88 » OpenRoad Driver
As a traveler you don ’ t get many chances to sit on the lawns of The White House and sip crisp , sweet cider made by the Kennedy family – unless you ’ re in Hood River , Central Oregon . Here , rows of pear orchards , peach trees , blueberry bushes and flower gardens are flanked by the dry slopes of the East Hills at The Gorge White House , a stately family farm owned by Pat and Mary Beth Kennedy . Guests come to pick their own fruit , order meals flavoured and inspired by the vegetable garden , and savour the sweet notes of honey lavender and lemon pear cider as they take in the verdant beauty of the valley .
Carved by volcanic action hundreds of thousands of years ago , the Hood River Valley now combines rich mineral soil with temperate climate and glacial streams to produce some of Oregon ’ s tastiest fruit and vegetables . Weave your way by car or bike around the Hood River Fruit Loop and there are 26 farms , orchards , vineyards and wineries that welcome visitors to stop for a tasting , pick their own fruit or browse for pies , ice cream and homemade jams at small roadside stands .
It ’ s a hot day in the middle of summer when we explore this circuit , and my yen for a fresh peach is satisfied in minutes . At Packard Farms , one of the family-owned stands , there are several tantalizing varieties of peaches , each one three times the size of the peaches sold in grocery stores . I take a bite , and sigh with pleasure , relishing the sweet , fresh juice that runs down my chin .
Later , we join an e-bike ride with MountNbarreL Tours for an 11-mile ride through orchards and vineyard back roads , alongside trees heavy with ripe pears . The only tourism vendor permitted on the backroads of private family land , Ali McLaughlin , co-owner of the company , is passionate about the area . “ I love being able to take guests outdoors and show off the bounty of the Hood River ,” she says . “ In one 40-mile region we grow everything from apples to berries , chestnuts to plums , and burgundy to Bordeaux grapes .”
The hills are a breeze on her new e-bikes . Without having to exert much energy pumping the pedals , we ’ re free to take in the fragrance of ripe apples and berries , pastures where horses and cows amicably