Cross Country – 9

Leaving California it was on to Bend, Oregon. Northwest Magazine has always had great writeups about Bend, so, it seemed time to check it out as it was on the way to Tacoma (well sort of on the way). It was originally a logging town but is now identified as a getaway for many outdoor sports and is known for “fabulous beer.” It is also an “artsy” town with numerous galleries, one from which we bought a painting. Bend’s population is only about 100,000, and, it very much retains a small-town vibe. Bend is located at the edge of the Deschutes National Park and so has a lovely setting. The entire town feels “fresh” with its all its greenery. I think Bend is an absolutely charming town.

We stayed at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes with a river view out our window. It could not have been more perfect.

We spent much of our second day in Bend just exploring the town and, of course, buying a piece of art. Bend has a charming downtown area, which we thoroughly explored. However, no trip to Bend would be complete without at least a visit to a brewery. So, it was off to Spider Brewery to try one of their brews and buy a few t-shirts.

But, as our trip was winding down, so were we. We loved our dinner last night at the hotel restaurant so much that we decided we would take advantage of just being able to walk back to our room again. We had another great meal.

Now the smart thing to do would have been to make the relatively short drive to Vancouver, Washington, where we were spending our last night on the road on this leg of our journey, but, no. . .I decided that we would go see the Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Steve pointed out that I already had my own “old fossil,” so, there was no need to go. But, we went, adding four hours of driving to our day, some of it backtracking and driving through construction zones and gravel roads. I knew it was a mistake, but, there was no turning back.

The truth is that the picture is actually much better than the real thing. My penance (although not entirely voluntary) was driving the entire four hours to Vancouver arriving in time to go through some of the Portland rush-hour traffic.

Vancouver, Washington, is on the north bank of the Columbia River, with a population of just under 200,000. I have been through Vancouver many, many times but never really visited the city. It is actually the oldest city in Washington and was once the outpost of the British Hudson’s Bay Company, which closed in 1860 as Americans took over commerce. I wanted to stay near the Waterfront as it has been in the process of being redeveloped for several years. The nearest (and newest) hotel was the Vancouver Hilton, and, it was a lovely hotel across from the Esther Short Park, of which we had a nice view. The waterfront development reminded me of the DC Wharf but on a smaller scale. A number of the restaurants were the same as the ones at Ruston Point, the development on Commencement Bay (Puget Sound) in Tacoma, very near where we live.

We had a short drive from Vancouver to Tacoma, just over two hours. Then it took us that long to unpack the car! Many of you don’t know that after many years of spending many weeks with my sister during the summers, we bought a condo with her, and, the picture above is our living room, almost decorated. As you might suspect, we bought it for the view of Puget Sound, of which we never tire!

As a footnote, we drove about 7,000 miles without a major incident. So it was ironic that while waiting at a stoplight in downtown Tacoma, we were rear ended. The really good news was that no one was hurt, and, the car did not even have a scratch, which surprised us all! We will be enjoying Tacoma and the area until later September, at which time we will drive back to Naples via a different and shorter route. So, until September. . .Donna & Steve