More Day 5: Wednesday, 5 March
Got in a great ride out to a park east of town (don't remember the name). It was one of those things that I saw people on bikes heading in that direction earlier, and thought it would be a good direction to go for a ride. Turns out it was a good idea. Met up and rode with a new friend that I just met while out riding, Steve, a chef in town, and talked food for the majority of the ride. It's always a treat to have company to ride with. Got back into town, and rode around town in the abundant sunshine to check out the place on two wheels for a while.
Made it back to help show the house we were staying in, and headed out to dinner to meet the dentist with whom Matt was interveiwing with at Ernesto's italian restaurant . Awesome food- you know italian is good when the dish comes with 'a meatball on the side.' Later got to experience 'chute the box' and some beer at JC's tavern, which is the photo above. Matt looks very serious because I was taking his money- I'm thinking it was beginner's luck in my favor.
Day 6: Thursday, 6 March
Woke up and headed to Chow for some incredible breakfast with Matt which is pictured above. I had french toast made from hearty, crusty, bread with lemon vanilla ricotta and sauteed currants, cranberries, and raisins. Very very yummy. I hung out at Backporch coffee roasters and sipped coffee while taking care of some business finalizing my soon to be future job (more to come on that note once everything is final). Purchased some beans to remember the trip (I can't wait to press some tomorrow morning :)...). The guy working there thought that I was nuts buying 2# of beans. I thought he was nuts to question how one person couldn't drink 2# of beans in a reasonable time frame. Oh well. I was continually impressed with the friendliness of the citizens of Bend. I was always striking up conversations with people here and there. Met up with Matt for some awesome lunch at Typhoon Thai restraunt in downtown Bend. Another incredible meal. I went with the Pad Thai- yes, classic, but I love the dish, and love trying different variations on the theme. Later Matt and I rode up Mt. Bachelor, and also rode around town- the pictures were taken while descending- I love taking pictures on the fly on my bike. They never 'look good.' per se, but I love the randomness of a picture taken in motion.
Later visited a practice with Matt, and then got some wonderful food at Marz bistro. Got some dessert and drinks at Merenda after dinner, and called it a great night. Dinner and drinks always make it feel like a vacation. :)
Day 7: Friday, 7 March
Got up and knew it was my last day waking up to a view like this for breakfast.
Got some coffee and headed out of town. It was a treat to see the drive from Bend to Idaho during the day since the drive in was mostly in the dark. Stopped for some awesome shrimp tacos a Bajio and went for a short run in Boise. Driving through Idaho, we, er, had a little delay, which is pretty self explainatory by the picture below.
Good thing is that I got a pizza dinner out of the deal, which subsequently also marked the one year anniversary of when Matt and I ended up in the ditch outside of Ft. Morgan, CO on the way home from spring break last year and needed to spend the night there and had a pizza feast. In that instance, I was unfortunately the one buying. Fortunately, one can always find a Pizza Hut to order the 'car trouble special' which is usually some feastly combonation of the following: Hawaiian stuffed crust pizza, wings, breadsticks, cinnamon sticks, salad bar, and beer. Made it to Rock Springs, WY, where we called it a good day of driving, and got a room for the night.
Day 8: Saturday, 8 March
Drove from Rock Springs, WY to Omaha, NE. Got in about 10:30 last night. Drank a lot of coffee- yum. Final time in the car: 53 hrs, 23 min round trip travel and driving in the towns. That is a lot. :)
Sundsy, 9 March
Woke up today, and realized that between going from Pacific time to Central DST, my body thought it was 3 hours earlier. Well, this meant that I bummed around for a long time in my pjs drinking coffee, trying to unpack, and whatnot. Was bummed that it was 32 deg F outside, and made an executive decision that there is no way that I am going on the trainer, especially since I have been spoiled with some beautiful riding. What this means is that I am taking my Mtn bike out riding today- I can stand it this cold when I am not going as fast, and that is what the MTB accomplishes is a good workout without as cold of a headwind. Got all bundled up, 3 baselayers, jacket, wool ski socks, thick fleece tights, bibs, balaclava, hat, glasses, hand warmers and two pairs of gloves. Gee, I wonder why it took me a while to get out the door. :) As always, once I got going, I was having fun, but I was pretty miserable the whole ride even with all that stuff on (yes, you can call me a wimp) . Rode the Keystone, then up around the (dried up) Lake Cunningham area for a bit, got some coffee to warm up at the new Scooter's Coffeehouse on hwy 36- great place, rode a bit more, and called it good for a ride. Its amazing how much longer rides take on a MTB that is essentially a single speed (shifters broken :)...). Thawed in the shower, and then did the dangerous bit of going to the grocer after a long ride, but not a post ride meal. Well, we'll just say that I filled my empty cupboard and fridge pretty nicely. Made some samosas for dinner. I had discovered some random pie crust in the freezer and decided to use it on some really really yummy samosas that were perfect dipped in mango chutney. I will definitely be making these again. Well, that is the end of the play by play of the last spring break of my life.
I come away from things ready to once again embrace the routine of regular, everyday life once again, which is I guess one of the goals of a vacation. Time to put in my final days on this thing called dental school.
3 comments:
Welcome back -- that was a most excellent adventure.
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