Bend

We had a spectacular visit to Bend, Oregon this past weekend to see friends Sean and Lauren. Andie was an excellent traveler, and slept for much of the 8.5 hr drive in both directions. We were very fortunate to borrow Papa's car, which was a much more comfortable ride in the 103°F heat than Kristin's or Jason's.

When we got to Bend, Sean and Lauren made up a quick lunch for us and then we went for a hike along the Deschutes River.

We then took Andie on a float down the river. This was her first time on a boat since riding the ferry from Larkspur to San Francisco over a year ago. It was also the first time she got to wear a PFD! She was a bit reserved about it all, but we think she was just taking it all in.

When we got out of the water, Andie was attacked by an adorable army of ducklings. She was slightly terrified.

Lauren and Sean prepared a delicious dinner for us when we got back to their house.

On Saturday, we hiked the Ray Atkeson Loop Trail along Sparks Lake.

The trail had beautiful views of South Sister (left) and Broken Top (right) mountains.

The trail also passed through some amazing lava canyons.

After the hike, we ate lunch at Elk Lake, and headed out for rafting and stand up paddle boarding. Andie had fun tooling around the lake in the raft, and she loosened up a little compared to float down the river.

It was the first time stand up paddle boarding for both Kristin and Jason, and neither of them fell! They both thought it was super fun, and that they should get one for Bodega Harbor (with the addition of a wetsuit, of course).

Andie even gave the paddle board a try.

Andie enjoyed playing with the rocks in the water.

After drying off from the lake fun, we enjoyed some delicious stout while listening to some music by Honey Don't.

Andie really enjoyed dancing to the music with everyone -- so much that when everyone else sat down for the intermission, she kept going. She definitely stole the lakeside show by dancing front-and-center to an invisible band. Unfortunately, Kristin didn't have her phone on her for a chance to capture what would have certainly been Andie's first viral video.

On Sunday we hiked up to Tumalo Falls in Deschutes National Forest.

After seeing the falls, Kristin, Andie, and Lauren continued up the trail while Jason and Sean mountain biked down the hill.

It rained a bit on the ladies as they headed back to the car, but everyone was a good trooper about it.

The men enjoyed their mountain bike ride back to the house. It made Jason want to start riding around Sonoma County again!

Andie was super impressed with Jason's helmet hair when he arrived home.

We had a delicious dinner at Wild Rose Thai and some super yummy gelato at Bontà. After all the day's activities, Andie couldn't quite stay awake through dessert, but Sean made sure she was comfortable.

Sean turned out to be quite the baby whisperer, facilitating a number of Andie's naps over the weekend.

We toured a few of Bend's many breweries on Sunday afternoon, including Sunriver Brewing Company, where Andie and Lauren made some chalk art.

At Crux Fermentation Project, Andie had her first bite of cow tongue in some tasty tacos.

We had an incredible, fun-packed weekend, and we can't wait for next time!

The journey home was fairly uneventful, and Nana and Papa greeted us with some dinner when we arrived back in Sonoma County. They also presented Kristin with some birthday gifts, including reading material for their next road trip.