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. ]]

my week in pictures 83 christmas week :: part 2

friday 12/26 - sunday 12/28

After Christmas we stayed in Portland for the weekend and ran around town. On Friday we did a little beer tasting on the Eastside, which lead us to HUB, Ecliptic, Storm Breaker, and Prost! for some German varieties.

[[ my dad's cat uno in all of his glory. beer tasting: hub for lunch with the fam. ecliptic. stormbreaker. pretty east side street mural. wandering around. lion?! sampling german beers at prost. watching rudolph, our final christmas movie of the year. ]]

On Saturday we went out wine tasting with Megan, her little sister Anna, and boyfriend. It was a super rainy and gloomy day, but the fog and raindrops were actually really beautiful. We went through Carlton and Dundee visiting Selena, Du Ponte, Seven of Hearts, Domaine Serene (where we tried their $75 bottle of chardonnay and then bailed because they were blatantly ignoring us), and Stoller. We wanted to hit a few more in Carlton, but most of their tasting rooms were closed for some reason. 

[[ rainy day. salena. beautiful mural. wandering around in carlton. du ponte in the old fire building. seven of hearts. megan being zoidburg. beautiful fog rolling in thick. domain serene. wooly mammoth? wandering up secret stairs like rebels. eerie trees. posing at stoller. christmas shot. ]]

After wine tasting we headed back to Portland, freshened up, and then went downtown to dinner with my family. Our table seriously keeps growing and growing every year, and this time there were 13. We went to Irving Street Kitchen again, and as always, the fried chicken and butterscotch pudding were amazing. I also turned everyone on to one of my favorite beers, Duchess de Bourgogne.

[[ dinner at irving street kitchen: pat/me. me/dest/leah. leah/nick. johnathan/tahlia. kain/meagan. jenna/nic. dad/patty. table shot. ]]

On Sunday morning before heading out of town I grabbed brunch and pop rock mimosas with Megan and Tiff at Swift. I also asked Tiff to be my final bridesmaid, and Megan to be my maid of honor. She cried, and it was amazing. Now I have my whole side of the wedding party! All my proper ladies. We should probably get to securing the guys now... After brunch we headed back over the snowy pass to our little home. Another successful Christmas. 

[[ rain drops. sunday brunch at swift: silly menus. pop rock mimosas. eggs over brussles. my favorite ladies. gift exchange. bridesmaids notes. rain to snow on our gloomy but beautiful drive home. ]]