my week in pictures 86 adventures in hood river

monday 1/12 - sunday 1/18

Last weekend me and Pat headed to Hood River to meet Alex and surprise Tony for his 30th birthday. I was so excited to finally stay over night and be able to explore the area more fully, and aside from the rain situation, I was not disappointed.

On Friday after work me and Pat headed out, making a stop at Wild Ride in Redmond to grab a late lunch. We grabbed the pastrami sandwich from FoodFellas, and it was amazing! Seriously, there was an onion ring in it. Yum. The drive itself was beautiful since it was a perfectly clear day and we headed through the Dalles. I had also contacted the woman me and Pat have talking to about puppies and she was nice enough to let us stop by so that we could meet her and her Frenchies. They were freaking adorable! There was one named Frodo that I absolutely wanted to steal.

[[ lunch stop at wild ride. one of the best pastrami sandwiches i have ever had. beautiful views on our drive. PUPPIES!!! ]]

After we were done we headed the rest of the way to Hood River (crossing a toll bridge from Lyle Washington) and waiting for the ok from Alex to sneak over to the house we rented. Tone was definitely surprised to see us, so it worked out perfectly. Once we settled in we headed to Pfriem for dinner and drinks. They take influence from Belgium, and their food is some of the best "pub" food I have had. Me and Pat shared the mussels and their fried chicken. While the other two got a burger and said it was one of the best they had ever had. From there we went back to the house (just a few blocks away) and us girls crushed the boys at beer pong.

[[ dinner at pfriem. ]]

Saturday we woke up to some seriously gloomy skies and tons of rain, but that didn't stop us from exploring the town. We ate breakfast at the house, grabbed umbrellas, and headed out. We decided to hit up wineries first, and started at Naked (where we are members). They were pouring us so many tastes that we ended up staying there for a long time and then wanted to switch to beer after, so I wouldn't say we really took full advantage of the region in that category. After Naked we walked over to Full Sail and enjoyed some lunch in their heated patio before wandering further down the street to Double Mountain for a taster tray and a few pints. At this point we weren't quite hungry yet, or ready to head back to the house already, so we ended up at a place called River City where we played darts, had some more beers, and eventually shared some wings, nachos, and tater tots (the stereotypical "i've been drinking all day" order). It was late at this point, so we started our long journey home on foot, and then called it a night.

[[ saturday shenanigans: exploring hood river in the rain. naked winery. tony being fancy since its his bday. hey look, we found a train to pose with! lunch and silliness at full sail. taster trays at double mountain. river city, our final stop for drinks and darts. the end of the night sure was funny. ]]

On Sunday we checked out of the house and wandered around in search of a place to grab brunch and watch the Seahawks game. Unfortunately we wound up at a place called Big Horse Brew Pub, which was absolutely TERRIBLE. Not only was the food bland and just overall not right, but the prices were on the spendy side, so it was a total waste of a morning. Also, while we were there the Seahawks were just playing like garbage, so we were ready for a change of scenery. Oddly enough almost no places in Hood River actually have TV's, so we headed back to River City where we promptly found a nice table where we could see the game. At this point we were very disheartened to learn that they had an affordable brunch that sounded delicious, because we had already eaten our fill of crap food. Now we know better. Our waitress, overhearing us, even acknowledged how terrible that place is and apologized that we had wound up there first. Not only was this place a much better change of scenery, but the Seahawks ended up making the most insane comeback I have ever seen, and Alex, who is from Seattle, was super excited.

The energy in the bar ended up being really fun after that win (naturally), so we lightened up quite a bit and decided to head back to Double Mountain to grab one last beer and some pizza for dinner. As it turns out, our waitress from River City was now working a night shift at Double Mountain and when she recognized us she gave us free beers to make up for our morning. Score.

At this point Alex and Tony decided they didn't feel like driving back to Salem and booked a hotel room, and though that was tempting, we still said our goodbyes and headed home.

[[ sunday views of the cute little town. alex and tony anxiously watching the game. old buildings, vintage signs. back to double mountain before taking off. ]]