
We stopped at Cathedral Ridge Winery on our way into the city. They have beautiful grounds on the outskirts of Hood River, as well as some pretty good vino. There are a number of wineries around Hood River. If you go, make sure to get a wine map of the area so you can visit the various other establishments.
Once in Hood River, there's a ton to do. Hood River is the windsurfing capital of Oregon (if not the world), due to the frequently windy conditions along The Gorge. There's also tons of hiking and mountain biking trails nestled throughout the hills. It's sort of a Mecca for outdoor enthusiasts.

After lunch at Double Mountain, we walked down to Full Sail to pick up their new Session Black dark lager. I haven't cracked one open yet, but at $10 for 12 beers, I probably can't go wrong ( regular Session Lager is good stuff at a good price, too).

After enjoying Hood River, it was time to mosey back towards Portland. We hopped on I-84 west and decided to take the Historic Colombia River Highway back. We hopped on at exit 35, and took it all the way into Troutdale, OR, or about 33 miles.
This narrow two-lane highway is twisty, curvy, and passes several historic monuments, scenic viewpoints, and numerous waterfalls including the famous Multnomah Falls. We stopped at Latourell Falls, which was gorgeous. The other place we stopped was the Vista House. This was a rest area built on the Historic Highway during the 1920s. It's one of the best views of The Gorge from just about any road.
We had a fantastic time on our day trip to Hood River. Next time I'll remember to bring my real camera so I'm not stuck taking pictures using my camera phone. The picture below is looking out over The Gorge from the Vista House.

3 comments:
What a great road trip Andy. I love making that drive, need to do it again. Next time you decide to head out to Hood River, check into the train trip up to Parkdale, wife and I did it a few years ago. So, how is the Sessions black, I like the regular Sessions.
By the way, if you havn't figured out who I am yet, its robbiej, lol.
Cool--thanks, robbiej. And yes, I wasn't sure who you were. I knew you were part of the Scion clan, though!
I haven't tried the Session Black yet. I'll let you know when I do, though; probably tonight. Then again, it's 5:00 somewhere, right?
The scenery over there is quite nice and your Yaris looks very cool as usual.
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