Oregon Life

Mike and I finally had a nice long stretch of time here in Bend (2 weeks and counting!). As much as we love to travel and adventure, we also love hanging out at home, and exploring our new little town. One sure way to do this is to have out-of-town guests - then you get to play tourist in your own town, which is really fun. In fact, in Los Angeles, that was the only time I ever went to go see the Hollywood sign.

Here in Bend, the main attraction is the scenery. Mike's parents came to visit for a weekend, and we finally made it up to Bend's version of the Hollywood sign - Pilot Butte. That's pronounced with a long "U" sound, in case you were wondering.

Sunset view from Pilot Butte. We live down there in those twinkling lights!

The view from the top is spectacular. You can see almost all of Bend in one shot, with the mountain range in the background. Since there's been so many wildfires lately, the sky is super dusty and you get some nice reds and pinks in the sunset.

We also took them to the Saturday farmer's market, which was very fun and great for gifts. I even crossed one person's Christmas present off my list!

One of Bend's more popular veggie farms, which also does a CSA.

Mike with the gorgeous flowers Michelle bought for us!

Spending time in town has really paid off. We found the best donut store, the best taco truck, and the best Mexican restaurant (we have been missing Mexican food something CRAZY!).

Street tacos and tortas just like we're used to. Just hope they're open in the winter!

This Mexican joint uses local pasture raised beef, and makes their own horchata. Love it!

The local favorite - blueberry fritters. These are DELICIOUS.

Have you ever had a fritter? They're basically chopped up little chunks of donut dough, mixed with whatever flavor (in this case, local blueberry preserves), made into patties, and fried. I don't even really like donuts, but these are SO GOOD! Made fresh every morning, and they sell out by 10am. 

Other fun local things we've noticed:

You are allowed to park any which way on the street you want.

No one in Bend locks their bike. Even the expensive, mountain bike ones.

Everyone has a "Bend Love," Oregon heart, or "Be Nice, You're In Oregon" sticker on their car.
And a roof rack, usually with bikes or kayaks strapped to it.

A deer on the street where the new SubieTech HQ is located! Lots of deer, everywhere.

We're still suffering a little bit of culture shock - I mean, a tamale plate is $9.00 (WTF), and we really must buy an umbrella one of these days - but we're adjusting, and enjoying the change in scenery. We're in for the long haul. This is as good a time as any to announce that we've officially opened up SubieTech Headquarters in Bend, Oregon! Wish us luck!