View of the Columbia River from the Riverside restaurant at Hood River, Oregon
Zef and Min said they had a hard time doing without the card playing for a week while we were with our family in Oregon and they were on their own.
First, they were in some old farmhouse outside Newport, where Min shared ideas on "agri-tourism" with the lady of the house.
Then they were in a little Air Stream camper. Zef said when he tried to take a shower his knees kept knocking the door open.
We headed for the scenic Hood River area and hit afternoon traffic at Portland - a major city.
On a prior Oregon trip, we had gone to the place where the salmon make their annual run. Did not think we were going to see any that earlier time, but suddenly one jumped and Mert let out a gasp. She was delighted as they kepting coming in their ancient upriver migration.
But this time they had seemed to have moved our salmon viewing site. At any rate, we never found it.
In the search we went across a grand bridge over the wide Columbia River. By halfway, we were in the state of Washington. We went along that northern side of the river until we arrived at the spectacle of sailboats just outside the town of Hood River. We drove along the river road, where cars from all over the country were parked.
Then it was across the exceedingly narrow bridge from Washington to Hood River. I feared the whole way that Mert was going to scrape her beautiful red Buick Envision, but she is an excellent driver and managed to avoid a mark.
When we arrived at the end of the bridge we found that they were undergoing a transition to a camera system of charging for the harrowing bridge ride. For the time being - no charge!
But we needed the money for the meal at the Riverside restaurant by a Best Western Plus at Hood River. But definitely worth every penny. The alfredo was the best I had ever had - the waitress said it was the local cheese from Trout River just across the river.
Trout River - it brings back memories of an excellent earlier visit. It's in the wilds at the foot of Mount Adams - a volcanic mass that could still go off. Places to explore at Trout River include the "ice cave" where it's freezing and the odd formations at the "natural bridges."
Lisa and Al hosted us at their modern home overlooing the Columbia, though we never saw them on the night of their arrival. These airbnbs where the hosts are under the same roof seem to be a stealth operation. (But am now informed that Zef caught up with Al, and they had quite the conversation).
Their password is longer than the new Chattanooga mandatory area code, but we again managed to get on in order to deliver this report.
On to Kellogg, Idaho, en route to Yellowstone and the Badlands.