Back in the USA

We are in the US to visit family and friends.  We landed around midnight June 1 in Sacramento. The next morning, we headed north to Bend, Oregon. One of our goals was to reconnect with some boat friends and to give their car a new home.

We found a fantastic bed & breakfast on the outskirts of Bend. We were lucky to have time to enjoy the beautiful flower gardens that the owners of the B&B toiled over.

We happened to be in Bend on the 2023 inagural ‘First Friday’ that seemed to be attended by half the town. We found great beer and food. There are a ton of independent breweries, each surrounded by a bevy of food trucks. We have been craving dark beer. We like porters and stouts – nice dark beers. We were successful in our searches, and the beer was yummy.

When we connected with Mike and Lori from sv Tranquilo to arrange the details of purchasing their car, they invited us to a dinner/birthday party for another Mexico sailing couple we originally met in Nuevo Vallarta. It was a great afternoon to share sailing stories.

Newberry National Volcanic Monument was nearby. It was a special day for Dave since he had just turned 62 and was able to get his lifetime National Park Pass. Growing old does have some benefits.

We concluded our visit in Bend with a Deschutes river walk. The Deschutes winds it way slowly through the whole town. We drove Mike & Lori off to the airport on our way out of town. We are very happy we could take their venerable Honda Pilot off their hands. No more rental cars!

And with that, we started our run up north to make stops with family.