Bend There, Done That

As in Bend, Oregon (www.visitbend.com). For Will's birthday I planned a fabulous (if I do say so myself) weekend for him doing all the things he loves to do.  We drove down Thursday afternoon and arrived at our hotel just in time for a beer and a cyclocross movie.  I found a really cool hotel for us to stay in during our visit; it was an old Catholic school that was taken over by a PNW hotelier and made into an entertaining complex of sorts.  Each hotel he owns is different and very unique.  Ours had mosaic soaking tubs (Turkish-style), a few bars, local brewery, outdoor fire-pits, and a movie theater. 

http://www.mcmenamins.com/421-old-st-francis-school-home

Friday morning, we ate a delicious breakfast at the Victorian Cafe (http://www.victoriancafebend.com) then headed out to Phil's Trail complex to ride some of Bend's famous mountain bike trails. It was chilly in the morning but warmed up to become a nice, sunny day.  My favorite part was the 'Whoops' trail -- it's a bunch of swervy, bumps and jumps and was  lot of fun to ride. It was slightly snow-covered so a bit tricky to ride in parts.

About to ride the 'Whoops.'

The Three Sisters

After riding, we cleaned up and went out to some local breweries.  Will's favorite was the Boneyard brewery - not sure if it's because of the beer or because they gave him a hat for his birthday :)  We finished off the evening with a great brick-oven pizza dinner at Jackson's Corner, then more brew at McMineman's.

Saturday we headed out to Smith Rock to rock climb.  Our guide, Gabe, taught us how to crack climb, which was awesome.  The rock at Smith is Tuff and Basalt which makes for great climbing.  We started with a drizzly morning, but the sun came out around noon to make for a beautiful day.  An eagle also came out to visit us during our stay.  

Will 'stemming.'

Will at the top of a crack climb.

Will climbing 'Five Gallon Buckets' route.

 

There I go... up the wall.  I found a plastic pumpkin
inside one of the holes filled with Halloween candy.. I
really earned my mini Snickers!

 

Me at the top of a crack climb.

Saturday night we ate dinner at Hola! then went to a brewery or two and sat by the fire.  We relaxed in the soaking tubs at our hotel then went to bed. Sunday we went on a trail run along the Deschutes River then had another delicious brunch at a restaurant called Chow. We finished our stay by watching a Halloween cyclocross race at the Old Mill District.  It was quite entertaining to see cyclists race around a track in costumes...especially the men wearing dresses!  Bend was lovely and had a ton to do -- we really enjoyed our stay and I'm sure you would too!