DAY 52- The Wine Country of Paso Robles & Templeton, CA…

So I woke up all pumped up to do one of the bicycle routes that I had talked over yesterday with Elaine at the Bike Lane Inn.  I got out of bed, pulled back my curtains on the sliding glass door, and my face fell.  It was raining.  Darn it!  Well, I thought I can do some wine tasting and maybe catch a tour at one of the wineries.  This day can yet be salvaged.

I had a wonderful breakfast of a eggs almost like there were rolled like a jelly roll with bacon and fresh cut heirloom tomatoes inside, fresh fruit with a bit of Greek yogurt, an organic chicken sausage and coffee.  There was another couple from just outside of San Diego that was also staying there.  They were visiting a daughter and grandkids that lived nearby.  They were wonderful breakfast company.

Armed with a map and coupons for free tastings from the B&B, I went off driving into the rainy weather.  I was to take Vineyard drive all the way to its end and then take a left.  There wine tour wasn’t supposed to start until 10:30AM and I left at 10AM; that should’ve been plenty of time.  But I took the left before I got to the end and got a bit turned around. 

Photo- Jack Creek Farms with pumpkins galore!

I stopped at this cute little farm called Jack Creek Farms.  There were pumpkins galore on displayed, a small windmill, and 6 cats playing among the pumpkins.  I asked for directions and the next thing I know the gal in charge is on the phone with Tablas Creek and finding out if they were doing a wine tour.  They weren’t because of the weather but if I went over there and told them that I talked with the manager they could give me a talk and possibly a shortened tour.  With new directions, I headed out to Tablas Creek.

Photo- Part of the pretty drive out to Tablas Creek Winery.

It was an additional four mile very scenic drive that took me through tree covered roads with vineyards all along and even an olive grove too.  I finally reached the end of the road and arrived at Tablas Creek.  There was only two other vehicles other than mine.  I walked in and a man asked me if I was there for a wine tasting.  I said yes but I was also there for the tour too.  He said that there wasn’t a tour because it would be too muddy out in the fields for that.  My face fell and he said however he would be willing to talk about the vineyard to me while it was slow here.

Photo- Tablas Creek Wineries tasting room.

Steve proceeded to tell me about the history of the vineyard.  How it started out as a friendship between two families (one American and one French) and ended up as a partnership in 1985.  It took them four years to find the right property.  They were looking for a limestone soil, a certain climate, and a rugged terrain.  All conditions needed to grow the grapes that were brought over from France.  They finally found the right one here in Paso Robles (the town just north of Templeton where I was staying) in 1989.  The French vines had to be held in quarantine for 3 years and then they were finally able to plant them here in California. 

Tablas Creek’s 120 acre vineyard is an organic estate.  The emphasis is on dry farming; another reason that the limestone soil is so important.  Limestone soil will hold water and allow the grapes a steady supply of moisture throughout the growing season.  But Tablas Creek takes organic one step further; they have become Biodynamic farmer.  They plant certain plants around the vineyards vines that feed sheep that are on the property and supply manure as natural fertilizer for the vineyard.  These plants also are chosen because they promote lady bugs and other pests that help keep away pests that are not good for the vineyard.  There are three dogs that roam the property and they help keep the deer, rabbits and other rodents away from the vineyards.  Steve explained in wonderful and understandable detail of all of what is involved in Biodynamic farming.  He took over 15 minutes while we sat outside under a covered area and he drank his morning coffee.  He patiently listened and answered my questions.

Then, we went in and Steve took me through a wine tasting and explained each wine and the types of elements that were in each.  It was wonderful and enjoyable as he also explained some of the nuisances of it all.  They had a wonderful red table wine which had been ranked 37^th worldwide.  I could tell why; it was wonderful.  I later found out that Tablas Creek has a reputation for emphasis on education in the area.  They generally do two vineyard tours a day at 10:30AM and 2PM.

Photo- Pasolivo's olive oil tasting room and giftshop.

