Desert in the Morning, Rain Forest in the Afternoon

I was up at 620a. Like the past few days, I quickly prepared for a run in a dark condo. It was 640a when I headed out the door. I ran the same route I had the past three mornings. It was cold but clear. Daylight was just becoming apparent. During my run, I pondered the end of our trip and how psychologically I didn’t feel ready. I knew I needed a much longer break. I need the mountains, and I need to ski! Back in the condo I started coffee then woke Mindy with bedside coffee. It wasn’t long before Tom, Tommy & Mindy were up. Unlike the days prior, we didn’t rush. Mindy offered that we skip a condo breakfast and instead focus on packing up and heading out, and then stop in town (Bend) for breakfast. Sounded good to all. We were all showered and packed up for departure by 10a. As luck would have it, it was a blue-bird day, or a perfect day for the slopes. Damn! Could’ve done the Summit. Check-out went without surprise. We headed into Bend and the McMenamin’s St Francis School for breakfast. On our way, we made a quick pit stop at the Powder Room – a local ski shop – just to check out their offerings. Mindy bought a new purple fleece. On to McMenamin’s. We found it easily – 700 Bond St. Like most other McMenamin’s, the place was a gem, lots of cool fixtures and interesting art work. And just as the name implies, it was once a catholic school that’s been recently converted to a hotel, bar, theatre, & restaurant. McMenamin’s does this all over Oregon. Jennifer was our server. The food was especially good. I had a southwestern omelet. Everybody’s breakfast looked delicious. We toured the facility after breakfast. Very, very cool art work, soaking pool, and lodging units. They own three or four houses adjacent to the school that are part of their lodging options. Maybe we’ll stay there the next time. Now near noon, we aimed the minivan towards Portland heading north on Rt 97/26. The day remained sunny and clear until we reached Mt Hood. Along the way we saw some incredibly beautiful scenery that we missed on the drive down due to darkness. Amongst the scenery were the Sisters, Adams, and Smith Rocks. As we ascended towards Timberline we once again were socked in by clouds – a common occurrence due to the geography. We stopped in Govy Camp’s Axe House Grill (formerly Mt Hood Brewing Company) for lunch and a brew. Been there several times past. As we past the entrance to Timberline and then Collins Lake condos, I wanted to stay.  Lunch was good. I had an Ice Axe IPA and a plate of wings. Others shared a pitcher of stout. We stayed for about an hour then drove the rest of the way back to Glenn’s place in the 'Couv'. Traffic wasn’t bad at all considering the holiday and hour, though there were a couple brief back-ups. Once at Glenn’s, we quickly unloaded the minivan. Tom S. didn’t hang out too long, just long enough to say his goodbyes. After Tom departed, I organized and packed our skis for travel home. Glenn let me borrow his ski wax so I could coat our edges. Glenn went down for a brief nap while we used his computer to do early check in. We hoped by checking-in early and printing our boarding passes, we might be able to sit together. Geesh! Despite checking in 12 hours early, we did no better than boarding section B-44-46. However, had we waited til morning, we almost certainly would’ve been sitting in middle seats and apart from one another. I cracked open and enjoyed my last rocket of Hop Henge. At 7p we decided to go out on the town. I asked everybody to remind me to stop and fill-up the minivan before heading back to Glenn’s since we needed to return the minivan with a full tank. We opted for the Asian bar across from Esther Shorts Park – can’t recall the name, though I’ve been there a time or two past. The bar is small but cozy with lots of red sofas for one to melt into. We did just that. We ordered drinks. Glenn and I ordered beers, Tommy & Mindy wine. Almost immediately, we were engaged in conversation with two other couples drinking next to us. Our conversations carried on through the entire evening, with one couple – Ann & Bernard -- sharing all sorts of funny stories. I enjoyed Bernie’s spin on life and parenting – “foot in the ass”.  Interesting relationship for he and Ann. She’s a local school teacher – 2nd grade. Bernard’s, on the other hand, is from Pompano Beach Florida but visits Ann often. His line of business was a bit unclear, something about working with pro athletes. If I recall correctly, they’ve been dating like this for 3 years. 10p came fast. I was first to state that we needed to go. I planned to get up at 330a in order to run, shower, and leave for the airport by 530a. We headed back to Glenn’s place. Forgot to stop for gas. I didn’t remember till morning. Mindy & I headed to bed right away.