I’m always super happy when I get to visit Oregon to see my mother and the horses on our little farm. When my dad asked me if I wanted to head up to Bend to go to a film festival where his short movie was entered into, as well as a private screening of a Feature Film that he directed. I jumped at the opportunity to fly into Medford, and then ended up driving with my mother up to Bend. The funny thing about Bend is that we lived there for a couple of years when I was VERY young.. I don’t remember much about it, but went to Kindergarten there. I was interested to see what I thought about it since it had literally been so long, and it is kind of off the beaten path in terms of Oregon cities.
Aside from it obviously being colder than where I’m from, it is absolutely STUNNING!!! The whole atmosphere is incredible, and it already had such a “fall” feel about it (my visit was in October) with the crisp air and all the different colored trees, I was tempted to just go crazy on pumpkin spice!
We pulled up to our hotel, which was kind of set atop a hill with beautiful views of the golf course we were on. We stayed at Tetherow in a little suite and everything about the hotel was top notch and felt so warm and cozy. I could have easily lived there!
The first night was very low key. However, the next day, I was determined to explore and find a coffee place (that wasn’t Starbucks… that’s for another post!). To my amazement, Bend is pretty much heaven for someone living a healthy lifestyle when it comes to food, etc!! There were so many options when I looked on Yelp. I ended up at Strictly Organice Coffee Bar. Everything down to the food they offered was organic, and the cups were even recycled.
I went there both mornings we had there to pick up coffee for everyone. It had an urban feel, and the drive to it was GORGEOUS with tons of grass and orange, yellow and red colored trees. Since I super failed at taking photos, here is a glimpse of what Bend looks like.. Colorful!
The first evening, we attended the showing of the Short Films at Volcanic Theatre Pub for Bend Film, which was very bare bones and fun! They also had BOOMCHICKAPOP along with some house made black cherry cider, and that was delicious!
The following day, we took it easy and I just worked on my computer most of the day. Midday, I got hungry and went on the hunt for a new place to try for a late lunch. I found Next Level Burger and decided to give it a shot! The entire menu (including the brownies) was all plant based, even the burgers and hot dogs! I got a burger and some sweets (sweet potato fries), it was really good and made me love Bend even more! There are places like this ALL over Bend.. It kind of has an upscale hippy vibe.. if that makes any sense!
The second night, we went to the private screening of the Feature Film at the Widgi Creek Golf Course, and it was very fun and the film was great! I got a couple photos with my parents…
Overall, a really fun trip and I would love to go back and stay again to do some more exploring. It was a beautiful and “outdoorsy” place with the perfect mix of healthy “non-corporate” food outlets! Until next time!
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