Next, I headed down the road to the Pasolivo Olive Oil which said it was open daily.  Another thing that you find common in the area is olive groves; they quite often go hand in hand with vineyards in some areas.  I drove up to an unassuming long white building and went in.  I got to experience my first olive oil tasting.  First, you pick up a small bag with cut up pieces of bread.  Then, there are little cups that you can put a bit of oil into that you dip the bread in to taste.  There were several different flavors of oil. 

There was an Italian one that had a bit of a peppery bite to it; or I thought it did.  It was funny because one guy started to cough and the sales lady said that it was natural to cough because it was showing that the anti-oxidants in the olive oil is working.  The next thing you know almost everyone in the place except for me is coughing while I was having a hard time keeping a straight face.  Boy!  Everyone was sure making sure those antioxidants were working!

Other flavors in olive oil that they had were; kitchen blend, rosemary, lemon, tangerine, lime, and citrus.  The two that I thought were the best was the rosemary and the lemon.  They also had other items available such as; bar soaps with different scents, salts and spices, vinegars, jams, lotions, lip balm, body butter, and liquid hand soaps.  It was a fun shop to go through and just smell or test some of the products.

Photo- A water fountain on the outdoor patio at the Rotta Winery.

Then, I headed to the oldest winery in the area.  Rotta was started in 1908 and is the only remaining family owned vineyard out of the first three original vineyards that started in the early 1900’s in San Luis Obispo County; a real rarity.  Currently, a grandson owns the vineyard and has been trying to breathe new life into it.  I was the only car in the parking lot and was wondering if they were opened until I went in.  A gal behind the counter took my free wine tasting coupon and started my tasting. 

Among my favorites at the Rotta vineyard was a Zinfandel Rose; that had a bit of a dry nice crisp flavor with a hint of strawberry, and two dessert wines.  The first dessert wine was a Zinfandel Port which had a wonderful smooth port flavor to it.  The other one was the Black Monukka which is a rare find of a grape.  This dessert wine had a nice nutty vanilla flavor and was not finished like a port but finished off with a grain alcohol to keep its wonderful flavor.  I bet would’ve been wonderful over ice cream. Yum!

Photo- The sign near the entrance of Aron Hill Winery.

Next, I went to Aron Hill Vineyards where they had signs advertising food.  It was lunch time and that sounded good.  I ordered a Panini sandwich and then took out my coupon for the winery.  Well, I discovered that it was a 2 for 1 wine tasting which didn’t do me any good.  The gal said that she could charge me ½ regular if I just choose three wines to taste.  Okay, I thought and I tasted 3 of them; all of these wines were reds where the other wineries so far had both red & white.  I ordered one of them as a glass to have with my lunch and because of the weather sat at a table inside.  I imagine on a clear day their patio area would fill up for lunch; it was a gorgeous view overlooking Hwy 46 and three other vineyards in the area.  While eating my lunch, I ended up sharing a table with a couple from just north of the San Diego area.  This was their first winery that they had visited of the day.  I ended up giving them of the lists of the ones I had visited and the olive oil too.

Photo- The rustic barn that houses the tasting rooms
for Lone Madrone and Stehphen's Cellar.

Next, it was down and almost around the corner on Hwy 46 to the Lone Madrone winery that Steve at Tablas Creek had highly recommended.  There’s also a Stephen’s Cellar located at the same place.  It’s a little like one stop and two wineries.  Though, the Stephen’s Cellar is more like a selection of wines from different producers.  I didn’t have a coupon but if you purchased one tasting you got the other tasting for half price.  I started with the Lone Madrone; which only had one white wine selection then it was onto reds.  I’ve never truly been fond of reds in general and I didn’t really care for any of these.

