Bend Oregon

I get it. I totally understand now why so many Oregonians choose to vacation in Bend and some Californians choose to move here.

So much outdoor recreation, so much beauty to discover.

To kick off our stay we visited Tumalo Falls.

The hike led us from one waterfall to the next making it fun to discover what was around every corner. That day was officially our first day of the new school year, even though we have been schooling throughout our trip. I now have a Kinder, 3rd grader and 6th grader. I am loving this age, all elementary school, they have adjusted well to "less structure" and Justin and I have enjoyed watching them learn through exploration and hands on experience. Our school life is far from normal right now, but it works.

Speaking of school, I had the kids start a scrap book at the beginning of our trip.

In each binder they have written about places we have traveled to, and collected brochures or other keepsakes to add along the way. The binders are getting heavy and are just about full. Hopefully in the years to come they can look through them and remember their time on the road.

In town near the Old Mill District we strolled down paths, played bocce ball and floated the Deschutes River.

But what made our trip to Bend extra special was that we were able to meet up with an old friend from high school who has been traveling full time with her family in their RV for over two years. When we first started on our trip we crossed paths with them many times, but were unable to find the right time and place to connect. Of all the places they've been to throughout the US and Canada, this family has now decided to put down roots in Bend for their permanent residence, and since we had already planed to visit the area it was the perfect spot to meet up.

Instant best friends, these two. They had a blast.

And I couldn't get enough of this special relationship.

With our friends we collected frogs and went swimming.

They took us to some pretty cool places to eat. This is Jackson's Corner, yummy food and perfect for the kids.

We also went to the Farmer's Market.

Lot's of unique veggies and fruits.

The Sparrow Bakery sells what they call Ocean Rolls, which is a must try if you visit.

We truly see the appeal of Bend, it has so much to offer and is the perfect balance of a small mountain town, but with the conveniences of a bigger city. It is a beautiful place to vacation and looks like a wonderful place to live. I can see why our friends have chosen to live here and to be perfectly honest if we didn't love Carlsbad so much we could see ourselves in Bend too.

Slowly we are making our way south, but before we crossed into California we stopped off at Crater Lake for the afternoon. The lake is a beautiful deep blue due to the fact that at nearly 2,000 feet it is the deepest lake in the US.

We were able to stay for the ranger presentation about different types of volcanoes in the area and I was happy to check science off for the day.

As I look back on our time spent in Oregon I will always have the best memories. It is a wonderful place to visit, with amazing food, people and scenery.