I have easily passed through Hood River 100 times.  I kid you not, I have driven back and forth to Eastern Oregon and Portland for nearly 18 years now.  We did discover the quaint downtown and for a while our stop included the Taco del Mar.   I know, why would a foodie stop there??  It was easy and the place was so quaint, it was a fun stop, and always guaranteed fast.  Every time we drove in and back out, I would look around and just want to take my time.  But with 6 hours still ahead or 6 hours behind you, stopping to look was not an option.

Finally last summer I met up with a friend and we stopped in Hood River.  We had the the most amazing meal and I decided the next time we came through we would stop as a family and enjoy.  And we did!!  That was the stop that made me want to come back for a weekend.

So here we are 3 months later enjoying Hood River.  Before we even entered the town we enjoyed hours of hiking and sightseeing and photography.  Not that I am good at photography, but I just wanted to remember it all.  The day was beautiful and we managed all 3 meals outside in the sun.

The weather the second day was bad and we sat inside Doppio Coffee shop, reading and relaxing.  I had found this place online, before we even got here.  When we went out the first day I forgot to take my list of coffee shops to try and that didn't seem to matter, we ended up here anyways.

The bed and breakfast was good.  I am not a bed and breakfast person, but no complaints.  I was hoping for a little protein for breakfast, but the homemade scones did not disappoint.  The room, although small, suited it's purpose on that sunny day.

It seems that there is always something to do in Hood River.  This day was no exception.  As we began to walk around we noticed that the roads were blocked off.  After asking around we realized that there would be a Crit bike race.  This sounded intriguing, so we began to look for a place to sit and watch.  We knew the race was going to start right around lunch time, so we started walking the 1k course to find a place to sit.  We stumbled upon Double Mountain Brewery, which was also on my lists of places to try.  We walked in and the owner/manager (not sure which) told us to go into the other room, where a garage door was wide open and tables were pushed up to the edge.

Double Mountain Brewery is great.  The pizzas were amazing, and the beer was even better.  The thing I really love about beer and breweries is you can sample until you find one you like, then they pour you a big glass knowing you are happy.  This place was no different.  I sampled 3 kinds.  She told me I HAD to try all 3, so I did.  And just like they hoped, I was completely happy and ready for more!!

As the rain began to come down, we sat there, fully covered, yet outside, with the best view of the race.  How do we know it was the best view?  The whole time people walked by the said "wow, you have the best seats here."  We smiled, sipped our beer and hoped they would keep moving, as to not block our great view.

Between the hiking, the breweries, and the bike race we just got a taste of what Hood River has to offer the outdoorsy person.  It is after all the windsurfing capital of the world.  Along with all kinds of other water sports, the close mountain for ski or boarding, and mountain biking there is never a dull moment in Hood River.

Check out the Romantic Side of Hood River

My hope is to stay at the Columbia River Gorge Hotel  or Bonneville Hot Springs.  Let's see if I can pull this off with a very small price tag.  We have chose this location for 2 reasons. 1) It's only a little over an hour away and 2)I have always wanted to spend some time in Hood River.  It's an up and coming food, wine and beer mecca and I want to experience it, all of it.  Often times the best places for people to vacation are right in your backyard, but we all choose to fly to someplace better.  Well, not this time.

Day 2 – I worked on it a lot yesterday and we finally came up with The Villas at Columbia River Gorge Hotel.  My husband has always wanted to stay there and it does look amazing.  The price for one night was around $250, but we managed to get it for $169 a night.

This is the crazy part, let me share with you how we got this deal.  We found it online at Hotels.com or priceline.com.  Even though we had seen it there we called the Hotel directly and asked about the price.  The guy said yes, he could do that price and he could also upgrade us to a better room, but it didn't stop there he also threw in wine tasting for both of us that evening.

I really thought the days of calling the Hotel to ask for a better price were long gone.  I guess it never hurts to ask, then beg, then plead a little.

I know what you are thinking, $169 is not a budget vacation, but it is our 20th so we do have this splurge.

We are only staying there one night.  We are going to spend the next day in downtown Hood River because there are lots of shops, eateries ( I like to eat), breweries and wineries.  I want to take it all in.  Don't worry, when I get back I will give you all the details of the places to go and things to see.  Plus the place we are looking to stay is a little cheaper, but not much. Hood River must be the place to be.

Hood River also has the Fruit Loop, tons of hiking in the Gorge, and a mecca for wind surfers and kite boarders. Most times we just pass through on the freeway, stopping for lunch or making a day trip nearby for a great hike, but we have never stayed and enjoyed Hood River.

Check out the Romantic Side of Hood River and the Outdoorsy Side of Hood River

Our Day trip started out at Crown Point, this can be easily access (if leaving Portland and heading East) by taking the Corbet Exit.

Crown Point has a great view, but be warned it's very windy up there.  We stopped for a moment just to take in the view.  Luckily the visitor center was open and we were able to look from there. We were then given this nifty map of all the Falls that were to follow.

1.  Latoruell Falls ~ The parking lot is right off the road and you can hike either up or down to see the falls.  We always hike down because you can walk right up to it and cross a bridge right by it.  It will take less than 5 minutes to get to the falls.  You can see it immediately and that path is paved, bumpy, but paved.

Latourell Falls

2.  Bridal Veil Falls ~  This one is a short hike from the car, because we were in a hurry we weren't able to make the effort.  There will always be next time though, right??  If you were on 1-84 at this point you would see Bridal Veil and all that is there is a little tiny post office.  Lots of locals go there just to mail their wedding invitations.

3.  Wahkeena Falls ~ This is one of my favorites.  Again you park at the bottom of the Falls.  You could, if you really wanted too, just stay in your car and look at this falls.  You can take a quick switch back trail that will lead you to the middle of the falls.  It's fun, it's easy and it's so beautiful.

Wahkeena Falls

4.  Multnomah Falls ~ One of the top tourist attractions in Oregon.  I have to agree it is spectacular.  There is actually an exit right off I-84 that drops you into their very own parking lot.  The problem with taking the freeway is you don't have access to all the other waterfalls.

5.  Horsetail Falls ~ There is no hiking at all to get to this one, but you can walk down into the water, which is probably nice on a hot summer day.

As you go along this Scenic Highway you see all kinds of trail heads.  Each one is carefully marked with how far each trail is and where they lead too.

So put on your shoes and make your way out to experience the Gorge, you won't be disappointed.