West Coast. Best Coast.
Facts: we are madly in love with the Pacific Northwest. If it weren’t for our friends, family and the nature of Nick’s job… we’d be outta here!
We have taken a couple trips out west. One of our favorites was a trip to Hood River, Oregon this past November. The trip came after a crazy hectic season of our life, so we were looking to relax and unwind a bit. We might be writing this post because we secretly want to relive the trip a little… or maybe we just want to share some of our tips and favorite spots with you! Wink wink.
This trip started out to be anything but relaxing. Our flight was delayed, then cancelled and the Air BnB we planned to stay in for the first half of the trip fell through. Fun times!
We had originally booked an adorable little A-frame cabin in Rhododendron for the first couple of days, and a more contemporary home in Hood River for the back half of the trip.
Sadly, due to the issues with our flight, we weren’t able to stay in the cabin. Moment of silence for the cabin stay that never was.
We got super lucky and discovered The Hood River Hotel which is the most quaint little spot in downtown Hood River, and shacked up there for the first half of the trip.
This was such a charming hotel with so much character and our room came equipped with a beautiful view. When you walk into the lobby you are immediately greeted with a large fireplace and smart decor. The location couldn’t have been better as well. We were able to walk to get bagels and juice in the mornings at Freshies, and there are countless restaurants just minutes away.
My only con…the loo. If you’re a diva like me, bathrooms matter. There were no pictures of the bathrooms on the site, so it was an unpleasant surprise when we saw the size of the bathroom. It was clean, just small and dated. Not a huge issue for the amount of time we were there, but worth a mention when recommending this cozy stay.
While downtown, we stumbled upon a coffee shop/cafe that is definitely worth a mention. We had THE BEST vegan corn curry soup at Doppio Coffee. Everyone who worked there was a dream and everything we ate was fantastic. They even let us sample some of the other homemade soups they were cooking up for the dinner menu. Delicious! After we got all souped up, we set our for an adventure.
The Keys do Multnomah Falls…
Waterfalls are our favorite. We have shared some of our best days and sweetest memories at a waterfall. It’s kind of “our thing” We saw Multnomah Falls on Pinterest a while back and thought it was beautiful. When we realized how close it was to Hood River, we lost it. Hands down, the most epic waterfall visit to date. If you’re in the area, this is a must see. It is incredibly easy to get to and requires no hiking skills or effort.
Another highlight from the falls were the leaves. We were there mid November and they were beautiful. There were tons of fallen leaves that were enormous. Larger than my head. Yes, I know this because I checked. We tried to take some with us {sometimes we do hoarder type things} but lets just say they didn’t travel well.
As mentioned, we booked an AirBnB for the second half of the trip. Ironically, it was about a mile or two from the hotel, so that ended up working out really well. I would highly recommend this home. The view was insane. Needless to say, this was the part of the trip where the relaxation portion of the trip truly commenced.
We stopped by a local grocery store on our way up to the house to stock up on all the snacks and hunkered down for a couple days. We played cards, binge watched Schitts Creek and ate… ALOT! Can we talk about this view??
We legit only left the house a handful of times. One night, we went to grab pizza in Hood River at a really cool spot, Solstice Pizza. Great atmosphere and such a wonderful staff. I’m still dreaming about the Country Girl Cherry pizza we ordered. We also got the Cremini pizza and I low-key wish we would’ve tried the Siragusa Pear pizza as well. It was all so delicious.
On our way back to the house, we saw a Goodwill in downtown Hood River. If you know us, you know we’ve never met a Goodwill we didn’t like. Naturally, we swerved right on in there. Pro tip: if you are a sneaker head, like moi, go to ALL the thrift stores in that area. I snagged 2 pair of Nikes and some high top Adidas that are all practically brand new AND at Goodwill prices. Hellerrrrrr!! {Don’t tell Nicholas, but the shoes may or may not have been the highlight of the trip}
Nick also scored the most incredible pair of pants at the Goodwill (real talk…they are actually extree large women’s Chico’s pants. Dead dot com) I mean, right?
Ladies, get you a man that can pull off a women’s trouser… If you’re into that sort of thing.
Ironically, on the very last day we were there, the clouds rolled out and we realized that Mt. Adams, over on the Washington side of the gorge, was also in the sight line from the house we rented. It was such a bummer that we didn’t actually get to see it until the day we were leaving. Since it cleared up, we were also able to get great views of Mt. Hood on our way out. It was absolutely breathtaking!
This trip was so incredible. We had a few bumps along the way, but that’s to be expected when traveling these days. We can’t wait to head west again in the future.
What about you? Have you ever been to Hood River? The PNW? If not, we definitely suggest it. Any recommendations on another Oregon destination for our next trip out that way?