 A tall blond willowy gal in her late 20’s was standing next to me and started talking away while I started the wine tasting at Lone Madrone.  She was really disappointed when she found out that I wasn’t from the area.  She had just moved back in with her mom after breaking up with a boyfriend where she lived in southern California.  I think she was hoping to make some new friends to hang out with in the area.  I guess I was funny because she laughed a couple of times but quite a bit of my humor kind of just went over her head.  I asked her about jobs in the area and she said she had gotten hired almost the same day at a place in Cambria.  But I wondered if it was because she was beautiful and her mom lived in Cambria and pulled strings?  After she left, I finished my wine tasting and wondered if the reason she visited the winery was the young man doing the tastings behind the counter.  Sorry to say but I had the feeling he swung the other way.  She was paddling up the wrong creek on this one.

I took my wine tasting glass from Lone Madrone and went right around the corner for the wine tasting at Stephen’s Cellar.  There was a very stylishly dressed older woman that was behind the counter.  For this wine tasting you could choose 6 out of the list of wines.  She started me off with the whites that I had asked which ones she would recommend.  I did reserve one of the 6 as a Muscat wine that sounded delightful.  This lady explained the wines to me like Steve did at Tablas Creek.  This was wonderful and these wines that she was choosing for me were gems.  I asked her where she would recommend next.  By this time it was almost 4:30PM and a great deal of the wineries closed their tasting rooms at 5:30PM.  She recommended that I go the city square of Paso Robles because a great deal of those stayed open till 6pm and were closely situated.

So, off to Paso Robles I went which was maybe a quick 7 mile drive.  I parked north of the city park square and got out.  But I really by this time had felt like I had been “wined out”.  I just walked around and happened to stumble upon an art gallery called Studios on the Park.  It was a group of studios within the same place.  It had about 10 local artists that had their art on display; most of it 2 dimensional in nature.  There was one featured artist that had the main walk center area for displaying their art.  There was a great deal of variety and styles; a good selection for an art gallery.  I walked through slowly and said hi to a couple of the artists; some who were working on another piece of their art.  It was just interesting walking through and seeing them at work.

Photo- Just inside the door at the Studios on the Park Gallery.

I wandered around the city park square some more and then walked back towards my car.  But I was thinking of maybe some dinner.  So I stepped into a local bar/restaurant that was called something Irish like.  I can’t remember the name and I sat at the bar.  I ordered a beer and wasn’t there but a minute before this older woman sits next to me and am showing me pictures of her grandkids.  She said she needed a drink because she just came from the hospice where her sister was in.  I must have said something funny because the next thing she’s doing is thanking me for being there to lighten her mood.  We talked for a while and then a guy sat next to her on the other side.  Soon, she had him in on our whole conversation too.  She was quite the character.  As I drank my beer, I just didn’t feel hungry for anything that I was seeing.  I finished my beer and headed back to the freeway.

DAY 35- Dune Buggies to Eureka!

I woke up to what I thought was an amazing sight.  The sun is rising but it looks like a huge orange globe rising out of foggy clouds.  I threw on a jacket and ran out with my camera and got a picture.  I was the only one that seemed rather excited at the sight.  Is this a common thing to happen here and I just don’t know it?  They just watched me as I excitedly took pictures in my p.j.’s.  (Of course, I’m not sticking out like a sore thumb here. J)

Photo- I was the only one impressed with this scene
but I thought it was wonderful.

I drove north to the Spinreel rental place which was about 14 mile drive.  About ½ mile before the turn off for Spinreel, the traffic came to a complete stop and I waited about 15 min. because of construction.  Thank goodness I had left about 25 min early but I was still getting nervous that I would miss my dune buggy ride.  But there was a whole lot of nervous finger tapping going on in my car.

Photo- Of dunes, where trees get buried in sand and eventually die.
It's a constant battle between the pine trees and dunes.
 

I made it with a few minutes to spare, whew!  Right at 10AM on the dot the wonderful people at Spinreel opened their doors; just after bringing out all of the various vehicles that they rent out.  I tell you there’s a lot to choose from! I filled out a waiver form, paid, and introduced myself to my fellow riders; an older couple from Canada, Sharon and Rafael (Raf, for short).  I was rather glad to have an older couple figuring the dune buggy wouldn’t be such a roller coaster ride because I’m not so good on those.

