The 2021-2022 school year came to a close. It was bitter sweet for Jay since he will be changing schools next year. Being the current Teacher of the Year at his school, he had the honor of reading names at graduation. It was a great way to close out his time at Carver and see his first students graduate.
As school was wrapping up, Kristie was working in Bend, OR. We all received calls and texts from her detailing how cool the town is. We were sold and made last minute plans to visit with her when she made a return trip.
Kristie left a day earlier to attend a meeting. Jay, Parker, and Ansel flew out to Portland the next day. Upon arrival, Jay realized that he didn’t have his driver’s license. Walking to the baggage claim, he found it. In his shoe. It must have fallen in there while going through security. Relieved, we picked up our bags and found the Avis counter. In a matter of seconds, we were off to our car’s stall. 15 minutes later, we were still in the stall because there was a major backup leaving. Sitting there, we realized that the air conditioning in our car wasn’t working. When we finally were able to leave, we realized that they hadn’t given us our rental agreement. The agent was really nice and told us just to loop back around and get a copy of it and a new car. We did and were given a really nice Buick Enclave (the commercials are not hyperbole). As we were leaving for the second time, Jay realized that he didn’t have his driver’s license. Have you heard this story before? Parker and Jay both went back to look for it, but the agent was convinced that she had given it back to Jay. At least we had a week before we needed it again. From there, it was on to the AC Hotel in Portland for the night. It was about 11:00 PDT when we got settled.
Our next day’s agenda included driving to Bend to meet Kristie, but first we had to fuel up for the the drive. We had an amazing breakfast at Jam on Hawthorne. From there, we decided to take the long way to Bend by going through Hood River. It was a pretty drive. We stopped at Rooster Rock State Park to walk around. As we were leaving, Jay got the call that his license had been found, which led to a return trip to Portland. We continued to Hood River and then to Bend where we met Kristie at the Springhill Suites in the Old Mill District of Bend. Kristie took us for a walk downtown and to the whitewater park. Afterwards, we had dinner at Deschutes Brewery.
Thursday, we drove out to Smith Rock State Park. We met up with our climbing guide Daniel with Smith Rock Climbing School. We geared up and took a short but beautiful hike to the Monument Base Area. Daniel showed us the ropes and the climbing began. Daniel taught Parker and Ansel how to belay and they both belayed each other and even Jay! At Monument Base, we climbed Lounger, Bagpiping in the Buff, and Snow Bunny. By then, the sun was beginning to bake the area so we retreated to the Northern Point, stopping along the way for lunch. We climbed Handyman, Block Head, Pumpkin Patch, and Jersey Shore before hiking back out. It was an incredible day! We capped it off with a hot pot at Sen Thai Hot Pot and Noodle House.
Jay and the kids spent the next morning walking around downtown Bend. Ansel and Jay visited the Deschutes Historical Museum. I think that it was after this activity that we discovered Dutch Bros. It was the first of many stops for flavored teas, energy drinks, coffees, and lemonades. When Kristie finished work, she, Ansel, and Jay drove out to Tumalo Falls for a short hike. We returned in time to eat at 5 Fusion & Sushi Bar.
We reserved Saturday for a big hiking day. We fueled up at Cafe Sinta and then headed south to Newberry National Volcanic Monument. We walked around the Trail of Molten Land and then drove to the trailhead to hike to Benham Falls. From there, we drove to La Pine (for gas) and then on to Paulina Lake. We hiked up to Paulina Peak for great views. The kids were rewarded for their efforts with, you guessed it, Dutch Bros on the drive home. Dinner that night was at Anthony’s at the Old Mill. It was a beautiful night and we sat outside. Anthony’s is across the river from Hayden Homes Amphitheater. As we were finishing up eating, the Weird Al Yankovich concert was beginning. We sat and listened to his opening act (I think it was Emo Philips), but couldn’t take much of it and soon left. Too bad it wasn’t Monday night. Bob Dylan played.
On Sunday, we all loaded up, headed to Big O Bagels, and then on to Cog Wild for a day of mountain biking. Once there, we met with our guide David who took us on an adventure through the Deschutes National Forest. It was a great time although the afternoon heat wilted us a bit. Luckily, Cog Wild provides post ride seltzers and beer. After biking, we drove around Mt. Bachelor. We stopped at one of the nearby lakes to cool off. Fed from the snowmelt, I am pretty confident that the water temperature was 33 degrees! It didn’t seem to bother Ansel. We made it back to Bend in time to get cleaned up and then eat at Zydeco Kitchen & Cocktails.
Parker and Ansel agreed (imagine that) that rock climbing was the highlight of our trip. To get a little more climbing in, we spent the morning at Bend Rock Gym and climbed until we could hardly move anymore. Of course we stopped at Dutch Bros one last time. We had an uneventful red eye flight home (although our flight was delayed a little over an hour) and considered ourselves lucky given the travel issues that others were having.
