Our first trip to Bend was...

Truly awesome! And we only spent night! Ollie had a fantastic time in the snow - mostly because I forgot my ski pants so i was stuck in the parking lot with her while everyone else hit the slopes! but it was ok, i got some fantastic pictures of her being a snow dog :) we rented darling bungalows from lavabelles (if you haven't stayed in one of their historic homes or bungalows, check them out! great accomodations, good prices, dog friendly, free passes to mcmenamins, fantastic locations!... http://www.lavabelles.com/), had thai food, then martinis, then mcmenamins beer, then mcmenamins wine back at the bungalows. Chuck and Outhai are fabulous travel buddies! Sunday morning we relaxed over our huge beer samplers at Cascades Lakes Brewery then hit the waterfront for a walk with Ollie. The drive back, Josh let me snooze and that finished out a perfect, though short, weekend with good friends!

Check our all our good times and a great video of Ollie at http://picasaweb.google.com/jsuttong/Bend

What should we do next time we have a night to spend in Bend???

Night Skiing Doesn't Suck

This week was pretty rockin. Saturday my buddy from college, Mike took Amtrak down from Seattle. We met up with Bob and chatted primary politics and the free market at World Cup, hit the ridiculous car show and then caught some local bands at The Doug Fir.

On Wednesday Brandon, Grace, Nicora and I went night skiing up at Skibowl. The first few times I ever went night skiing I wasn't a huge fan of it. It was cold, dark and seemed like a waste considering the snow kept getting icey and you were limited by what was illuminated. Maybe that had something to do with being at Meadows because since last season I can't get enough of it. On Wednesday we all met up at Brandon's around 4:30 and hit the road up the mountain. With just a short stop at Subway we are on the slopes by 6. The conditions were soft and powdery and we had the entire upper bowl to ourselves. With zero lift lines Brandon and I hit upper bowl from every different angle all night long. At around 9:30 we all packed back in the car for a short ride home with no traffic and were in bed by 11 that night. Oh and did I mention it's only 25 bucks?

And then to top it all off I got a call from our friends who are in Burkina Faso in Peace Corps.

shreddin'

I used to listen to Josh and Brandon talk about shredding, powder, runs, groomed trails, lifts…my eyes slightly glazed over because skiing and snowy mountain sides had no place in my reality. My winters involved reading and knitting, Beethoven and Mozart – activities of the house-wifely nature that kept me within the warm confines of whichever home we were in at the time. How many winter homes now, Josh? 7? So I don’t know quite what prompted me to fork over $70 one weekend in order to leave my warm hearth and learn the intricate workings of snow-board bindings, boot lacing, fogged-up, bug-eyed Fly Girl goggles, and…falling on my ass. Over and over did I fall. Did the next day find me nursing a bruised backside and sprained wrists with a cup of cocoa and a copy of US Weekly? Historical data of Nicora’s winter-time habits would have the betting man placing his chips on Hell Yes! But no, back up in the snow was I, forking over yet more money. Lacing, strapping, swaying in the frigid wind on the lift. Any amount of money and pain, anything to bring back the exhilarating rush of cold, pure, winter wonder on my face during the minutia of time between falls.