"Get Away"...09/19/11

Maureen and Pat

A fun trip to Hood River...Pat and I left Joseph Friday morning headed for Hood River, to visit Pats sister, Maureen...Pat and Maureen's  parents bought an orchard there in the 1940's and raised their three daughters and one son...We arrived Maureen's around 3pm, and helped her finish putting together a dinner for us and two other couples that would join us for dinner and "The Cemetery Tales"...A production put on by the History Museum, as a fund raiser... "Cemetery Tales" took place in the Idlewilde Cemetery... Starting at dusk, luminaries lighting our way, we, along with a small group of people, walked to chosen grave sites...Seated in folding chairs, we quietly listened to narratives, given by local actors and actresses as they portrayed the people who lay beneath each headstone...Each giving a brief history of their journey to Hood River and their contribution to the community... It was an interesting and entertaining evening as each actor, in period costume, took us back in time and we could each relate to the stories, as all of our ancestors migrated to the West at sometime.

Della and Pat

Saturday, after a lovely breakfast fixed by Maureen we started out to tour Hood River, driving by schools, houses, orchards and sledding hills...Up and down the lush green hills and valley we went...all the while they were telling me stories of their childhood growing up in Hood River and working in the family orchard...we were given pears from their old orchard to bring back to Joseph, stopped at the "White House" where we tasted wine, bought fruit at a local produce stand, had lunch at their favorite Chinese restaurant owned and operated by friends of the family...we visited the Art Museum down town where Maureen is a charter member, walked along the river in a new park, dedicated to local people, browsed a funky book store and later in the evening had a lovely dinner at the "Stonehedge" restaurant... Sunday morning we left Hood River at 9:30am on our way back to Joseph...More tomorrow...~OWAV:)