Dear Diary

Thursday. Picked up Debbie from the airport. Admired her new 'do (she'd had her long hair cut and donated to Locks of Love). Had a great dinner al fresco at El Pescador in Sunriver and walked around the mall there.

Friday. Had a good lunch at Quizno's. Saw The Devil Wears Prada. Walked around downtown Bend, checked out the old cars by the river (some kind of classic car festival), went from art gallery to art gallery enjoying the monthly First Friday Art Walk, had a wonderful dinner at McMenamin's.

Saturday. We went to the Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory. Toadlets hopping everywhere. Then Debbie and I went to the Lava River Cave. (Connie stayed home.) It was 90 degree weather, and yet with two steps into the cave you were so cold you could see your breath. Loved it. Had a tasty dinner at Boondocks in Sunriver.

Sunday. We packed a lunch and hiked Dillon Falls and Benham falls, eating on the trail. At Benham Falls, driving in from the west, we saw a tanned, fit woman in red spandex shorts and a black sports bra pushing a three-wheeled baby carriage up the hill. The baby was asleep. Is motherhood the female Sisyphus? Hiking from the parking lot down to the falls, we passed a couple women riding their bicycles up the steep hill to the parking lot, followed by a couple of guys pushing their bikes up the hill. Thanked my stars I wasn't them. Dinner was leftovers at home.

Today. Drove to Crater Lake. Took pictures. Hiked a little. (There was still a little snow on the ground!) Had a surprisingly good lunch at the Annie Creek Restaurant in Crater Lake's Mazuma Village. It was an Italian buffet in a beautiful new restaurant/gift shop. My lunch included lasagna, pasta, steamed vegetables (cauliflower and broccoli done just right) and peach cobbler. Connie's lunch included eggplant fritters, veggie lasagna and steamed veggies. Debbie's included veggie lasagna and I forget what else. Then we drove to the town of Sisters, west of Bend, and explored some art galleries, and had dinner at the Tumalo Feed Company. The baby back ribs were some of the best I've ever had. Probably because they taste closer than any others to the ribs I ate as a child at the now defunct BBQ Pete's Restaurant in Hawthorne (Southern California). Funny how the food you ate as a child sets a standard for the rest of your life.

Tomorrow. Maybe Smith Rock State Park, and dinner at Yoko's Japanese Restaurant and sushi bar. Depends on the weather. Tonight we have rain and thunderstorms.

Wednesday. Who knows? Maybe lunch at Mongolian BBQ. Maybe dinner at Johnny Carino's.

Thursday. Who else knows? Take Debbie to the airport. Maybe cry a little.

Busy, busy, busy.

Wednesday Update: Weather was beautiful. We did Smith Rock. We did Yoko's. Verdict? Yoko's goooood.


Blog Tag: Chatter