Welcome to Bend!
Day 24 - 28: 12/14/2021 - 12/18/2021
We woke up to the rumble of some semis pulling out of the rest stop. It's bright and sunny outside which seems like the first time in a couple of weeks. This was a nice touch as we were quite excited to get to the city of Bend, Oregon! The drive the rest of the way between Seattle and Bend was nice and short, which got us to our destination by late morning. We chose Bend as our destination leading up to the holidays because many of Christina's family members and relatives call it home! For the next couple of weeks this city was our home too.
We spent most of our time in Bend staying at Christina's grandma's or her sister's place. It was nice to enjoy fully functional homes for a while rather than the tight space of our travel trailer. Bend also had lots to offer! The city lies on the outskirts of the Deschutes National Forest in the High Desert. With nice views of mountains within the Cascade Range, it can be quite inspiring to try out the ample amount of outdoor adventure nearby! If the mountains aren't your type, the city flanks the Deschutes River. You can enjoy many activities on the river including, tubing, kayaking, and even surfing. Yes, the river has a white-water section, which can prove to be a difficult challenge for surfers. Beyond the long list of outdoor adventure, Bend has a thriving downtown and other shopping districts, like the Old Mill area. We enjoyed the Old Mill District for some food and shopping. The district gets its name from its history of being a large timber mill.
This week we enjoyed being treated to some really good sushi with Christina's sister and her family as well as some excellent home cooked meals with her uncle and his family. Even some easy frozen lasagna paired with some Christmas movies made for a nice relaxing evening at grandma's house!
Our first handful of days in Bend went pretty quickly as we settled in with family. However, we had our eyes set on the beginning of next week as we anticipated a trip to the Oregon coast with Christina's sister and her family!