Slow Down

Bend made me slow down. I didn't fight it.

I'd been to Bend two years ago and left thinking I needed to come back. So we did. Some friends of ours live in Oregon and we used the trip as an excuse.

Coffee at Thump in the morning, which is the kind of place that makes you wonder why you ever settled for anything less. Walking downtown. Sitting still. The VRBO sat close enough to downtown to walk everywhere but you'd never know it. Pine trees out every window. The Deschutes River loud enough that you felt tucked away from the world. Secluded but not remote. That's a hard thing to find.

People in Bend have figured out something most of America hasn't. Nobody's grinding. The pace isn't slow exactly. It's just right. You feel it within an hour of arriving.

One afternoon we took the baby to Bend Brewing Co. Cold outside, warm inside. Pretzel, bratwurst, a 4-ounce taste of beer at 4pm, baby fed between bites. One of those afternoons that doesn't make for a great story but makes for a great life.

For golfers, Bend is a base camp worth knowing. Tetherow, designed by David McLay Kidd, the architect behind Bandon Dunes, sits seven minutes from downtown. Top 100 public course in the country. Spectacular and punishing. Bandon Dunes is less then hours southwest. Silvies Valley Ranch is 3 hours east with two reversible 18-hole courses and goat caddies. I didn't play any of them. March had other ideas.

Fly into RDM to land right in Bend. PDX has more nonstop options and adds a 3-hour drive.

You gotta go.

Until Next Thursday,

Jeff

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