Bend Oregon — Patti Part Two

If you haven’t been to Bend, Oregon I highly recommend you put it on your list of places to visit. But I will warn you, be prepared to wish you had more time there - or want to actually move there! It’s got everything - especially if you like mountains, lakes, hiking, biking, kayaking, paddle boarding, great food and amazing beer!

In addition to all those great things I also had the most incredible hosts who treated me like a queen and had so many fun things planned for us to do, and did I mention they are unbelievable cooks? Thanks a million Nancy and Bruce for the incredible hospitality you showed me in both Portland and Bend.

I got to Portland from Seattle an hour and a half late on a Greyhound bus. The entire trip I kept asking myself why in the world I ever thought that was a good idea. Having just come back from Europe where buses and trains are on time and a great mode of transportation and not having ridden a bus in about 40 years I plead ignorance. After one ride I can attest to the fact that 95% of bus riders smoke, and while they can’t smoke on the bus they make up for it by chain smoking while waiting for the late bus to arrive and every time the bus stops to pick up additional passengers. You have been warned!

I've been through Portland three times now, but still haven’t really gotten to spend much time there, and this trip was kind of the same. We got up the next morning and while Bruce was packing the car for Bend Nancy took me to a great area in Lake Oswego for breakfast and a quick walk through the awesome Saturday Farmer’s Market.

My favorite breakfast - coffee and croissant! Oregon is known for lavender! And all kinds of berries!

Bend is about a three hour drive from Portland and is located on the eastern edge of the Cascade Range along the Deschutes River. It’s high desert sitting amongst snow capped mountains created by volcanic eruption - so beautiful. We stopped about 30 minutes from Bend for lunch in a great town called Sisters. It’s called Sisters because there are three mountains called the Three Sisters that surround it. We ate at The Colton Wood Cafe and it was super cute and delicious.

A different version of a BLT - made with egg salad and avocado and a grilled romaine salad topped with fried eggs. Not both for me and I couldn’t even finish my BLT!

We arrived at Nancy and Bruce’s vacation home called The River House on Wood Duck. The back sits right on a bend in the Deschutes River. It couldn’t be a prettier spot or more relaxing. There was a mother deer and her babies playing along the river early and late every day we were there. Lots of squirrels, birds and even the occasional coyote. There were 7 of us there for the holiday and 8 including their next door neighbor John. Two other couples from Portland - Joan and Bruce and Geri and Jim - long time friends of Bruce and Nancy. All such great people - and so welcoming to me.😊

It gets chilly enough at night to have a fire - so we did!

I got to kayak and paddle board every day! So fun! We went to two different lakes and also the Deschutes River. Every day we loaded up the gear and headed somewhere beautiful. First lake was Hosmer. Lots of people fishing and we could actually see the fish because the water was so clear.

Nancy and Bruce on Hosmer with Guinness! Every paddle board requires a dog!

I got to improve my skills - it was pretty windy out there.

Bruce brought his fishing pole and caught a few good sized trout that he tossed back in. The fun is in the catching I guess.

Another lake we went to was Sparks Lake. It was a little chilly to start the day so when we got there we had the lake to ourselves for awhile. Sparks is called one of the high lakes because it sits way up in the mountains, surrounded by snow covered mountains. So pretty it looks like a movie set - but it’s actually real!

Nancy, Geri, me and Joan. That took a little work to all line up!

Jim and Bruce had gone golfing so we all met up at Elk Lake Lodge for a late lunch. Another beautiful lake but this one has a lodge and cabins.

Chicken Caesar wrap for me. Yumm! Kayaking makes me hungry.

While some of the group did a 50 mile bike ride the rest of us went for a little hike at Paulina Falls which is part of Newberry National Volcanic Monument. It’s the largest volcano in the Cascades and erupted over 400,000 years ago. We hiked to see the twin 80 foot waterfalls - an easy but pretty hike.

My hiking companions- Joan, Jim and Geri.

Neighbor John has a fun boat and he graciously offered to take us out on it to tour the Deschutes River. What a great way to wrap up an afternoon!

While the rest of the country was sweltering in the heat, being that Bend is up in the mountains the early morning and nights are chilly. One morning at 7 AM it was 32 degrees! And two hours later we were on the lake kayaking in shorts and T-shirt’s.

Nancy and I out for a morning walk with Guinness. I’m wearing a winter coat!

The food was incredible every single day. No restaurant recommendations as the group cooked every night! We had salmon, mussels, barbecued pork, halibut, tuna, lingcod and lamb. Most of it freshly caught by the Oregonians. I admit I wasn’t a big help with the meals, but I think I came through in the dessert category - my specialty. Rhubarb dream bars and rum cake.

We ate outside on the deck overlooking the river every night. No better view and great wines with a fun group.

Fist time I tried sashimi sushi and ahi tuna - both delicious!

The last night the sunset was incredible - as they say - a picture is worth a thousand words.

No filter - the real deal! I made this my screen saver to remind myself of an amazing trip.

The town of Bend is very cool as well but we were having too much fun and good food to venture in until we stopped for lunch heading back to Portland. There are lots of great restaurants and Jackson’s Corner is one of them.

Lots of farm to table in Bend and always a great beer selection.

Back to Portland for one night and then off to Kansas City. Nancy took me to a great restaurant on our way to the airport for brunch called La Provence. She knows I love my croissants!

An interesting side to my eggs of potatoes and squash with chicken sausage. And a little Brie with my croissant!

Huge thanks to Nancy and Bruce for such an amazing trip! And it was so great to meet Joan, Bruce, Geri and Jim! We had lots of laughs along with wine, great food and beautiful sites. I’m still basking in the glow and counting my blessings for having such great friends!

More to come this summer - next up Midwest! Thanks for coming along!