Bend, Oregon

 …Continued from yesterday:
     When I arrived in Portland on Thursday, April 26, the city was misty and overcast,

…but scenic all the same.

…and my sister Romaine’s neighborhood was in full spring bloom,

...including her front yard, which looked magical,

...as did her back yard,

...and, as always, the interior of her house.

     My first request upon arriving in Portland was to have dinner at one of my favorite Portland eateries,

…a little diner around the corner from Romaine’s house called Dick’s Kitchen,

…Dick's being the source of one of my perennial cravings, the Kale Caesar Burger Bowl, which is a burger atop a bed of chopped kale with shaved Parmesan and Caesar dressing. Soooo tasty!

     On Friday morning we had breakfast with Romaine’s sweet friend Atsu, 

…at a neighborhood restaurant called Skcavone’s,

…where I had the yummiest avocado-topped omelet with some great potatoes on the side.

     After breakfast I spent much of the day snapping the spring flora and fauna around Romaine's neighborhood.

     Friday evening we went to see Randy Rainbow Live (see yesterday's post),

...and on Saturday afternoon we took a trip to Bend. Oregon.
     163 miles southeast of Portland, Bend is a small charming city located at the foot of the Cascade mountains in the sunny, piney central Oregon high desert region on the beautiful Deschutes River.

    Romaine and I stayed in the part of Bend known as the Old Mill District,

...at the Hampton Inn.

      After we'd  settled in we ventured out from our hotel on foot to explore the Old Mill District a bit.

   Dinner time was upon us when we came to an inviting-looking restaurant called Greg's Grill,

...which we decided to try.

    Romaine ordered the mac & cheese with chicken, artichoke hearts and spinach, which she thought was quite good,

...while I had the ahi tuna salad, which I thought was outstanding.

     After dinner we strolled around the Old Mill District a bit longer,

...then we drove into town to have a look around,

...before returning to the hotel to snag some dessert from the Suite Shop in the hotel lobby.

     The following morning we went to services at the Bend Unity church, located in a beautiful pastoral setting,

...and where the small congregation was very friendly and welcoming.

     After church we returned to downtown Bend for lunch at a spot that had been recommended to us by the server at Greg's Grill,

...a cute spot called The Deschutes Brewery,

...where the Greg's Grill server had recommended that we try the Brewery's famous Pub Pretzel,

...which we did.

    In truth, Romaine and were of the shared opinion that this pretzel was too much on the bready side; a really great soft pretzel would have been more on the chewy side. However the pretzel was greatly improved by the dipping sauce, a combo of a delicious cheese sauce ringed with stone ground mustard.

    After lunch we headed back to Portland,

...which, of course, also has its charm.