Sakura Ridge - The Farm and Lodge Hood River

Well,

Our trip is finally come to an end. 60 days later we are home! Two solid months of living in the van and driving around the country. It was a great experience, and in fact if we had the chance we would do it again in a heart beat, of course with a few days at home first. We got to see so many great places, and do some great things. Parts of our country are truly remarkable. It was ...

The city of Weed, California that is.

Met up with the rest of the gang at a grease spoon by Highway 97. 7 bikes, two of them two-up and one side-car. Two bikes had an effective range of about ...

Tonight, Kermie and I went to the Riley's Bull Run Party. It is a biker event, a dance, and a fundraiser for the Skyline Hospital Foundation. You pay to get in and everything is included... 16 kegs of beer, 2 bands, a mechanical bull, and motorcycle games for entertainment. It gets better every year and my only complaint is that the dance floor needs to be closer to everything ...

We walked around Timberline Lodge.

I told her about 'The Shining'.

We went to the diner and I had a porter made at Government Camp.

We slept at the lodge.

We used the (very expensive) phone to make plans in Portland, the next few days.

We walked around the timberline and watched skiers.

... through wine country and beautiful forests, catching views of Mt Hood the whole time. Near the base of Mt Hood, we had lunch at Sahale Falls and admired the view. Afterwards we drove up to Timberline Lodge, a beautiful wooden heritage building on Mt Hood. We were much closer to the summit of the mountain from there and were surprised to see snowboarders making their way down runs towards the car park. It was quite high and there was ...

... find somewhere to eat. We ate at 'Brian's Pourhouse'. What a fun little restraurant. It was very busy when we left. And, great food! When we got back to the hotel we walked around a little and took some pictures of the grounds and the view. What a beautiful place! I love it here!

... at it. However, at some of the other falls, especially the ones we had to hike to, we had them all to ourselves--the benefit of traveling in February. Of course, it was pretty chilly, so that's one of the downsides. We enjoyed one of the local pinot noir wines at the Multnomah Falls lodge with lunch. Besides beer, the area is also known for its excellent wines, especially the pinot wines. They love their beer and ...

... the PB one over as well. So we ate two. Wow............. The arcade was super silly and I wasted lots of nickles on House of the Dead, of course. Ski ball is always fun however, and air hockey. I got a silly scull keychain that I lost out on in Sept. and Emily picked up a super ridiculous flashing rubber frog ring. (all from the tickets we won from games) On the way back we saw and picked up Jon's friend Josh who I had seen at a bus stop just the day before as well ...

I was supposed to write this in the days before departing on my grand adventure. However, my poor planning and procrastination made sure I was occupied with more important things such as stocking my first aid kit up until 3 hours before my flight left Portland. So instead, I write this from Quito, after a week on the road. So the very brief synopsis of me and my trip: After nearly 7 years of full-time employment ...