Photo- In the Dune Buggy, myself, Raf, and Sharon.

We got introduced to George who would be our driver for the ½ hour tour that I signed up for.  A great deal for only $25!  He took us out to the dune buggy and we got in.  I sat up front because Sharon and Raf wanted to sit together.  Yep, I was driving shotgun in the mini-roller coaster ride.  I was a bit nervous but then as we started to drive over and George explained about the environment surrounding the dunes and he seemed so experienced that I became more at ease.

Photo- Of the dunes- just amazing!

The dunes are amazing!  Even with some of the pine trees, which were planted back in the 1930’s because of some movie star that tought trying to claim and stablize the sandy area was good. It’s hard to describe but it was a very different landscape than what I expected.  I guess it’s even more amazing as you get to closer to the beach area; which I will warn you that if you want to go to the beach you’ll need to rent for at least 2 hours.  The dunes area is that wide and they go along the Oregon coastline from Florence to just north of Coos Bay.  In fact, you will see a great deal of trailers with ATV’s on them in the area.  What was even more amazing was that there was a river running along it and the Hwy 101 is on the other side of the river.  It was all kind of surreal and amazing landscape.  I know you are tired of me using the word amazing but I just can’t think of another word to use.

Photo- George with no hands on the wheel!

George started off slow and then started to increase the speed and go into more hilly sections of the dunes.  He kind of freaked me out when he started down a steep incline, probably a 14% incline and just stopped.  He put his hands up and took his feet off of the gas pedal.  We just sat there still. WOW!  He said you would be amazed with how much control you really do have out here in the sand dunes on these vehicles.  You need something to get you going to move in this sand.  We stopped a couple of times and I had to laugh because we were basically out in the middle of nowhere and there was this Century 21 realtor sign.  I guess it was for land just on the edge of the dunes.  George got near the edge and you could look over to see an area that looked like the only access would be the dunes because the other side was marshland.

Photo- Raf and Sharon, who made me look whimpy.

It turned out I was the whimpy one in the group; Sharon had been on a Disneyland roller coaster this last summer and Raf didn’t seem fazed.  Up and down and a bit crazier it went.  Probably not nearly as crazy as George could have been but it was for me.  I was holding on the the OMDG handle which was a “T” bar in the place of like a steering wheel.  George had told me at the beginning to hold on to that if I needed to and he called it –“Oh My Dear God” handle.  I told him I was used to the “Oh Shit” handles and he teased me that this was a step up from that.  George later told me that I wasn’t as bad as some that he has had women burying finger nails into his arm, but I think he was just being nice.  I was rather sad to have it end so soon, but I tell you what I would do it again with the Spinreel rentals.  They were just wonderful!

Photo- One of several wonderful ocean views from near the Cape Blanco Lighthouse.

Next, I headed back through Coos Bay and headed south on Hwy 101.  I swung by the light house at Bandon which I saw 8 years ago while I was on the coast.  I took some pictures of the ocean and a few quick ones of the light houses.  Next, I took a bit of a break at the Cape Blanco State Park where there was another lighthouse. (Kory- it was closed again! Just like the last time we visited.)  This lighthouse has some strange hours for its grounds but I walked around a plateau nearby where I saw some wonderful ocean views and even saw some people riding horses on the beach.

There were sections of construction along the Hwy 101 and there were a couple of times where the wait was about 15 min, but I did mind because you could watch the ocean.  I would roll down the windows and just listen to the ocean and enjoy it.  I looked at the construction employees and wondered how they managed to get anything done with those kinds of views but I would guess you’d get used to it.

Photo- A circle of Redwood Trees.

Next thing I knew I was in California.  The roads got curve and steeper.  The speed limits changed from 65 to 40 in a blink of an eye and sports cars were zooming around me like I was standing still.  Ye Gads!  Then I was at Crescent City.  I stopped at the Redwood Parks information booth.  I decided I would continue south towards Eureka, CA.  There was a section of “old growth” that the parks employee had told me had a paved road that went through.  It was the Pioneer Redwood area and was just south of Klamath, CA and there was an exit it ran parallel to Hwy101 and then joined back up with it.

