We stayed in the Klondike Kate room. Each room is named for either a student of the Old St. Francis Catholic school, or some colorful Bend character. Kate was a former dance hall girl that moved to Bend and made a great impression on the locals!
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| Klondike Kate and LaMonkey. |
The thing I like about this McMenamin's is that it has so many things to do right on the premises. You can see a movie, soak in the soaking pool, have a cigar and whiskey at O'Kane's whiskey bar, have a beer (or two) at either of the two bars and restaurant. They also deliver the local paper to your door in the morning along with a packet of their fresh ground coffee of your choice. Unfortunately, this trip we were so busy we didn't make it to the movie or the pool. Next time!
Friday night, we had a great dinner in the restaurant and took a couple of baked goodies back to the room to enjoy.
Saturday, Mark had planned to snowboard at Mt. Bachelor, but it was raining and windy. We were woken up at 5 a.m. when a transformer blew outside and the electricity went out. It came back on about 7:30, in time to make the coffee. So, we just had a leisurely breakfast at Cafe Sintra downtown (excellent asparagus and goat cheese omelet!), then headed out for a walk.
One of the things I love about Bend is that it has the sophisticated, uniqueness of a big city, but still retains the charm of a small town. Here a few things I found that make it what it is!
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| Bike rack with knitted cozies on the wheels! |
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| On the Deschutes Trail, a sewer vent disguised as a colorful | candy cane! |
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| Drinking fountain on the trail which, of course, had a fountain for the dogs! |
We parked our car at the First Street Falls Park and headed out on the Deschutes River Trail north along the river.
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| Trailhead at First Street Rapids. |
It's a great path that meanders along the river, a golf course, and by beautiful houses. Just as we started we spotted a kayaking class practicing in the rapids.
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| Kayakers practicing on the rapids on the Deschutes River at First Street Rapids. |
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| The trail right by where I found a geocache. |
I was pleased to see lots of birds! Ducks, geese, Stellar Jays, and others singing in the trees. I also managed to snag two geocaches along the way. I picked up a travel bug, Fat Guy, in one of them. More on him later. The weather was mostly sunny, but as we finished our 4.8 miles, it started to sprinkle on us. Next time, we will take our bikes and go further on the trail.
We went back into town and had lunch at El Jimador (Mexican). I had the best and chunkiest tortilla soup I have ever had. I loved their tri-color chips too. We took Mr. Fat Guy along. Some travel bugs have special requests attached to them. His was to have his picture taken with food. I will post that picture on the Geocaching.com website so his owner can see : )
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| Fat Guy enjoys chips, salsa, a Margarita and Negra Modelo. |
I had seen on the In Bend Facebook page that there was to be a comedy show at 10 Below at the Oxford Hotel downtown, on Saturday night. It showcased local Central Oregon comedians. A few were not so funny, there were a couple that kept me laughing non-stop. Jacob Woodmansee was my favorite. I also liked the guy that sang his jokes while playing the guitar. They are doing a series of ComedyCore Underground shows in Bend throughout the summer.
Sunday was devoted to the rental. Mark installed a Carbon Monoxide detector which is now the law in Oregon as of April 1. I was pleased to see that the daffodils and other bulbs that Jenna had planted were coming up!
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| Daffodils in bloom at the rental. |
Then it was off to rent the UHaul and pick up David's bed to store for Amina to use when she moves here. The final stop was the Olive Garden to visit with the Swaney family.
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| Sarah and her beautiful daughters pose in front of the UHaul with me! |
Sarah is a Tri-Delt sorority sister from the University of Oregon. Soup, salad and breadsticks!
The drive home was so nice because it was sunny, warmer than it has been, and DRY! We'll be back in the summer to enjoy some biking, hiking and paddle boarding!
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