Mom made paella this week. Not my favorite. There was much grumbling about the price of saffron and questions like, do I think other kids’ moms make them PAELLA?
We went to Hood River this week/weekend. This is the view (sorta) from our campsite.
The first night, I explored the Columbia River,
while Dad got out and did some windsurfing.
The next day we went for a run and then out to a u-pick farm. I picked cherries…
2.3 pounds of cherries, which I ate most of, …
and pet some animals.
After cherry picking, it was back to the river for some windsurfing and rock climbing.
The next day we hiked to the Tamanawas Falls.
We hiked BEHIND the falls! It was cool (figuratively and literally).
After the hike we dropped Dad off at the river and Mom and I headed to the pump track. We had it all to ourselves.
On Saturday we rode the 8 Mile Creek Loop. I believe we may have disturbed some Ewoks.
Afterwards, we had lunch by the Hood River.
Then some more wind surfing followed by a birthday dinner at Ferment. They had tasty beers (and marionberry lemonade) and food.
I had the salmon burger – alaskan salmon patty, sweet chili sauce, bread and butter pickles, and cabbage slaw.
The Bigs had falafel wraps – hummus, herbed tahini sauce, cucumber, mixed greens, pickled veggies, flatbread – and fried brussel sprouts with soy vinegar sauce. Everyone was happy!
Then it was off to meet Kaelia (Griffin, Jay’s daughter) for ice cream at Mike’s.
Some pics of Mount Hood from the ride home.
Now that we are home, it’s time to get serious about making music! Check out the ukulele I bought myself with my allowance.
I just go and go (and jibber jabber and jibber jabber). Nan and Pop kept right up. Check out Nan’s soccer moves!
Silly, Pop you think you can out run me wearing flip flops?!
Pop wanted to take us to a nice dinner. The Bigs suggested the The Midtown Yacht Club. Sounds fancy, right?! It’s a food truck pod. Pop was not amused.
Pop and I made bread. I usually try to avoid recipes, but our loaves turned out great. Maybe I’ll start using more recipes – did The Bigs just sigh with relief?!
We also went paddle boarding on the Deschutes River.
Pop, follow me…
On Saturday we rode our bikes around Cultus Lake and stopped for a dip…
I play tennis now. Getting the feel for things on the backboard:
See if any of you tennis experts out there can identify what went wrong here:
We went to the Midtown Yacht Club food truck pod for a belated Father’s Day dinner out (Thanks, Nan and Pop!):
Afterwards, we went to Bonta for Gelato:
It has been hot in Bend. Really hot. We went to the coast for a few days to escape the heat. We stayed along the North Umpqua River on the way to the coast. It was hot there too, but we stayed cool in the river all afternoon.
I got to bike along the river to get to our swimming spot:
The next morning we headed to the beach. We had a beautiful beach all to ourselves at Yoakam Point:
I dug in the sand and ran in and out of the waves for hours. It took me a little while to warm up to the waves:
We camped near the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area:
Our campsite had a great climbing tree:
The Dunes were amazing:
I’m the little speck in the middle of this photo (the Bigs were hanging back to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet):
Jumping down the dunes was the best:
The next day started off a little foggy and windy, so we went to Sea Lion Caves, a tourist trap that the Bigs have always driven by, because they were too cheap to go in. It was awesome! (The Bigs agreed with that assessment.)
Check out what I’m wearing. It was 110 degrees in Bend when this photo was taken:
Next, we went for a five-mile walk along a beautiful beach.
The beach ended at a cliff.
And, tide pools!
After the walk, it was construction time. I built a sand/rock/driftwood house:
To top off another great day at the beach: roasted marshmallows!
When we headed home the next day, I was just a little tired:
Thursdays are bike-class days:
On Saturday, I got to ride with Isaac again:
Sunday, was the Fourth of July. After a paddle board on the river, Nan and Pop showed up!
