Well, it was my birthday last week and now I am 31! Don’t worry guys, there is life after 30!
I’ve never done a post specifically for my birthday, but I had such a great weekend celebrating it that I thought I would try and put something together.
First off, I love my birthday. Not because I like to have all eyes on me, but because I love the excuse to get all my favorite people together and celebrate. I feel like birthdays are a good excuse to go do something you have never done, or travel somewhere new. Last year, for my 30th birthday, I somehow convinced most of my friends to travel down to Bend, Oregon! We spent the weekend drinking delicious beers (Bend is known for its breweries), swimming in the Deschutes River, and hanging out at Bend’s amazing summer festival! It was a bit of a trek (I still get shit for it), but we all ended up having an amazing time together.
This year, Nick, my sister, brother-in-law, and I took a trip in the van (by the way, Nick and I bought a camper van!!!) down to Hood River, Oregon! None of us had ever been, but I’ve always heard great things about it, and we have been itching to take the van on a trip.
Guys, it was amazing. Hood River, like Bend, is known for its breweries (notice a theme here? We are huge beer people). I booked a little cabin in the woods for Kiersten and Austin (sister and brother-in-law) to stay in, and Nick and I stayed in our van. We went in to town Friday evening after we got settled, and watched live music at the River City Saloon. If you are looking for a dive bar with great food, I highly suggest this spot. Everyone was really nice, they had a good beer selection, and I’m always a sucker for good live music.
On Saturday we grabbed brunch at the Historic Hood River Hotel. The food and drinks were amazing, and the space was so cute! If we weren’t in the van, I would have definitely loved to have stayed there. After brunch we hit up Big Horse Brew Pub to sample their beers and watch the Russia vs Croatia world cup game (oh my god, it was so stressful!). The brewery was in what looked like a huge old house, and had an incredible view of the whole town with the Columbia River in the background.
After Big Horse, we headed down to the Columbia River to watch the kite boarders, and take a swim. The river was cold, but so refreshing in the 90 degree weather! It was great to lay out in the sun as well, the weather in Seattle has been a little dreary for summer, and the chance to enjoy some hot weather was probably one of my favorite parts about the weekend.
My favorite brewery that we visited was definitely pFriem Family Brewers. I see them a lot around Seattle, but they are based out of Hood River. Visiting a brewery’s taproom is always so much better than just finding them around town, there are always special beers, and brews that you just can’t find anywhere else. The Fraise was by far my favorite beer of the day, just look at this description;
“pFriem Fraise is created by blending our barrel aged, Lambic-inspired ale with extraordinarily fresh, Hood strawberries. With crimson hues akin to a wild fire sunset, aromas of rose, raspberries and lemonade, with tart notes of berries, and kiwi, Fraise is memorable indeed!”
Thats my kind of beer!
Anyways, I had intentions of doing other things with this post, but I think I shall save them for another day because this has gotten really long! Long story short is, if you’re thinking of visiting Hood River, you should definitely go for it! Its a great town, with so many fun things to do and see!