Photo- Me- doing that I caught a fish this Big in front of the BIG Redwood Tree.

Wow!  Yes, another wow coming from me.  The Redwood forest is really something to see.  I stopped and took a hike into to see the Big Redwood.  I asked a German couple to take my picture.  It was funny because I ran into this German couple later on another hike and then later on in the evening at a brew pub in Eureka; small world!

On my way to Eureka there were a whole lot of cars stopping on the side of the road.  Well, it was a herd of elk that was just off of the Hwy on either side.  I stopped and took a couple of pictures but it was getting to be about 5pm and I still needed to find a hotel for the night.  I drove on and when I got to Eureka, I stopped at one of the first hotels I could find; a Clarion that looked nice.

And as I said earlier, I ran into that German couple at a brew pub.  The brew pub was the Lost Cove Brewing Company in Old Historic Section of Eureka and their wheat beer was wonderful.  I also enjoyed a brown derby sandwich; a pile high roast beef sandwich with melted cheddar on a toasted hard sourdough roll. Yum!

DAY 29- Wildlife Refuge, Creamery, & a Pedicure...

The first thing I did was run by for an oil change at Oil Can Henry’s; an oil change chain that I had never heard of until I came out this way.  Unlike, Jiffy Lube they do not have a waiting room.  So you sit in your car and can watch via a TV what they are doing under your car and under your hood; plus chat with them as they do it.  It was something new to me.  Next, I went down the street for an express car wash where the clerk teased me about driving all the way from Utah for a car wash.  I laughed and told him it was because I drove all that way that I REALLY was in need of a car wash.

I wandered a bit around Klamath Falls; going out to the Upper Klamath Lake watching the Pelicans.  While I was further wandering, I happened to find an Oregon Visitor’s Center near the edge of the town.  I asked the lady about doing a short scenic drive because I needed to be back by 4pm for a pedicure appointment.  She suggested a drive to the south that was a loop that took me along the edge of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.  She said that it was mostly a bird refuge.  Why not I thought I’ve already been watching birds today.

Photo- The beautiful stark landscape before I got to the marsh lands.

Thus, I went along Hwy 97 south and just before Doris, CA I took a left on to Hwy 161, about 17 miles south of Klamath Falls.  It’s a highway that runs right along the Stateline between Oregon and California; literally a straight shot.   The landscape seemed rather beautiful in its starkness.  But quickly the land changed to marsh lands.  Soon I was seeing ducks and egrets on water pond areas.  It was just amazing. 

Photos- The beauty of the marsh lands.
 



Photo- A white egret out in the marsh land.

Photos- White egrets in flight.

 

Photo- Some variety of stilts.

I turned south off of the highway into the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.  I took a quick hike to a platform lookout but it was the dry season and there wasn’t much going on because it was dry around the platform.  I opted to take one of the Auto Tour Routes which happen to be on gravel roads through the area; so much for having a clean car.  I stopped here and there and managed to see more birds. 

Warning these gravel roads are not designed to go much over 25 mph.  They are rather graded to ensure that you go slow and maybe that's so not to scare the birds?  The Auto Tour Loop is in two sections a short loop and a longer loop.  There's also several other little paths where its built up to walk into the marsh.  However, I would recommend that you wear long pants to walk through the tall grassy areas because there are a wide variety of other plants growing that might, or could, cause skin irritation.  So, in other words, me and my capris didn't get very far on some of these pathways.

I guess there are over 353 species of birds in the area but I only saw a few variety of ducks, some beautiful white egrets, a male pheasant and a female pheasant, flying eagles and hawks, and some variety of stilts(at least that’s what I’ve figured out from the pictures in the brochure that they had.  I’m not a real bird watcher as you can tell.)  It was rather fun.  

Photo- A brew pub named the Creamery?!??

