what we did in hood river

It seems like forever ago that we took our vacation to Hood River, and I have been wanting to do a follow-up post ever since the vacation house tour. However, my SD card completely broke and I lost all my pictures from our vacation. 

I really wanted to document and remember all we did, so I decided to use the less-than-impressive photos from my phone. Ugh. None the less....

The day we arrived we got Thai for lunch from a food cart we had heard about. I have to be honest and say that the food was not the best Thai I have ever had, but eating it on the back deck of the vacation rental in the sunshine with views of the river made it feel special. 

Then the kids and I headed to the downtown area of Hood River where all the cute shops are located. Lane went to buy an SD card (the very one that just broke, in fact) because I forgot to bring one and was dying to start taking pictures of the house.

We ventured down to G. Willikers Toy Shop and spent almost two hours just playing around with all the toys and gadgets they had there.

That night we went to Brain's Pourhouse for dinner. We sat outside under the twinkle lights and watched passers-by. Lane and I both had their amazing fish tacos. The kids both got something off the kids menu, but the portions were huge! The leftovers served well as lunch the next day.

The following morning we had a late brunch at Pine Street bakery. Everything we ate there was fabulous and the coffee was also good.

Then we headed to the Children's Park which has a ginormous wooden play structure and a sand box (my kid's love language, next to popsicles). It was two blocks from the house we stayed at, so it was the perfect activity to wear them out before rest/nap time.

That afternoon we went to the water front play area. All the play equipment was so cool- not the typical plastic play structures you find at every park. Instead there was a huge climbing rock, large musical instruments, spinning chairs, tunnels, and a slide that went down a little hill. 

There was also a sandy beach area where James immediately took off his shoes and hopped into the water. 

What happened next cannot be described as anything other than "frolicking". James ran back and forth, leaping and frolicking in the water. I think he would have continued all evening if we had let him.

But we went back to the rental house, cleaned up (insert adorable picture of James and Eleanor in the claw foot tub together... darn you SD card...), and went to Double Mountain Brewery for dinner. The wait was long, but the food was delicious. According to Lane, so was the beer. Sigh.

The next day we again headed to Pine Street and the Children's park, then reluctantly packed up and headed home. I can't wait to go back and have already been planning our next trip.

If you are interested, here is the wonderful vacation home we stayed at, on VRBO.

Have you vacationed in Hood River? What are your suggestions for the next time we return?

Ashley