My dad came back to Vancouver for a week so I decided to plan a little road trip for all of us
We were thinking of Reno first but there just isnt enough time to drive to reno and do what we want to do and make it back in 5 days

so we ended up going to the Columbia River Gorge along the border of Washington and Oregon

*Pics*
http://www.sfu.ca/~tdh/columbia_upload/
*pics*

on the 25th, i was still sick with a cough and runny nose. I had a fever the day before so the trip planning wasnt thought out completely
when i finally decided to go on the trip, it was around noon already
so i drove us down to Vancouver Washington that day and stayed in an Inn for the night

next day morning, we skipped visiting portland and tried to go as far east as possible on the I-84 highway on the Oregon side of the river
along the way, we went off I-84 on many offramps to search for scenics along the way and on I-30 (historic columbia gorge highway) and saw a few gorgeous waterfalls

I couldnt help but think of the similarities btwn this drive and the sea-to-sky highway here in BC

we then drove to Hood River and decided to visit a winery
Pheasant Valley winery had excellent Riesling and a very special Hood River Blend of red with 4 types of red
zifendel,.... (cant remember the blend right now)
and this very delightful bottle of Gerwurminer (sp) dessert wine made from white
they also had pear wine but tasted more like juice than wine...

so we bought 10 bottles of wine and drove around the Hood River region to soak in some of the sceneries in the farming area and Mr. Hood

we then crossed the toll bridge @ Hood River region to drive back towards vancouver washington along SR-14 (the north side of the columbia)
we stayed at this lodge called Skamania Lodge
what a beautiful place with really hard 18 holes
its a great place to stay for golf enthusiasts or family getaways
www.skamania.com

for dinner on the 2nd night, we went to this little "Crab Shack" by the river
the front of the building looked terrible but we peaked inside and it looks clean and spacious so we went in for a treat
we ordered seafood/lobster bisque, a dungeness crab, a linguine with scallops, crayfish and garlic sauce

it was absolutely delicious
even when i was sick, i could taste the wonderful texture of the fresh seafood
if i had my nose functioning at that time, i wouldve enjoyed the food even more

the 3rd day, we decided to drive along without stopping much until we get the seattle premium outlet for some shopping
but then we didnt buy much there either

the prizes from this trip are beautiful scenic, the great pictures, the 10 bottles of wine, and the forever wonderful memories of roadtripping with my family

i drove most of the time too in my GS300
it was easy and relaxing with the navigation and good music

thanks to all the guys that helped me plan this trip in the other thread

 

Looks like a great trip! Great pix too!

 

thanks

my dad and i took a lot more pics with our 35mm nikon SLR
when we get the pics developed, ill post more on here

 

awesome hope you had fun

 

I spent a good part of 5 years going through the gorge on long trips for work to Eastern Oregon. A lot of it was in my TL but a good year of it was in my Sti. The Washington side is quite fun at 100 mph+ in an Sti.

 

Nice shots...definitely a place I would like to visit one day.

 

I see you made it to multnomah falls? Great pics, should have thrown a scenary pic with the ride

 

heh thanks
i did take a pic with the ride and the scenic in the background
but it has my family in it so i left it out of the public photo gallery