Sorry I didn't get to post yesterday, I was wiped out by 7:30pm and just did not have the energy to blog about the exciting day I had.
Lucky for you, I have a JUST enough energy to blog about it now :)
Tuesday Morning was another early rise day for me, but I did not make it out for a run. But that's OK, because it was a cross training day :) I sat out on my aunt's patio while I ate my oatmeal and drank my tea and just enjoyed all the beautiful scenery the city of Bend has to offer. A few minutes later my mom and Ray joined me. After they ate their breakfast, we all decided to take a walk together around the neighborhood. It was another beautifully quiet morning on the block.
After that, we all came home, got dressed, and headed out to Elk Lake to spend the day with Sun and Fun!!! My mom and Ray went Kayaking in a double person Kayak, and I tried Paddle Boarding for the first time :) I've seen other people paddle board, and I always thought that there was NO way that I could have the coordination to do it... but guess what... I DO!!!
The guy that was running the rental spot helped me get on the board (which he also did with the people he helped before me) and gave me the basic, "steering" tutorial. Heading out on the water was nice and easy (the wind was blowing that direction). It felt really nice to be in my bathing suit and have the sun on my back with the wind lightly blowing on my face. Once I decided it was time to return in the opposite direction (roughly 15/20 minutes later), I turned the board around and started to head back to shore.
One minor problem... THE WIND!!!
I was paddling head-on into some very strong winds the entire time I paddled back to shore. Let me tell you... This was no easy feat. I think I paddled non-stop for about 45 minutes trying to get back to shore. I thought I was going to die. At one point I had to drop to my knees (OK... you can giggle) and finished paddling back most of the way in that position. I now have indents on both knees from that (OK... one last giggle).
Thank Goodness my parents stayed pretty close to me while we were on the water, otherwise I might not have had the motivation and effort to make the return trip. They talked to me and motivated me the entire way back.
The wind subsided for the last couple hundred yards, and made for a very smooth end of my journey. I even felt brave enough to try to stand back up so that I could ride in that same way I rode out. To my surprise, I stood back up without falling :)
When we all rallied back on shore, it was time to head back to the house. On the way home, we made a quick stop to see "Big Eddy". Big Eddy is a section of the river that has some class 3 water rapids on it. We are thinking about scheduling a trip for Friday, and Mom wanted to see how "bad" they were before she would agree to go. We were in luck, there was a group of Water Rafters going through the Eddy right when we got there.
The first raft made it through PERFECTLY, but the second one (a raft full of 4 adult men) had a little trouble on the second rapid and capsized!!! We didn't want Mom to see THAT!!! They all managed to get safely back into their raft and were ready for the next rapid. We watched two more rafts full of people (some even had tiny children) make it through the rapids without any problems.
It looks like SO MUCH FUN!!! But Ray and I were having a hard time convincing Mom that it was something she would enjoy doing. With even motivation, we talked her into it :) We are scheduled to go rafting Friday afternoon!!! I can't wait!
After we viewed Big Eddy we were all kinda tuckered out and I was starving! I whipped together a salad with spinach and egg whites. A little later we all showered and got ready to go out to dinner. We ate at a restaurant in Downtown Bend that my Aunt and Uncle really enjoy going to when they have company in town called The Pine Tavern. It is one of the oldest restaurants in Bend, and it sits right next to Mirror Lake and Drake Park. They have outdoor seating that allows you to view both while you dine. The really cool thing about the restaurant it that they became so popular that they had to add on to the property. When they began making the plans to do so, they realized that there was a huge pine tree right in the middle of where they planned to add on. Instead of cutting the tree down, they just built the restaurant around it. So now, there is a fresh and real pine tree in their main dining area.
Our dinner was delicious. We ordered a bottle of Red Wine to share amongst the table to start. Then, we were given these Buttered Scones (which are not really scones at all) to eat with delicious home made honey butter. To be honest... I could have just eaten that for dinner and been fine. With our dinner orders we all got house salads as well. I ordered mine with Marion Berry dressing. Also delicious.
For dinner, I ordered the Hazelnut Pesto Pasta. It was pasta with zucchini, artichokes, mushrooms, pesto sauce and topped with hazelnuts. It was by far one of the best pastas I've ever had. The only problem is... they gave me enough for 4 people to eat!!! I barely made a dent in my dinner, and I was stuffed.
Just like while we were on the lake, it was very windy at dinner. After we were done, we came home and just relaxed. It feels so strange to just lie in bed at 7:30pm and say to myself, "I'm done for the day". I have to keep reminding myself that I am on vacation and it is "OK" to do NOTHING!!!
So, that's what I did, and I couldn't be happier :)
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