Hood River, OR

Hood River is a hippie town, a combination of downtown Santa Cruz (where I went to school) with the mountains, the Colorado river, and wine country, sitting under a snow-covered volcano.

That tattoo says "I got Naked." It's from the "Naked Winery" where I had a wine tasting.
Sorry for the crappy photo. I'll do better next time.

This town is the town that reflects everything inside me, at least, everything I want to be. It is ecologically conscious, politically active (or at least vocal), organic and veggie-oriented, filled with good wines and beers, between the woods and the water. I had friends years ago who moved to this very town and convinced their family to move with them. I long lost contact with them, so have not met up with them while here. Too bad. I can picture moving here, spontaneously, and making them neighbors again.

Last night, I had the most amazing pizza. I didn't describe it in my last post, because I was so drop-dead tired from driving 370 miles, the longest stretch I have made on this trip. I was ready to be in a Blue State, to be in a liberal area with local foods, fresh salads and all. You don't know how much you will miss these things until they are gone (or scarce). My pizza was a wheat crust with toppings of butternut squash, bacon, blue cheese, and parmesan. It was so amazing and rich, I could only have two pieces before taking the rest home.

Today, I went into town and had local wine, and a beautiful salad with iced, free-trade coffee. It is warm and sunny (first day to use the 70 spf sunscreen). Tonight, I will sleep in Portland, and tomorrow, I will see the Art Museum, the History Museum, and the Craft Museum there. It is a lot of museums for one day, but I can handle it. :)