Hood River and the Coast.

This last weekend I went left and then right. Well I went East then West. I drove out to Hood River for the afternoon, well really lunch. I wanted to get out of town so Saturday late morning I fill the car's tank and off I went. The drive is only about one hour and this time I stopped at a view point over looking the Columbia river. I have never been up to this point, but it does have some nice views east and west. I continued on and with in about twenty minutes I was pulling into Hood River. I stopped and the now usual Grind Coffee shop and ordered a coffee and a sandwich. Relaxed while looking out the big front windows and enjoyed the moment. Finished, I walked up the main street and looked in a few shops, I have been in several on past trips up, they have a lot of sports stores.

Windsurfing and Kite boarding are big as is hiking and biking. In winter this is a stopping point for the skiers. After my walk I headed down the the Columbia river to watch some of the kite boarders and windsurfers. The main launching point is a spit of land that juts out into the river, where the Hood River empties into the Columbia. Kiting is now the big thing, but there are still a lot of surfers and this weekend there was a lot. After spending some time there, I needed to head back to town, ,things to do. So I hopped in the car and head back to town, I made good time and soon was approaching Portland.

Columbia River

Sunday brought an urge to get wet. I had seen the windsurfers and I wanted to surf. So I grabbed my board and wetsuit, made my way to the car and strapped in. The drive West is about an hour or so to the coast then a few minutes down to a good spot to surf. This day how ever there was little surf to be had. I drove down to Manzanita and found what I thought to be the best spot. At least there was waves higher than a foot. A quick change and down the sandy beach to the break.

The water wasn't to cold, about 60 I would think. Once in it was no problem, the waves had so little impact that I just cruised out. Unfortunately that meant the waves did have much energy to surf. SO I spend about an hour catch a few small wave and trying to make the best out of them. The cold finally told me to head in and a quit walk up the sand and back to the car. Twenty minutes later I am heading to Cannon Beach, there is a good seafood spot for a quick bite. Then back on the highway for the drive back to town. As always, things to do in town on a Sunday afternoon. But at least I got wet.

Cloudy in the morning at Manzanita Beach