This trip was short and sweet.  We drove the TrailBayser to Hood River, OR which is only about an hour and a half from home.  It is in the Columbia Gorge which is known for its high winds and excellent wind surfing in the spring and summer.  We made plans for this trip with our friends Bob and Sue before we knew that a big storm was forecast for western Oregon and Washington, but we decided to go anyway.  It turned out to be a good decision.  The storm didn't reach as far east as we were and, although it was a wet weekend, we were able to go to the Harvest Fest, take the dogs for good, long walks and enjoy nature at Memaloose State Park.

We arrived mid-day on Thursday and enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner cooked by Bob on his new barbecue grill.  The only excitement was when their dachshund, Gracie, grabbed my steak off of the table and threw it on the floor.  Luckily, they had a spare.  I forgave Gracie and we had a delicious meal.

On Friday we visited Harvest Fest which was held on the banks of the Columbia River.  We had lunch at one of the food carts and visited the exhibits of fruits, vegetables and artsy items.  You can see how big someone had grown a pumpkin above.  Also, Gary is holding one of the largest apples I have ever seen. The tourist area around Hood River is known as the Fruit Loop because of all the orchards and vineyards. Gary bought some jars of jelly, a cinnamon roll and a pie and I was really lucky and found some homemade soap I had been looking for for about six months.  A friend (Jo Ann) had given me a bar of it for an occasion a few years ago but the store had stopped carrying it.  I was so happy to find it and now I have the web page for the artisan.

Saturday was a quiet, wet day so we went to the movies and saw Deepwater Horizon in a theater in The Dalles, OR.  It was intense.  After that we had a nice Italian dinner at Romuls Restaurant in Hood River.

Jazzy did extremely well for her first camping trip.  She was a little nervous and shaky at first, but quickly adapted.

We arrived home a few hours ago and, although there were some tree branches down, our house and yard looked the way they look whenever there is windy weather.