Sorry to hear about your back, Dan. Had mine operated on 3 years ago and about 17 years ago. Seems good now.
I live in Portland near the Japanese Tea Garden, but we have a house in Hood River and are there most weekends. I never seem to stop boarding as my kids drag me up to Palmer, but they are in training camps this year so I can skip it. Expensive hassle for 1-2 hours of reasonable boarding between the ice and slush. I mostly windsurf now through Fall.
Love to hook up. My e-mail is schindlj@ohsu.edu if you ever want to swap numbers and meet up for a beer. John has my contact info as well.
Josh