Birthday Trip to Bend
I grew up going to Bend, OR once or twice every year to visit my grandparents. We usually went around thanksgiving or Christmas and sometimes stopped to get my grandparents boat and would have lunch. But we very rarely went anywhere, I remember going to an Italian place once and the movies once. We were at our cabin in Crescent Lake, OR a few years ago and had arranged the trip to go with Corban’s family, have a few days just our family, and then my parents were coming and we’d be there a few days with them. Long story short I needed a break from being there and the ability to take a long hot shower and not be in a cabin and we booked a last minute trip to Bend. We ended up staying the Hampton Inn and Suites and that’s when we fell in love with Bend. We have been back every year since and we keep finding more and more we love about the city.
Last year Corban and I went for my birthday for 3 nights, the first 3 nights in a row we’ve ever spent away from the kids. It was so fun, easy, and freeing! We went river rafting, floated the river, and ate AMAZING vegan food! We went to Phil’s trail which we had been to before but without the kids we were finally able to venture past the “dirt pumptrack”, Calvin’s favorite place in the world. It was super hot all of the days and we ended up biking one day in 90 degrees which was ridiculous! But we biked on our favorite Phil’s Trail in bend which was amazing to actually explore without the kids! We stayed at the Loge Bend which was amazing because it has wall bike storage, only 2 racks though and in classic Nemeth style we came with 3 bikes!
A major highlight of this trip for me was whitewater river rafting for the first time. Corban had been in high school and I have always wanted to go but never had the opportunity. We ended up booking tickets on our drive to Bend and it was SO much fun. There are some rapids, after them we got to hop out and swim next to the raft, and it was a beautiful day to do it! My other favorite thing to do is to float the river. We did it in 2022 with my family and our kids but this year we got to do it just the two of us, my parents, and some family friends who were in town. It was super fun being able to do it without worrying about the kids being scared, we got to do the rapids 3x, and the weather was amazing.
We ate at Fix & Repeat, A broken Angel food cart which is food I dream about having in June when we go back, Bend Brewing Company which has the best location on the river, Crux Fermentation Project which is Corban’s favorite beer spot, beer and draft cocktails(but no food) at 10 Barrel, tons of vegan ice cream options at Bonta Gelato, and Toasty. The only drinks note at 10 barrel is because both times we’ve been there we’ve been super hungry, it’s been late, and we’ve waited over an hour and a half for food so we will not eat there again. Bend Brewing is the most magical location right on the river, they have a food truck in the parking lot where you can get appetizers while you wait for a seat, a huge lawn with picnic tables to drink while you wait for you table, eating inside and out, and a vegan option. This is one place where I have been known to break vegan for their beer cheese sauce and soft pretzel.
