Wild Turkeys and the World's Fair

Leaving Hood River is hard. Stunning views of the water and mountains and sky continue to amaze, and on every First Friday the downtown businesses keep their doors open late for visitors, some serve beer and wine and host local musicians who range in age from about 10 to 70. Children eat ice cream and dance to the live music while smiling couples and enchanted families with dogs, kids and pregnant bellies stroll the streets.

We spend our final night in Hood River at Morgan and Christa's house, "camping" in a tent with a bed and views of the Klickitat River.

After a gourmet dinner of strawberry jam and almond butter sandwiches, a salad with red-leaf lettuce, parsley, cilantro and blue cheese, and Hunter Hill syrah, we watch The Reader on a laptop before falling asleep to the sounds of crickets and owls. We wake up to an army of wild turkeys descending on the tent, and see osprey and fishermen hunting for fish in the river below.

We eat breakfast on the porch while Ophie chases turkeys, and then we head east to Spokane, Wash., to visit Patrick's friend Darren, who coaches tennis at Eastern Washington and tells stories about the two of them getting into trouble as kids.

Spokane hosted the World's Fair in 1974, and now the Expo site is a 100-acre Riverfront Park, where, tonight, Sept. 5, Cracker and other bands headline the Pig Out in the Park festival. We walk around the fair and across the bridge over the Spokane River, where whitewater crashes over rocks and falls.

—Jessica