After my feelings of confusion and denial gave way to excitement and disbelief, I asked if she actually meant to say 'vacation in Bend, Oregon' or if she really meant to say 'vacation anywhere except Bend, Oregon'.
She confirmed that she suggested we take a vacation in Bend, Oregon.
"You mean Bend, Oregon.... like the Inn of the Seventh Mountain, horseback riding and white water rafting Bend, Oregon?" I asked.
"Of course." she replied, as if we had discussed it as many times as we had discussed going to Disney Land.
My reply was simply something to the effect of "Have you been drinking?"
Of course she hadn't.
Near as I could tell, she wasn't lying, she wasn't mentally unstable and she wasn't joking.
So... with much excitement we planned a family vacation to Bend, Oregon.
Our family of four grew to an extended family of four plus Nana & Poppy.
Then the four plus two grew by two more for the Weigel cousins.
It was too late to turn back -- darn good thing because that vacation was AWESOME!
Day 1:
Drive to Bend... no one threw up (until after we reached the hotel anyway) and uneventful.
Kids went swimming.
Our group between our hotel patio door and the river
Day 2
Tanya's birthday!
Horseback riding @ 7th Mountain Resort
Whitewater rafting @ 7th Mountain River Co.
Cake AND Pie for Birthday celebration
Day 3
Drive up Lava Butte, hike around the crater, visit the lookout, visit the visitor center and take photos of squirrels
Visit the Lava River Cave (more squirrels, no spiders, no zombies)
Hike more than a mile to see Benham Falls (reportedly these falls were used in the filming of a few movies but we never really figured out which movies they might be).
Float down the Deschutes River in inner tubes (pictures not yet available)
More swimming!
Day 4
E & the 4 kids go back to the Lava River Cave with lanterns and hike to the end (and back).
More swimming!
Beer run for a relative who needed a growler of Girl Beer from the Boneyard Brewery.
Day 5
Drive home with special breaks to:
Visit Grandma Weigel
Do a little "No Tax" back to school shopping
Change a flat tire.
Wait for the AAA guy at a convenience store (pints of ice cream for the kids)
Buy replacement tire at Les Schwab at Exit ?? in the middle of nowhere while the kids totally raided their popcorn and hot chocolate supplies.
Rendezvous to deliver Girl Beer
Rendezvous to deliver the two cousins
Finally, home sweet home... to four excited dogs.
It was a great vacation... thanks to all of you for participating and having a good time with us!
~TEAM ROLFS
Important clarification:
ReplyDeleteMy wife called me at work to inform me that those were chipmunks, not squirrels.
Please make a note of it.
Thank you.
Follow up:
ReplyDeleteAn informal poll taken today confirms that 4 out of 4 Rolfs' surveyed agreed that the Bend, OR vacation was the highlight of the summer.
Woo Hoo!
~E