Day 5 – 7/12/25 (Saturday) Hood River

 First breakfast in dining room rather than buffet. 

 

Also going through the first of 8 locks on the river: Bonneville Lock and Dam built in 1937. Quick passage and beautiful scenery. Before arriving in Hood River, we had the second lecture about the Lewis and Clark expedition – from the Mandan Camp to the Pacific, the area we were visiting. We arrived in Hood River around 12:30 pm and saw many wind surfers near the port area. Hood River is supposedly a capital of windsurfing because of its unique windy conditions. It's also known for its wineries, breweries, fishing and hiking. First we were taken by bus to the WAAAM Air & Auto Museum, which has one of the largest collections of still-flying antique aeroplanes and still-driving antique automobiles in the country. It’s a huge place and the collection is amazing. All planes are in flying condition and look like new. Planes from the 1930 are the most beautiful flying objects ever built (Bo’s opinion). Then we went to explore the little town of Hood River. On the way we learned about the agriculture of the area. It started with apple orchards, but when frost killed most of the apples, they had to diversify and started growing more resistant pear. Now, this area grows most of the Anjou pears in the world (?!). After pears, they also introduced cherries and grapes that are doing very well (hence the wineries). 

The town is very cute with lots of nice stores, cafes, restaurants, galleries, etc, but we couldn’t walk for a long time because it was very hot (about 90F). Back on the ship by 5 pm to cool down.

Social score: Breakfast – win – interesting couple from Wisconsin

Lunch - - neutral – unremarkable couple from Florida

Dinner - win – Fun and very attractive couple from Tampa, FL but she was a southern belle from Tennessee 

Entertainment: a very talented female singer











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