This past Fall, while I was laid up with a broken foot, I spent a little bit too much time on Zillow and ended up buying a house.  This will undoubtedly become my best excuse – “sorry, I have to go fishing, otherwise I might buy another house”!  

Anyway, we had been thinking about buying a vacation property in Oregon for almost a decade.  Initially I thought of the Oregon coast, or the McKenzie River, but over time we have really grown to love the Columbia Gorge.  It is one of those unbelievably scenic places, where the view in any direction looks like a postcard, but whose majesty can never be truly captured in a photograph.

The View From Our Kitchen Sink

The Gorge is also relatively “close” to Honolulu.  Hawaiian Airlines offers daily direct flights to the Portland Airport which is only about an hour drive from Hood River.  Of course, the Columbia River is also home to some of the best carp fishing I know of.

A Small, Late-Summer Carp in the Weeds

Early in the year we closed on a small property between Hood River and The Dalles.  Our hope is to visit once or twice a year and to make it available to friends and family as well.  We are also working towards opening it up as a short-term vacation rental.

Our goal this summer was simply to make the new place livable.  With some long days, multiple trips to Ikea and an unreasonable amount of help from my parents, we were able to achieve our goal with one full day to spare on our trip.

The house is only a short drive from civilization (i.e. Home Depot and the nearest brewery) but it is definitely in the country.  We have a well and septic tank.  Horses are brought to graze in the pasture next door.  Deer often visit our yard to eat wild rose hips.  The last post office closed down in 1916 and the lone Poke-stop is at the Baptist church down the road.  The Columbia River is less than a mile away…. did I mention the carp?