Back in Klamath Falls, I grabbed a lunch at the Creamery which is a local Pub/brewery that was started in 2005 by two electricians who found the abandoned Creamery building and decided to start their business.  They’ve had some award winning micro brews and I really enjoyed their Hogsback Heffie which they serve with an orange; just the way I like it!  Oh did I tell you I got a kick out of parking between an Oregon Highway Patrol car and a Sheriff’s car just across the street.  I was just waiting to come out and find that my car got towed or some kind of note saying "Please behave yourself while you are in our neck of the woods", or something like that.  But I also kind of got a kick out of parking between the two with my out of state plates.  In the end, I came out and my car was safely still sitting there and intact.  Yeah!

Photo- The inside of this Creamery...

Next, I went to the Favell Museum in Klamath Falls.  The museum is based on a boy’s interest in collecting artifacts from our Western heritage; that boy being Gene Favell.  It started with Favell’s collection and has been expanded to include other collections and Western art from several prestigious and well-known artists.  It included quite a few of the Indian tribes of the Northwest and it was very interesting reading about the specific tribe customs.

Photo- My new toe look!

Shortly after 4pm, I found myself in a snazzy blue convertible car with my cousin Kimmie on our way to the nail salon.  I got my second pedicure ever and Kimmie was going to get a nail fixed.  It was fun!  Kimmie has been going to this same salon for over 5 years now and she was being teased by the employees.  I was cracking up and then we talked while we dried our nails.  Then when our nails were dry, we went next door to a new Japanese restaurant.  What fun!

DAY 24- On My Way to Bend...

I loaded up my gear and took my last look around Timberline Lodge.  It was a fun place to stay and the staff was just wonderful and very helpful.  I also really liked the idea of staying at a National Historical Site.  It was all worth the little bit of splurge.  I headed down the curvy 6 miles down to Hwy 26 and headed east.  The end goal for the day was Bend, OR.

Photo- One last look at Timberline Lodge while I got in the car.

It was quickly that I got over the mountain range that the landscape changed to a very dry arid area.  It looked like kindling for a fire; with tall grass that looked the color of wheat intermixed with juniper trees.  There was an abundance of dark lava rock croppings here and there.  There were a couple of sections where I drove through that looked like a fire had occurred within the last couple of years.  Tall tree stumps stood charred like lone soldiers on the horizon while others lay fallen.  There were an abundance of signs prohibiting fires or throwing cigarettes out of vehicles.

Photo- The amazing scenic viewpoint with a 300ft. drop
located just off a rest stop on HWY 20.

I had been told by a couple of people at Timberline Lodge to look out for Smith Rock State Park.  It’s a rock climbing mecca in the area.  While looking for that park, I stumbled upon the Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint.  It was a lava rock gorge area that went down for at least 300ft.  There was an older bridge that was part of a memorial highway and had a closed bridge that you could walk out on and look down.  I was getting dizzy from looking straight down.  But it was an amazing view and then there also was an old railway bridge that went over parallel to the other bridge.  Then, off on the other side was the bridge that the now Hwy 97 took over the gorge area.  It’s all part of a rest stop area for Hwy 97 and well worth the short walk to the overlook area.

Photo- Smith Rock State Park-- A mecca for rock climbers.

I finally found the turn off for Smith Rock State Park.  The road to it took you through a pretty valley area with horse ranches and farms with plenty of cows.  I saw a strange new sign I had never seen which looked like a person chasing a bike; strange.  I got to the park which was maybe 2 miles off the Hwy 20 and was kind of reminded of some rock areas down in southern Utah.  Some of these shear rock faces were about 200ft. tall.  I went down to the overlook area and asked where I could watch some of the rock climbers.  The lady said that it was too late in the day and that the rocks get too hot for the climbers to be on.  That was a bit of a disappointment.

Photo- Peacocks at the Peterson Rock Garden. 

Photo- Another peacock and the American flag done in rocks.

Photo- A wonderful bridge done in rocks.

Photo- A castle with its own moat at the rock garden.

