Sammy-free and Lavender Valley

With sammies safe at Lu Ann's, we decided to spend time at the beach. I spent the morning walking the board walk and cooling off in the Columbia River while Staff kited.

  

A comfy place to rest carved from rock.

A small inlet off of the river is dedicated just for swimmers, no kiters or wind-surfers.  Creating an  "inlet" is key because the river's current is often so strong that it wouldn't be safe for the average non-Olympian swimmer.

This is the wind-surfer side of the beach.  Kiters stay on your side!

Windsurfers were of all ages, many in their 70's and up. I hope to be as active as they are some day.

Off went my love kiting...

Lots of wall space and benches (or as my mother refers to them, "Nana benches") are available for resting and watching the river.

     

Later I stopped at the Visitor Center to find the exact location of our beloved Lavender Valley because when we dropped doggies off at Lu Ann's, we hadn't noticed any signs for Lavender Valley along the road.  That's because it had moved to the famous "fruit loop."

Hilly fruit loop

Bikers on the fruit loop.

Lavender Valley is famous for its beautiful perfect rows of blooming lavender plants. We discovered it on our last visit to Hood River, and I was excited to snap some more photos of the bees doing their amazing bee work on those delicate,  fragrant purple flowers.  The last time we visited I was in a picture-taking frenzy, the beautiful vistas were hypnotic.

After a few wrong turns on the fruit loop and what seemed like way too long, we stumbled upon the newly located Lavender Valley.  One look told us this was nothing like the place we remembered.  Staff busted out laughing, while I hopped out of the car in disbelief.  These shabby barely purple plants were nothing like the glorious ones I had seen before.  Furthermore, there was no "Lavender Loo," the purple port-a-potty.  Big disappointment. They still had a lavender store, but it wasn't owned by the same family.  In fact, there was exactly one very distracted teenager behind the counter in the new tiny store. She said the plants were not in full bloom yet. Oh, well. At least they still had lavender foot balm. Worth it!!

Compare this year's Lavender Valley, to four years ago...