Meg organized a fabulous four-day trip to Bend to celebrate our decade of marriage. She even let me join her in celebrating the festivities. Meg's sister, Nichole, stayed at our place for three of those days taking care of the wild ones, and her Mom and Dad controlled their fury for the final day at their estate.
We had a riverside room at the Shilo Inn, but other than sleeping we didn't spend much time here. We hung out near the inn on Friday, eating dinner at McGrath's and embarking on the annual hunt for a new pair of sunglasses for Meg.
We walked about two miles Saturday morning into downtown Bend, exploring the area and buying homemade soap at the underwhelming Saturday Market. I eventually left Meg, running back to the Inn along the Deschutes (for as long as I could) to bring the car and swimsuits, as we wanted to float down the river in tubes. We failed to find a place just by walking and driving around, so we took in two movies at the Old Mill. Meg wanted to see The Switch, while I wanted to see Scott Pilgrim. We ended up watching the latter. But even though she let me choose, we had to see Eclipse as a make-up for Meg not liking Scott Pilgrim. Most people keep saying the Twilight movies are getting incrementally better with each release, but I fail to see how--I think the first was the best of the bunch, but don't expect me to re-watch them to see if my memory is telling me the truth or not.
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On Sunday we drove to Sun River, although there were no signs from the highway or adjacent roads--it's like there's some sort of secret map that only the pretty people are given (Meg is pretty, but she (thankfully) shuns the pretty people click). We eventually found it and walked around a bit before renting a tandem bike for an hour--some of the best $9 ever spent. I'm currently reading a book about a family (husband, wife, and three boys who live in Portland--sound familiar?) who takes a summer to ride across the continent on various bikes, including a tandem. We've talked about doing something similar, but on a much smaller scale (maybe ride from Boise to Portland, or something lasting about a week). But now I know that Meg and I should never attempt to ride a tandem together again. I don't think it's either or our faults, but we experienced terrible chemistry (i.e., she often wanted to coast, which would lock up the pedals and nearly throw me over the handlebars at times) and could not find a good rhythm. I'm not a big fan of Sun River, but Meg thought she could envision us staying there for a few days, once our family ages and matures a few more years.
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After fleeing Sun River, we drove to Lava River Tube cave, where we hiked about a mile to the end. Meg made it to the end (at least the part where you can walk). We then drove a litter further to the Lava Lands visitors center, where we hiked a couple of miles on the trails that wind throughout the desolation that not even 6,000 years of recovery could help brighten--it's still very beautiful and awe-inspiring to witness. We finished the evening hiking to the top of Pilot Butte, which sits right in the middle of the city, and which I've always wanted to climb (ever since I first went to Bend in 1990 for high school baseball trips during spring break). The hike was maybe a mile to the top, and we were able to enjoy the setting sun and emerging stars in the sky.
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We concluded our trip on Monday with a float down the Deschutes River, from Farewell Bend Park to Drake Park. Little did I know that 90 minutes on the river would transform my pale white belly into something that resembled one of my pink hypercolor t shirts as a teenager. At least I wouldn't feel any pain until the next morning. We tethered our 'tubes together, which also proved dangerous, as Meg is pretty crazy. I don't remember exactly how, but just take my word that she is wild on a 'tube.
When we arrived in Sherwood to pick up the kids, I was surprised at how indifferent they were to see us. I suppose that's good, in that they don't have issues being separated from us for long periods of time.
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