Summer time

 It's July already - time flies while having fun!

We started early June with getting our stairs into our front yard redone to be able to more easily move carts up and down:

Before

After

Michaela had already stained our front and back patios. Don't have great before & after photos on that, but it looks very nice now 😁

Joel arranged a lovely party commemorating my departure from MKS. Quite a few ex-MKS folks made a showing as well, which lent itself to a lot of catching up - good times!

Greg was in town from Austin shortly thereafter, too.

We got our bike racks in mid-June and went on our first biking trip along the historic highway trail with Skittles in tow and gorge-ous views. Plenty of windsurfing was had as well of course, but that's hardly worth mentioning anymore. By the end of June I had already surfed more than in most entire years of the past decade.

After our roof rack arrived, it was finally time to get us some kayaks!

The first test run was at 'the Hook' in Hood River, to ensure everything is working as intended (it did, of course).

A little walk along the historic highway section followed the next morning, this time on the east side of Hood River:

We had lunch at the Gorge White House and - while waiting for our food - did a quick trip to the local Panorama point, taking in the views of Mt. Hood:

The next day was our first kayaking trip with Joe and Larissa starting from Rooster Rock - good times were had. Skittles joined us on the kayaks for the very first time - she did great!

Which brings us to today, where Jacob reached out on short notice wondering if I'd be up for a little hike in the area - which of course I was! We hiked up to Dry Creek Falls:

We also replaced our gas stove with an induction range and the city inspector signed off on our electrical work today (different breaker & wall plug).

Long story short, we are not bored, yet!

Out and about in Hood River

 It's been two and a half months since we moved to Hood River. Since then we had a lot of fun hiking, windsurfing, and trying out the local cafe and restaurant scene. There is so much more to do and see!

View of Hood River with Mt. Hood in the distance

Balfour-Klickitat trail with the Klickitat river in the background

Another day of windsurfing in the Gorge (Rowena)

Whole-in-the-wall Falls

Cabin Creek Falls

First chess game in Hood River with Jacob

Breakfast at Bette's place

Lunch with Corie and Mark (in Beaverton)

Coffee at Doppio's - our favorite coffee place in Hood River

Pizza at Solstice

Mosier Plateau Trail

Mosier Plateau Trail

View of Mt. Adams across the Columbia River 

Our next chapter - part 2

Two months after our move-in most boxes are unpacked, furniture positioned, pictures hanged, and light fixtures replaced. So we can finally share some pictures of the inside of our new home:

Living room

Living room

Kitchen

Kitchen area

Exercise room

Upstairs bedroom

Upstairs couch

Upstairs office