Memorial Day in Bend, Oregon

Yes, I know.  Before you go all "Memorial Day was so long ago," or "Why haven't you blogged Thailand or Cambodia yet?"  1. Yes, Memorial Day was a long time ago, but I've been busy. And 2) I have a draft of Thailand and Cambodia going but it's a lot of effort so wanted to give you some teaser content while I prepare my longer post.

So, Memorial Day --- here we go!  The plans started out for this weekend a little like this...
It was Will's bestie, Jonas's, birthday and his girlfriend was out of town so Will planned a fun weekend down to Mt. Hood and then Bend to do lots of fun things Jonas wanted to do.  I planned a quiet weekend in Queen Anne doing things at home and getting together a few times with my girlfriends for brunch etc. 

As will packed up his car with toys like bikes, rock climbing gear, tents, skis, etc. I waved goodbye to him and then instantly realized that I wanted to go on this adventure!  As he rounded the corner, I ran inside, grabbed my phone and rang him up, just as he was calling me to see if I wanted to join them.  Must have had some look in my eye that told him I wanted to go (in Will's defense, he had invited me all along but I had declined).  So I ran inside, started throwing stuff in bags and the boys came and picked me up for the weekend o' fun.

His car looked a little something like this --- the biggest challenge of the weekend was finding a place to fit me in for the ride ;)

Day One: Mt. Hood
The first stop was Mt. Hood.  Will and Jonas brought skis and attempted to summit the volcano.  I opted to sit in the amazing lodge that was built back in the 1930's or something like that nestled up by a huge fireplace, reading my Kindle and enjoying a bloody mary.  I win.

Day Two: Bend, Oregon - Phil's Trails
We made it down to Bend and went out to Phil's Trails complex.  I did a little trail running and checked out some amazing houses along the way while Will and Jonas did a little mountain bike ride.  This afternoon was, of course, followed up with some great beer, food and camping.

Day 3: Rock Climbing at Smith Rock State Park
Rock climbing is AWESOME! Have I mentioned that before :)  Going into this, Jonas didn't really love climbing and it's never been Will's favorite activity. However, by the end of this trip Jonas was a changed man and now is a rock climbing enthusiast... I'll take the credit for that! He even got in his first lead climb outdoors here!

Day 4: Mountain Biking at Phil's Trails
After rock climbing we spent the night at our favorite place, McMinemans, and then ate at Jackson's Corner... amazing pizza!  The final day in Bend we went mountain biking again at Phil's Trails and I had a sweet rental bike with a dropper seat (neither Will nor Jonas had one!).  Then we drove home and played trivia in the car for about four hours straight.  I served as the host and Will and Jonas had to beep in with the answers.  Great weekend with the boys!