Lutesen 99er Weekend

This year was the first year Shawn had the boys join him on the Lutsen mountain bike race.

We camped at Lamb's Resort as we have in the past years. We were able to secure the same waterfront site as last year and set up the pop up successfully in the dark. Definitely not the easiest thing, but Shawn's a master-parker.

Race morning was pretty chilly and made for a tough start, especially for Logan (he was so cold, they had to stop and pull out rain jackets to warm him up). Ryder ended up riding ahead of Shawn and Logan on his own the majority of the race to ride at his preferred pace.

Both boys said the hills were very tough. But they stuck with it and each had a great finish. 

Logan was low on energy for a couple days afterwards - despite the Mountain Dew he had after the race! It really took a lot out of him. But they are both excited to do it again next year :)

I'm looking forward to joining in as soon as Brecken is old enough to race (and I upgrade to some 29" wheels)!

On Sunday, Brecken rode in the kids race and took 1st place for his age group! He took it very seriously! :)

I was also able to get out to the winery with a couple neighborhood moms and we had a bonfire and little hike with friends / neighbors who were also in town for the race.

Oregon | Hood River - Day 6

Today was our last full day in Oregon. We planned for a slower pace today to enjoy the last day of vacation.

We started with a late morning drive up to Panorama Point. This spot offered great views of the surrounding vineyards and volcanoes.

Then we grabbed supplies from the grocery store and had lunch at Waterfront Park, watching the wind surfers one more time. We were able to chat with a few of them to get a pretty good understanding of the sport.

Our next stop was Mount Hood Winery. This was one of the reasons I chose Oregon for my big birthday trip. Ocean, mountains and....wine!!

We ordered a handful of wines to taste and took in the incredible view from the winery's patio and lawn. 

After this treat for mom and dad, we rewarded the kids for their patience with ice cream and a swim at the hotel.

We had fancy dinner consisting of a bunch of apps along the waterfront at Pfriem Family Brewers. It was amazing. As was the view of the river from their patio.

We let the boys play at the waterfront play area again (the climbing wall was their favorite), before heading back to the hotel for the night. 

Oregon | Hood River - Day 5

Hood River is right up our alley with a plethora of outdoor activities, breweries and wineries. With a long drive yesterday, we also found a playground a short drive from the hotel. 

After breakfast as the hotel and coffee at the playground, we headed toward Mount Hood for a hike. We hike about 3.5? miles to Tamanawas Falls. It was well worth the journey and was a beautiful route.

Logan and Shawn even hiked up the slick, rocky hillside and behind the falls!

After the hike, we made stops at Mount Hood Brewing in Government Camp for lunch (along with visiting a few ski shops) and then walked around Timberline Lodge.

Shawn and I had been to Timberline Lodge years ago on our 30 day trip back to Minnesota, but it was fun to take the boys through the hotel. We even found a rec room. We also saw skiers passing by out the lodge windows, so walked out on one of the ski runs!

We had dinner in Downtown Hood River at Double Mountain Brewery. It was our second time there on the trip since it was everyone's favorite (and many restaurants still had limited hours due to staffing and tourism after Covid).

We met another family today, also from the midwest, who were traveling with their two boys. We didn't know it until later, but we did the same falls hike, sat next to each other at lunch, ran into them when we tried to go to Mount Hood Winery (it closed right when we got there, they were pulling out), we ran into them at dinner (they sat next to us again), and we were staying at the same hotel! It was so funny that Shawn and the other dad ended up grabbing drinks in the hotel lobby while the moms put the kids to bed!

Oregon | Manzanita to Hood River - Day 4

Before leaving Manazanita, I took an early solo coffee walk down to the beach. I loved walking past the cute homes on the quiet streets along the way. This place is so peaceful.

Our rental house was the perfect fit for our family. 

We packed up and headed north along the coast for a stop in Astoria on our way to Hood River.



We spent a little time waking along the waterfront and saw a couple big cargo ships.







Then stopped at Fort George Brewing for lunch.





As we continued on our route to Hood River, we passed Multnomah Falls and were hoping to get the kids out on the bridge to see it. Unfortunately, they still had Covid protocols in place and you had to book tickets in advance with only a few people allowed on the trail at a time. Thankfully, we could still see the falls from the parking lot :)

The kids all napped on the remainder of the drive along the Columbia River on our way to the hotel. 

Our hotel was in an incredible location with a view of the Columbia River and all of the kite action!

For the remainder of the evening, we walked along the waterfront, watched the kite and wing boarders, hung out at the playground and had dinner and drinks at Ferment Brewing.