Here in Bend, the kiddos have an extended Thanksgiving break. No school on the Friday before Thanksgiving, and the entire holiday week itself off. At loose ends, EE and I drafted a demanding schedule for ourselves on that first day off.
Priority number one: A hearty breakfast. Before we moved to Bend, we were regulars at the Original Pancake House in Salem due to Mommy's deep-seated pancake addiction. we decided to swing by the Bend branch for eggs, cakes and bacon - we were not disappointed.
Priority number two: Locate and frolic in fresh powder. It was a beautiful day - nary a cloud in the sky - but we knew there had been a fresh powder dump in the last few days. Our question was - how far up did we need to go to access the "fresh pow?" A few quick inquiries to the locals solved that in short order. Go to La Pine and up, or up Century Drive above Meissner. Given our current location at the intersection of Century and Colorado, heading to the Bachelor area was a given. While there were patches of ice on the roads in downtown Bend, by the time we reached Widgi Creek, snow sprinkled the shoulders and fairways. Just 10 more miles provided us with a highway of hardpack and a good 8 inches of snow at roadside.
We pulled over and parked at Dutchman Flats - in the shadow of Mt. Bachelor and a great launching point for various trails. Luckily there were no snowmobiles in attendance today - just a scattering of retired folk on cross country skis.
Our plan was to have one hell of a snowball fight, build a snowman and explore a mile or two of woodland trails. We were stymied on two of three counts. The snow was the most beautiful, delicate, fine, dry, angel-fine sugar. Forget snowballs and snowmen - this was impossible to pack. That didn't bring an end to the fun, though. We flung the superfine dust at each other, tossed it up in the air to see which way the wind was blowing and ran for several hours through the undisturbed snow in the meadow.
The mountain views were spectacular and provided a great opportunity to test out our new digital camera. Although it was a nippy 30 degrees outside, we stayed warm in the bright sun. This negligent mommy forgot to bring sunglasses for the kid - realizing this only after a good ninety minutes. The poor guy could have gone snow blind.Priority number three: Return books to the library. Check!
Priority number four: Dinner with friends and music at McMenamins' Old St. Francis. We arranged to meet our good friends and their baby daughter for a brew pub dinner at 6:15. After being informed we'd have a 20 minute wait, we were finally seated 40 minutes later. While the beer and burgers at McMenamins are always great, their attempt at Osso Bucco was an utter failure. Tough, dry meat proved to be un-chewable. Our waiter kindly removed that item from our bill, though and was friendly and eager to please. The other bummer: The McMenamins' website and all media calendars listed live music from the Freak Mountain Ramblers beginning at 7pm. We weren't the only family to arrive shortly before 7, only to be informed that the show was actually to begin at 8pm. Staff was fairly unapologetic for the mixup, saying only "it figures..." Bah. Once dinner was finished, we decided to skip the music altogether. The two tired kids weren't likely to enjoy such a late night. Our friends offered to take our kid home with them for awhile, so K and I headed down to the martini bar at the Old Mill for a cocktail and conversation. While we chatted, our friends were teaching EE how to play Othello and how to fingerprint each other using pencil lead and scotch tape. EE was reluctant to call it a night when we arrived to collect him, but it was late and we bundled him off into the frosty dark and quickly deposited him into his snug flannel covered bed.
A pretty full day and a great start to Thanksgiving break!
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