Looking east along the Columbia River Gorge from Vista House at Crown Point
The crowds were plentiful at the Vista House and once we started driving further east on the historic highway, we found ourselves in very slow moving traffic. Being the Sunday before Labor Day, it seemed everyone was out enjoying the lovely Sunday afternoon on the Columbia River. After sitting in traffic for about 30 minutes, we managed to find a parking spot not far from the famous Multnomah Falls. Our short walk brought us to the impressive, 642-ft, two-tiered falls, which are the 2nd highest non-seasonal falls in the U.S. We wanted to hike the 1 mile to the top, but heard from a police officer that tickets were going to be issued to people who parked on the side of the road. Scared we would get a ticket, we quickly enjoyed the view, took a few pictures, and speed-walked back to the car. Since we were able to see that all the cars ahead of where we parked were not moving, we turned around and re-traced our path back to the highway. There was still so much we wanted to see and sitting in traffic, even on a nice day in a pretty area, was not on our day's agenda.
The impressive Multnomah Falls outside Portland, OR
We missed out on a few additional waterfalls along the Historic Highway by taking I-84, but I am glad we did not spend our entire afternoon in traffic. Shortly after leaving Multnomah Falls, we arrived in the town called Hood River, known for it's wind and water-loving patrons. On the water during our visit, there must have been at least 100 people either kite- or wind-surfing. It was fun to watch the beginners and the experts take off from shore and quickly glide through the water as they caught the wind just right. Over the past few months, during several of our trips to the beach, we've watched kite- and wind-surfers and have thought about trying it out. We definitely want to try sailing and surfing, and it would be fun to try other water sports too. We just need to live closer to the water so we can go at any time!
Strolling along the Columbia River in Hood River, OR
Hundreds of kite- and wind-surfers in this outdoorsy town
Before continuing on to Mt. Hood, we enjoyed a sandwich and fresh juice at a local restaurant called Ground, but I didn't get a picture of the meal. The cozy coffee shop was a perfect place to fill up with a satisfying meal on a Sunday afternoon, even if we hadn't done any exercise all morning.
We caught our first glimpses of Mt. Hood from Portland, but our first "up-close" view came just a short time after leaving Hood River. The 11,240-ft mountain stood majestically in front of us for most of the scenic drive to the mountain, and we saw almost all of the sides of the summit as we drove the U-shaped road around the mountain and back to Portland.
Driving to Mt. Hood from Hood River
Once back in Portland, we made our way to Cartlandia, one of the city's many food truck pods. This pod, located in the southeastern outskirts of Portland, had been recommended to us by our airbnb hosts. With about 15-20 food vendors, we expected to have a lot of options, but we were very disappointed in what was available. There was some variety, but a few of the vendors were not open and it was difficult to find a particularly desirable dish. The only highlight of our experience was trying Elk sausage.
The entrance to Cartlandia, a food truck pod on the outskirts of Portland
Colin's tasty Elk sausage
My sub-optimal southwestern pork sandwich
Our very expensive, and very disappointing desserts
Making our way from food truck to food truck
As we drove from Cartlandia to our last night's lodging, which was a heavily discounted Priceline hotel on the eastern side of the Willamette River, we came across another food pod called Cartopia in the very trendy Hawthorne District. Unable to pass up an opportunity to compare food pods, and really wanting a good food pod experience, we stopped and sampled some pizza and dessert. This pod contained only 4 vendors, but the pizza and dessert we ate were so much more appetizing than either of our entrees or desserts at Cartlandia. Colin was most amused by the pizza truck, with it's large stove contained inside.
Pyro Pizza, with its huge stove in the truck
That huge stove at Pyro's makes a very good pizza
The Sugar Cube food truck across the street from Cartopia
We had great plans to go out for a walk after indulging in so much food, but once we checked into the Crowne Plaza-Downtown and realized how late it was, we made the smart choice to pack our bags for our Monday morning flight. To lighten the burden of responsibility, we borrowed the movie, Book of Eli, from the front desk and watched as we packed our things.
The sun setting on our last day in Portland, OR
The down-filled, comfortable king-sized bed and spaciousness of our hotel room felt luxurious after two weeks of camping and staying in airbnb rentals. But, our two weeks in California and the Pacific Northwest would have lacked the social interactions and I would have not appreciated the luxury if not for those experiences. Just as I would not have appreciated so many beautiful, sunny days if we had not also experienced some cold and wet ones.
Stay tuned for the last post about our trip back to North Carolina from Portland. Some of the details will may surprise you!
If you've ever kite- or wind-surfed, tell me about your experience!
Where is the best food pod or food truck?
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