Not long after my sister Maggie and I spent the day exploring the coast of Oregon, we were off again. For a few hours we would leave behind my sister’s sadness at the passing of her husband. It would be a relief, too, to leave behind the weight of COVID on lives not different then ours. We drove out of Portland with hearts set on the farmlands of Hood River and the Hood River Farm Loop. https://www.hoodriverfruitloop.com/
And oh, what a beautiful day it was! If I sound sentimental about it, well, I was. It had been over ten years since I last made the ride along the mighty Columbia River that takes you to Hood River. We caught Hwy I-84 and hugged the river through the area known as the Gorge for one and a half hours. And there we were…Hood River. You can’t miss it. The town is in plain view from the highway.
I have so many good memories of past excursions here. Once, a Saturday in June, I was with my daughter and a friend when we picked buckets of cherries. Another time in the Fall we went to the Apple Harvest https://visithoodriver.com/harvest-fest/ and were invited by a local to visit his apple farm. On another occasion, I stayed with Michael at a bed and breakfast for a weekend in the late summer. And there is always the possibility that I’ll return someday for wine tasting (http://www.hoodrivertours.com/list.htm). Or maybe it will be for tea at the Columbia River Gorge Hotel (https://www.columbiagorgehotel.com/).
So Hood River had been in my thoughts for some time, but when Covid came, it was pushed back again. For the second time, it was my sister’s idea to go.
Mt. Hood and the Farmlands of Hood River
Searching for Cherries
We were driving around the loop, looking for a farm that might have cherries to pick. No cherries at the first farm, but the peaches were ripe on the trees. Saved the peach picking for a later date but did get a peach pie that some lovely ladies were baking. We could see them at work in a kitchen through large glass windows at the back of the gift shop. It had to be the best peach pie, as only Oregon can do it. I also picked up a pamphlet with a map of all the farms we could visit on the loop. Before leaving we got a peach smoothie. Check the photo out below and notice Mt. Adams (not Mt. Hood) beside the smoothie. Mt. Adams is north of the Columbia River, in the state of Washington.
More Farms
And still looking for those cherries! (I couldn’t come to terms with it: cherry season was over.) But, hey! We did get a lot of peaches and they don’t get much better than the peaches of Oregon!
And Lavendar Fields
The fields were abuzz! These were the bees, all drunk on lavender. No one else seemed to be worried about bees, so we weren’t either. (Well, I was faking it since I was stung before in dahlia fields).
In the end we didn’t get to pick cherries from the trees. But we did buy cartons of cherries and brought them home. Like everything grown in this cornucopia, they were perfect.
*For another of our first of three escapes while I was in Oregon in July, check here: https://roadtosuchness.comthree-capes-scenic-loop-oregon/ for the Oregon Coast.
