Teri and I go to Hood River

Last Sunday we drove from Portland, up along the Columbia River, to the Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River. The hotel is perched on a cliff above the river with a spectacular view of the river and all the windsurfing and other water activities. From there, we drove out into the country. The scenery in Hood River valley is so beautiful it’s indescribable. We could look in front of us and see Mt. Hood and in back of us was Mt. Adams. I can’t think of anyplace else where you could have such views. We drove to where I once lived and where we used to go and visit my folks with the girls. We drove into the yard of my old home, and it looked so much smaller and not at all like I remembered it. I thought we had a big lawn, but it just wasn't there anymore. It was fun to see my old home, but also sad in a way. I like it better when I dream about it which I do quite often. I dreamt recently about sliding down our stairs that went up to the bedrooms. I was sitting on the stairs and sliding down on my butt, hitting each stair on the way down. We didn’t have television then, so I had to make up fun things to do. Did I think that was fun? We crossed the Hood River and drove around the east side of the valley, stopping at fruit stands along the way. I took the picture of Teri by the side of the road with Mt. Hood in the background. Both Teri and the mountain are beautiful, and the weather was perfect.

The food at the hotel was delicious and plentiful. We had champagne and caviar one afternoon, but I passed on the caviar. Who would eat that strange stuff? Teri ate mine. The farm-style breakfast they have is so good but there’s so much. I wonder if people get fat if they stay there very long. Monday we decided I needed a hair cut, so Teri asked the two young women at the desk if there were any salons in town that might be open. One said that they might not be open on Monday, but there was one up next to the Safeway store in the mall up the road that would be open. So Teri says, “We’re not going to some shitty shop on some strip mall!” Those girls didn’t know with whom they were dealing – TERI’S BACK IN TOWN! So we were off to find a salon downtown, which we did, and I had my hair cut by a distant cousin whom I met for the first time! I’m related to many, many people up there.

At night we timed it so we could watch the “Rescue Me” rerun which I had already seen several times, but once is never enough for me. On Monday we watched “The Closer” which is always good. And other times there were always “L&O” reruns.

Teri was on her Blackberry constantly. I’d see her little thumbs clicking along doing who knows what. I don’t know the Blackberry. In the car, in stores and on the street she’d be answering calls and even having conference calls! She did a conference call while driving! I wanted to make a citizen’s arrest, but there was no way to report it. I do have a cell phone but barely know how to use it. So I did nothing.

On Tuesday we drove around to the south side of Mt. Hood and picked up Harry who had been at a snowboarding camp for the week. I guess he had fun, but I think he liked the skate boarding the best. Teri went in his cabin and told me to wait outside. When she came out she said it stunk! It housed a bunch of pre-teen and teen-age boys who probably never showered after working out all day! It must have been a pit! I asked Harry to stand by me and look like he really loved me so Teri could take our picture which she did.

This was a wonderful several days I spent with Teri, and I loved every minute of it. Thank you, Teri, and I love you a whole lot!

Next I’ll write about Cindy and what she did in our absence while she was babysitting my tomatoes at the compound.