A water coloured painting in a renoir pose
Growing up, my parents weren't the type who planned summer vacation trips or quick jaunts out of town for family picnics. Most of the time, they were working and busting their arses trying to get the hockey school up and running. We went on ONE family vacation on a long hiking trip in Montana and then drove through Wyoming and SoDak and back home. There were a few times my parents threatened to leave us on the side of the road along the mountain passes to breathe the thin air and forage for food.
The point of this is that we weren't big Holiday Weekend Planners. We mostly just hung around the house or found friends to go out of town with to enjoy their family vacations. This weekend, I decided I wanted to PLAN something and go do it.
So, yesterday Ian and I drove to Hood River, Oregon for the day and had a ball.
It was a lovely Pacific NW day for a road trip. There were 10-minute squalls, followed by
10- minute "sun breaks", rinse, lather, repeat. We were happy.
The first stop was Cathedral Ridge Winery. All of the wineries we stopped at had $5 tasting fees but would waive the fees if you bought a bottle of wine. Here are some grapes and a sign from the winery:
The wine they were pouring was OK but a bit young. The reserve wines were good but didn't knock my socks off. I paid my $5 tasting fee and bought a bar of dark chocolate and a gift for the MIL.
Here's a view of the Gorge from their vineyards:
Next stop was Hood River Vineyards. Their wine was a little better but they had some KILLER ports and a decent cider. They had a Zin Port that was fabulous but a little out of my budget. So I bought a bottle of the hard cider instead. There's not much to the tasting room or the grounds so I took a picture of Ian near the grapes.
I lost my map of the local vineyards somewhere between the two wineries and we spent 10 minutes digging through my purse and the car trying to find the damn thing. Luckily for us, every winery has maps so we pointed the car for the best winery of the trip, Marchesi Vineyards
The winery is run by a lovely couple who want you to enjoy your time and ply you with good wine and fresh cut salami. The owner, Fracno Marchesi, had a hand-crank meat cutter and was cutting paper-thin slices of salami and bread. YUM! I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy enjoying the good wine. My tasting fee was waived when I bought a lovely bottle of their table wine. Marchesi is a new winery but their wines are divine and taste like they've been there a long time. I highly recommend seeking them out.
The local map didn't show any more wineries in the hills I wanted to go to, so we pointed the car to downtown Hood River. We wandered around downtown and took pictures of fountains and churches and decided we were hungry.
I had heard about a local brew pub called Double Mountain so we found it on a map and had lunch. Here's Ian with a tasty IPA:
This is just a random picture I took in the women's bathroom.
After a fabulous lunch, we walked in the rain and explored downtown Hood River and fell in love with the little town. Here's Ian outside of the Full Sail Brewery. We went in and just missed the 3 o'clock tour. The place was packed and we didn't stay.
Pile of rocks outside of the Hood River Library.
Another view of the Gorge.
We walked and walked and found another brew pub at the top of the hill. Next to it was this park.
With lots of steep stairs we didn't climb:
And roses we didn't pick:
We had way too much fun and plan on going back to Hood River when we can stay longer and go on a bike ride or hike.
The point of this is that we weren't big Holiday Weekend Planners. We mostly just hung around the house or found friends to go out of town with to enjoy their family vacations. This weekend, I decided I wanted to PLAN something and go do it.
So, yesterday Ian and I drove to Hood River, Oregon for the day and had a ball.
It was a lovely Pacific NW day for a road trip. There were 10-minute squalls, followed by
10- minute "sun breaks", rinse, lather, repeat. We were happy.
The first stop was Cathedral Ridge Winery. All of the wineries we stopped at had $5 tasting fees but would waive the fees if you bought a bottle of wine. Here are some grapes and a sign from the winery:
The wine they were pouring was OK but a bit young. The reserve wines were good but didn't knock my socks off. I paid my $5 tasting fee and bought a bar of dark chocolate and a gift for the MIL.
Here's a view of the Gorge from their vineyards:
Next stop was Hood River Vineyards. Their wine was a little better but they had some KILLER ports and a decent cider. They had a Zin Port that was fabulous but a little out of my budget. So I bought a bottle of the hard cider instead. There's not much to the tasting room or the grounds so I took a picture of Ian near the grapes.
I lost my map of the local vineyards somewhere between the two wineries and we spent 10 minutes digging through my purse and the car trying to find the damn thing. Luckily for us, every winery has maps so we pointed the car for the best winery of the trip, Marchesi Vineyards
The winery is run by a lovely couple who want you to enjoy your time and ply you with good wine and fresh cut salami. The owner, Fracno Marchesi, had a hand-crank meat cutter and was cutting paper-thin slices of salami and bread. YUM! I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy enjoying the good wine. My tasting fee was waived when I bought a lovely bottle of their table wine. Marchesi is a new winery but their wines are divine and taste like they've been there a long time. I highly recommend seeking them out.
The local map didn't show any more wineries in the hills I wanted to go to, so we pointed the car to downtown Hood River. We wandered around downtown and took pictures of fountains and churches and decided we were hungry.
I had heard about a local brew pub called Double Mountain so we found it on a map and had lunch. Here's Ian with a tasty IPA:
This is just a random picture I took in the women's bathroom.
After a fabulous lunch, we walked in the rain and explored downtown Hood River and fell in love with the little town. Here's Ian outside of the Full Sail Brewery. We went in and just missed the 3 o'clock tour. The place was packed and we didn't stay.
Pile of rocks outside of the Hood River Library.
Another view of the Gorge.
We walked and walked and found another brew pub at the top of the hill. Next to it was this park.
With lots of steep stairs we didn't climb:
And roses we didn't pick:
We had way too much fun and plan on going back to Hood River when we can stay longer and go on a bike ride or hike.