoming school year.

Even as I sit drinking my morning coffee I can hear outboard motors zipping up the river and seals fighting for their fair share of the salmonid pie – something of a stark contrast to the usual early morning still of Requa punctured by the occasional car rambling up the road or dog yelp. It sounds like the fish are running thick and strong this year and, by all accounts, the fish are fat and healthy. Not that I particularly need more fat in my life, but there’s nothing like fresh Salmon to round out an evening… or start a breakfast for that matter!