Snow and Snuggles

Me and my snuggler-in-chief!

Y'all, pandemics are a real drag. While most of my family lives nearby, I have one younger sister, Grace, who lives with my brother-in-law and the two cutest babies in the world up in Oregon, far beyond a quick driving visit. 

After my father recuperated from the virus, he flew to visit them in the fall, as his doctor advised that he had strong immunity for the first 3-6 months after recovery. And then in the summer, my older sister, Laura (who is a teacher), took a big road trip with her sons to see Grace and her family. 

As I don't have summers off work (and considering that my job put me in a near-constant crisis-response posture last year), I hadn't been able to see my younger sister - OR the cutest babies in the world - since Christmas 2019. And I was really feeling it. 

So, I decided to take a risk. I waited until after the holidays when airport crowds would be lower. Then I strapped a mask on my face (Hubs had gotten me a heavy-duty one. By the time I finally made it to Oregon, patches of skin on my cheekbones and the bridge of my nose were practically rubbed raw. Lawdhavemercy.), gathered my courage, and flew to the frozen north. (I was a little freaked out on my first flight, realizing that I hadn't been on a plane since early last March. I booked with Delta, because they are still committed to keeping seats open on their planes, but the first flight still felt crowded, because I haven't been around that many people - particularly ones I didn't know - in a loooong time. All of my other flights on this trip were less crowded and felt more safe.)

Maggie has grown so much since I last saw her!

In the past, I have avoided cold weather, particularly on vacations. I much prefer warmer temperatures. However, I found myself flying into the jaws of winter, knowing that hugs and snuggles from my family would keep me warm when I got there.

Grace and her family had rented a cabin in Bend, Oregon, in a development called Sunriver Resort. The resort features some lovely outdoor paths/trails, nicely kept grounds, and small playground, etc. It also has a lot of amenities that were either closed for winter or closed due to the pandemic - a golf course, pool, spa, tennis courts, some restaurants, etc. But no matter. I was there for the hugs! 

After a long day of flying, I arrived late on a Saturday night. Grace picked me up from the airport and drove us to our snug cabin. I unpacked, cleaned up, a slept deeply with my chief snuggler that night - my precious nephew Owen. 

Day 1

The next morning, I woke up early (due to the time change), made a little breakfast, and enjoyed all the small people as they arose! Little Maggie is only 2 1/2, and she's a ball of energy! Dancing, singing, playing with toys between her bites of yogurt. We were in the middle of potty training, so we sang songs about the potty. She reminds me so much of Grace at that age, her chocolate-drop eyes and bubbly little laugh! As the sun came up, I saw that our cabin was situated against a small lake, featured beautifully through our back windows. And there was snow! So much of it! (As a Mississippi girl and someone who has generally shunned winter, it's not something I've seen a lot of!)

After breakfast (and as things began warming up), we bundled up and went outside to play in it. Grace had told me that there was no bad weather, only bad clothes. And after spending time in Oregon in the winter, I have to admit she was right. I had brought lots of layers myself, but she also had a big bin of snow clothes - jackets and pants that were both warm and waterproof - to wear as outer layers. They kept us toasty and dry! 

Hiking at Smith Rock State Park. 

We walked all around the resort, making snowballs and spelling the word "LOVE" with our footprints on the tennis court. As there was no one golfing, the golf course offered us another place to play. It was beautiful. 

After a little while, Grace decided we should go for a quick hike at Smith Rock State Park nearby. The park is open for day use, and Grace said there were some easy trails that our small people could hike with us. Off we went! 

This place is beautiful, and it wasn't crowded at all during our visit. (The sky was a little overcast, which might have had something to do with that.) Some of the other park-goers we saw were there to do some pretty serious rock climbing. (We even used some handholds to climb atop a particularly large outcrop for better views. We noticed later that you can also rappel down from that same point. So cool.) But as for us, and for the majority of other folks we saw, we were enjoying the trails and the views. 

Look. At. This. Face.

We parked in the lot and took the Rim Rock Trail, then the Rope-A-Dope Trail, then the Canyon Trail, coming back up to the parking lot via the Chute Trail. The trails were thick with the scent of juniper, and we saw eagles and beautiful rock formations in the cliffs that rose on either side of the canyon. The Crooked River runs along the bottom of the canyon, and we observed ducks and geese serenely diving for their lunch in the water. 

