We had a very busy and fun day celebrating July 4th. Although, it must be confessed, it's 9:30 and everyone is asleep before the fireworks show at 10. We're party poopers. We're exhausted. :)
We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast - made a double batch and the kids pretty much finished them all off - and then loaded up our trusty minivan for the drive to Hood River, out in the Columbia River Gorge. There was a fun small-town parade, complete with old cars, performances, children on bicycles, and horses.
After the parade we visited two playgrounds, very different in style - the first was all wooden and had lots of hiding places and little house structures, and seemed tailor-made for elaborate games of hide and seek or pirates or princesses and evil trolls. The second was very new and had cool climbing walls and nature-themed structures.
After the playgrounds, we went to
Double Mountain brewery for pizza and a tasting flight of beer, and from there walked to Mike's ice cream for some strawberry, chocolate, and mint chip cones. It was our first time in Hood River and we really enjoyed the town - small, but with a lot of food options and good parks. We'll definitely be making a return trip.
We climbed into the minivan and started heading back to Portland, but none of the children fell asleep immediately and so I decided on one last adventure. Elowah Falls in the Gorge has been on my list of highly recommended family-friendly hikes, and so we decided to check it out. It was a pretty spectacular sight for a short hike (0.8 miles one way) and well worth it. The children all took off their shoes and clambered around in the water and on the rocks, a sight that warmed my heart and reminded me of childhood adventures.
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