A few weeks ago, longtime friends Jim and Amber from the Portland area came down to Southern Oregon to stay with friends who had recently moved to our area. On the first evening of their visit, we invited the two couples to our home for dinner and conversation. It gave us the chance to get to know new residents Marianne and Rich, finding we have much in common . . . in addition to our friendship with Jim and Amber, of course. Having relocated a few times since our daughters were grown and out of the house, we know it can sometimes be a slow process to find a new circle of acquaintances in a new place, especially if you’re retired. We were delighted to hit it off with them right from the start.

The next day we enjoyed some of our local favorites with our new and old friends, starting with a little wine tasting at DANCIN Vineyards in nearby Jacksonville. I’ve written about DANCIN several times in the past; founders Dan and Cindy Marca have created such a welcoming winery and produce a host of award-winning wines. Everyone we share it with falls in love with the views, the relaxed atmosphere, and great food and drink.

After a pleasant hour or so of sipping wine and noshing on the fabulous stuffed mushrooms at the winery, we headed into Jacksonville proper for an early dinner at Gogi’s Restaurant, perennially guaranteed to offer elegant, refined dishes, promising “global flavors with local ingredients.” The intimate dining room, which seats about 40 diners, also features a beautiful wooden bar from which a number of intriguing cocktails pour forth. We find the service here is always warm and excellent and the courses perfectly timed, so you never feel rushed nor abandoned. On this evening we let our server know we had tickets to the 7 p.m. performance at the Britt Pavilion just up the hill from the restaurant and were assured we would have plenty of time to get there.

Every meal at Gogi’s starts with a basket of warm, house-made bread and a bowl of basil dipping sauce and a complimentary amuse-bouche. On this warm evening, we enjoyed wedges of fresh strawberries drizzled in a balsamic vinegar sauce and topped with a dollop of crème frâiche. Next, our starters arrived; I almost always get the mixed green salad, and this evening I discovered they’d switched things up a bit since my last visit and offered a lovely maple balsamic vinaigrette dressing (instead of their long-time creamy lemon dressing), which proved light and not too sweet. Harry, as is usual for him, opted for the chef’s soup of the day, a summery blend of seasonal vegetables, and all of us shared a bowl of Calamari alla Plancha, seared rather than deep-fried and perfectly cooked and seasoned.

Nearly all six of us chose different entrées from options that range from vegetarian to poultry, beef and seafood. Amber enjoyed tender braised pork cheek served on a bed of quinoa and braised greens, with apple mostarda on top; and Harry enjoyed an Oregon Bolognese sauce atop pappardelle.   I devoured my perfectly prepared charbroiled picanha steak with herbed fingerling potatoes and a just-right chimichurri sauce.

Although we might have squeezed it in, time-wise, our full stomachs insisted we pass on dessert, so we next walked (slowly!) up the steep streets to the Britt Pavilion, an open-air amphitheater surrounded by towering pines and firs which hosts a range of musical performances all summer long. We’ve enjoyed many concerts at this beautiful venue over the years, early on grabbing general admission seats on the bowl of the lawn, but in recent years we’ve chosen the kinder-on-our-bodies reserved bench seats closer to the stage. This evening’s performance was by Brit Floyd, a well-regarded Pink Floyd tribute band, and offered up a host of songs in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the release of The Dark Side of the Moon. We couldn’t help but notice as we settled in that the majority of the audience skewed heavily to the over-50 crowd, with a great deal of tie-dye and vintage Pink Floyd shirts in evidence.

The concert began while the sun still shone above the surrounding hills, washing out some of the lighting effects and projections and leading the band members to don sunglasses. It certainly didn’t affect the music, though, and Harry said he could close his eyes and believe he was listening to the original band. There was a nearly 30-minute intermission part-way through the show, and by the time the performance resumed, it was fully dark, and one could readily see the projected videos which accompanied the songs and enjoy the full effect of the elaborate use of lasers and lights.   The band played for nearly three hours in all and really delivered on songs from both Dark Side and other Pink Floyd tracks. I especially loved how the whole audience stood and sang along to “The Wall.” The emotion and emphasis they put into singing, “Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!” could lead you to think they were all angry high school-aged kids (as they likely were when they first heard the song) rather than senior citizens.

Afterwards, we made our way (thankfully) downhill to our cars under a nearly full moon, warmed by a day of good wine, food and music, and old and new friendships.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor