Hood River – Wachs Across America

After a pretty lazy morning we set out for the riverfront park in Hood River to see all the windsurfing and kite boarding action. I think we sneaked in with the heathens while all the good boys and girls were at church because we got a parking spot right at the park which apparently is usually not possible. We played at the playground for awhile then took Sheba to the dog beach to play in the water. But this is also the place for the windsurfers and kite boarders to hang out while they rest or wait “for the wind to pick up.” After a guy said that I realized this was probably not going to be my sport. I’m not very comfortable in the water and I’m really not a fan of wind. But there are plenty of people to keep the sports alive without me. There were just so many windsurfers and kite boarders it was crazy. I was interrogating the boarders and kiters about how their gear worked and how they went about learning to fly a huge kite while balancing on an itty bity board bouncing across white caps caused by 30mph wind going upstream and water flowing downstream. Sounds impossible, but they make it look easy and it’s very neat to watch!

We grabbed lunch at a Subway where a stray dog found us. A neighbor lady walking her dog was very concerned about it and tried to rescue it but it didn’t seem to want to be rescued. We tried to give the dog some water and the lady ended up calling the sheriff (not sure there are cuffs small enough for the little stick legs this dog had). After this we headed across the Hood River bridge, which actually spans the Columbia River, costs a dollar and is CRAZY NARROW!! Oh my word. John warned us and rightly so!! Many times I flinched as I passed another big honkin’ truck like the Beast but never was there contact….whew! On the Washington side of the river we went downstream, directly across from our campground at Viento State Park to Dog Creek which has a waterfall just 50 yards or so in from the road. There are apparently 3 more falls above the first if you have the guts to scale up along side the falls to get to them. After quick inventory the boys and I found guts and so up we went. But at the top of the first falls it gets sketchy pretty quick and we decided we’d rather not spend the rest of our vacation dead and we climbed back down. It was nice and shady at the bottom of the falls and it felt great to wade in the creek. Brielle found a little lizard that the kids had a ton of fun playing with and that Brielle wanted to bring home as a pet. However, we felt Charlie would be happier if he stayed with his other lizard friends at Dog Creek and we said goodbye.

We met John in downtown Hood River for ice cream at Mike’s, then we stopped by the hobby and game store (I drooled about a pint of fluid over all the great games they had in stock) then we stopped at Walmart for a few groceries including take-and-bake pizza for dinner. Pizza in the 5th wheel just doesn’t happen as often as it does at home where we have lots of counter space and pans and a big oven to prepare them in. So even though these were not homemade, they were a great treat! John came up to hang out with us during dessert which was S’mores. The kids took great care in roasting nice golden mallows for Mr. John so he could mash them between 2 grahams and chocolate! We chatted the night away with John as the kids zoomed around the campground on the skate board and scooter. It was really great to connect with John while we are here in Hood River. Thanks for spending time with us this weekend John!