From Reno to Bend!

Hello!

We made it!  But first … up this morning around 6 and down to breakfast about 6:30 am.  Good buffet, and then we were on the road, after stopping at the local Costco gas station to refill the car.  We followed the freeway heading northwest for a bit, and then off on to U.S.-395.  This was four lanes, two each way for a few miles, but then switched to a two-lane road for most of the rest of the way. 

Beautiful scenery along the way!

 

To be honest, it was truly a glorious drive!  Really lovely day – temperature in the mid-70’s to very low 80’s, and as we were on local roads, we had the windows down and the breeze blowing through.  The only difficult time was when R got smacked in the face by a dragon fly that came quickly through the window!  Apparently, it really hurt, and I know it was indeed a surprise!  We crossed over from Nevada into California and then north to Oregon.  The only difficulty was that driving with the windows open, we couldn’t listen to our Books-on-Disc.  Today we are playing Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey’s Clouds of Witness – an excellent story, but too hard to hear with the wind!

Beautiful -- and deserted -- highway!

One interesting thing is that when we went through Lakeview, Oregon, we stopped for gas and a “rest break.”  As I was paying the bill, the gal answered the phone and said: “Yes, we have gas!”  I asked her what was up, and she said it was the fourth call she had taken that day!  Apparently, some report somewhere (no idea if TV, paper or internet) reported that Central Oregon was running out of gas, and these were people just calling to check!  Wow!  To be honest, we checked local gas stations as we headed into Bend, and there weren’t any lines or any problems at all!  Good to have a full gas tank, however!

Arrived in Bend around 2:30 pm and found the Shilo Inn with no problem.  They had our reservation all set to go – room 317, which is a very large second floor room overlooking the Deschutes River, with a lovely balcony and chairs.  We have a nice kitchenette as well, and a bathroom with tub, toilet & sink, and then a second area right outside with a second sink and mirror.  Very nice!  Thank you, Katy, for doing such a great job putting this together!

We brought everything up from the car and got things organized.  (Fortunately, as I collect laundry, there is a laundromat near the indoor pool!!  Not to be confused with the outdoor pool and spa…)  I unpacked the suitcase and now we are all settled. 

Snow covered mountains in the distance!

#317!  Very comfortable!

We then decided to go to Costco and top up the tank.  Found it without a problem – just a couple of miles away, and guess what?  Despite the gas station being on the website, they don’t have one!  So, back toward the hotel and into a local Arco, which was wide open.  Filled up, and then headed to the Black Bear Diner for a very late lunch.  My sister Kitty has talked about the Black Bear that she and Mom go to in Southern California, and one has just opened up in Tucson.  So, we thought we’d try it!  Fortunately, as it was almost 4 pm, there weren’t many people there.  We got a nice booth and R ordered their tri-tip dip with coleslaw, and I ordered their Chef’s salad – two days in a row!  My salad was terrific; R’s tri-tip dip not so much, according to him.  But it did the job, which was filling us up, and then we headed back to the hotel.

Got a call from friend Hilary that she was at the hotel, and where were we, so arranged to meet her at the outdoor pool.  As it turns out, not only Hilary and her friend Jane were there, but so, too, were Hil’s sister Jenny, Jenny’s husband Hilary (yes, two in the family, one male and one female!) and their daughter Caitlin, as well as Hil’s cousins from Washington State!  So nice meeting everyone!  Katy had called me when we were heading back to the hotel.  They had been driving up from Sacramento, but were held up for an hour by a traffic accident – helicopters and everything!  Hopefully they’re here by now, or they will be missing the cousin’s dinner which is scheduled to begin right about now!

Deschutes river from our balcony!

It's a beautiful spot!

The only problem with the hotel is that the internet is REALLY, REALLY slow, so I will try to post a photo or two, but if it takes too long, I will post the blog, and then in a couple of days, I will go back in and post photos.  Sorry about that, but it can be so frustrating – plus timing out on the blogspot website!  I will see what I can do!

Lots of love!

m

xxx