The bar tender at Timberline’s Ram Head told me about a rock garden that was a bit off the beaten track and it was a bit run down but it might be a neat place to swing by and visit.  I stopped at the Peterson Rock Garden just south and out a bit from Redmond, OR.  A man did it as a little lifetime hobby of forming different sculptural pieces and putting gem stones on the outside of the pieces.  It kind of reminded me of a rock grotto that I had been to years ago in West Bend, IA.  I thought that it was a nice little place to stop and visit; all be it, maybe a little bit corny but still I enjoyed it.  Besides, the rock gardens there were about 6 to 7 live peacocks roaming the garden.

Next, it was finally on to Bend.  There was a great deal of hazy smoke as I got nearer.  I guess that there was a fire up by the Sisters area, a local mountain rec. area.  I wandered around the town and kind of totally got lost and turned around in their several round-a-bouts.  I think they have at least 10 of them in the city area and it makes it interesting finding your way around.  I just happened upon the Central Oregon Visitors center when I was looking through the Old Mill shopping Center; which is a cute new updated shopping center.  There was a bridge area and access to walking paths and bridges.  It was a very scenic little area with a great deal of people out enjoying it.  I got directions from the Visitor’s Center and went to the hotel.

Oooopps! I made the mistake and showed up a day early for my reservation.  I think I need to get a calendar!  The hotel was fully booked for the night but was nice enough to call a couple of other hotels in the area to find room for me.  I cancelled the next night’s reservation and followed a new set of directions to a La Quinta Inn in the south area of Bend.  Yep! I did it again and thank you Laura for pointing out that at least I’m consistent! J 

Photo- Bend's main street area.

Once I settled into the room, I was off to find some of the brew pubs I had gotten a map at the visitor’s center for.  I was off and back amid the round-a-bouts and really thinking I’ll be in need of a couple of beers after all of this. I was amazed that for a town the size of Bend (80,000) that it has 10 breweries.  I ended up McMenamin’s Old St. Francis for Happy Hour.  They have a Happy Hour?  Wow, that’s not something that you would find in Utah; course, you can’t get a pitcher of beer in most places in Utah.  McMenamin's is a 1936 Catholic schoolhouse in Bend that’s been retro-fitted to be not just a brewery, but also a pub, a bakery, a movie theater, an event space, and a hotel.  I guess that McMenamin’s is a chain that have done this with several other properties in the Oregon area but was told that this was the largest and best of them in the state. 

While enjoying my “Happy Hour”, I was listening (okay- eavesdropping) in on a couple at a different table.  It was a man and woman who had been friends for years and she was asking advice on what to serve a new boyfriend.  She described a dish and I was only half listening until he loudly said,” …with a side of bacon grease!”  I started chuckling and he told me he was sorry and that he would try that again when I was taking a swig of a drink.  I laughed and held up my empty beer glass and said hold on while I order another one!  We started chatting a bit after that while I finished my 2^nd happy hour beer. 

After that I walked around in the main street and was basically blowing some time until a free band event was going to be playing there at McMenamin’s.  They advertise free concerts for all ages where you can purchase all kinds of beverages and even bring in food from the restaurant part.  The group that was playing was a wonderful folksy group mix with a female vocalist that had a voice that reminded me a little of Nora Jones.  It was just a wonderful group.  I ordered a beer and sat down in a chair along the wall.  The place started to fill up. 

I ended up striking up a conversation with a woman that sat next to me.  When the band took a break, Erie, yes like the Lake, showed me around and through to the back where there were fire pits where you could take your drinks and sit outside next to these fire pits.  It was wonderful. 

On the way, she even pointed out a 1937 picture of the Catholic school cheerleaders lined up holding stuff deer heads.  I asked if their mascot was a deer she said she didn’t know but she thought it was terribly creepy.  She and I talked for a while and finally it was time to go home for the night.  Erie, she was SO nice and walked me back to my car and told me an easier way to get back to my hotel.  Thank you gal.  I made it safely thanks to you!