After our hike, we were hungry! Though Oregon restaurants are closed for dine-in service, most of them are offering takeout. We called Sunriver Brewing Company and ordered a ton of food to share - mac and cheese (We added bacon, natch.), sliders with fries, fish & chips, etc. We picked it up on our way back home. The food was GOOD, and since this place was really close to our cabin, it was all still really fresh when we ate it. 

We spent a lazy night in, hopping into the hot tub on our back deck to relax. I'd never been in a hot tub when it was so cold outside, and the feeling is amazing. I did best when I left my shoulders largely above water, only dipping them in when I got cold. (Otherwise, I was too hot!)

I slept soundly that night with my snuggler-in-chief. Sweet dreams!

Day 2

The next day was rainy. It also happened to be my birthday! We spent a very lazy morning near the fireplace. My nephew, Owen, LOVES games. So we took turns playing made-up games, playing card games, playing board games he'd brought with him, and playing games on my iPad. 

Toward the afternoon, the rain had dissipated, and Grace suggested she and I visit downtown Bend to have a look around. I was up for it, so we donned our masks and headed out. We started in the Old Mill area at Sweet Tooth Candy Shoppe, where I got chocolate frogs for Owen as well as some fun treats for the rest of us. We peeped in at REI, which was HUGE and gave me a good idea on costs re: snow clothes for future adventures. We oohed and aahed at an art gallery, and then we walked a little bit around the Deschutes River. (There were trails everywhere.)

Face glitter for everyone!!

Then, we drove to downtown proper, where we found all sorts of cute little shops! (Some were closed, but many were open.) I bought some earrings, some loose leaf tea made in the area, some books, all kinds of lovelies. Though Crater Lake Spirits wasn't offering tastings on-site, they were selling small kits that featured tiny bottles of several of their spirits that you could sample at home. We bought a couple to try.

On the way home, we had one last stop to make. We'd ordered a birthday cake from Hot Lava Baking and Coffee Company, and we needed to pick it up! One quick visit, and we were set with a white layer cake with raspberry filling. We also got a few breakfast pastries to enjoy later in the week. 

Once we got back to the cabin and had a rest, we geared up for celebrating. First of all, I insisted that everyone wear gold face glitter for my birthday. (And you know I brought some.) It was a hoot applying it to everyone! Secondly, Grace and Ryan broke out the sparklers, and we played with those (taking goofy photos and videos) while the grill warmed up. (Your girl loves fireworks any day, but especially on her birthday.) Then, we made steaks on the grill and veggies in the oven. After an excellent dinner (washed down with good red wine), we lit a TON of candles on the cake (It seriously looked like it was on fire.), and Owen helped me blow them out! 

We relaxed a bit after supper, then took another evening soak in the hot tub. I snuggled myself to sleep that night with Owen. I don't think I've ever had a better birthday! 

Day 3

Another lazy morning at the cabin. Maggie came from her bedroom in an oversized tie-dyed T-shirt (I think it was Owen's.) and proceeded to give a modern-day Woodstock concert to a line of her Muppet toys. Lots of giggles.

Lava Lands framing Mount Bachelor

Once Grace got up and about, she said it would be a good day to go for a hike at Lava Lands, a nearby national park system that routes visitors through an ancient landscape. What is now Lava Lands was created about 7,000 years ago after a volcanic explosion. The miles-wide sea of jagged lava rock that was left behind makes for an amazing exploration and offers gorgeous views of nearby mountains. 

There's a visitors center here, but it's typically closed during the winter (and probably would have been closed in the summer due to the pandemic). We took the Trail of the Molten Land and the Trail of the Whispering Pines up to a viewpoint where you could see Mount Bachelor and several other nearby peaks. These trails wind you through an almost surreal landscape and lots of interpretive signs that explain how Lava Butte scattered basalt for miles, completely moving the Deschutes River off its original track. It's a short walk (about a mile), but there's a lot to see!

The surreal landscape of Lava Lands

When we'd finished at Lava Lands, we decided to stop by The Village at Sunriver to ice skate! The rink is still open, and they are enforcing social distancing. Like everywhere, you need to wear your mask. To keep the reduced occupancy limit manageable, they are also taking reservations. Ryan (my brother-in-law), Owen, and I got our skates and gave it a go! Of the three of us, only Ryan is really good at ice skating. Both Owen and I were hugging the wall and almost falling a lot. But it was fun! (And for an old Mississippi lady who doesn't know how to ice skate, I did pretty well!) We enjoyed spending an hour or so here while Grace and Maggie strolled through the area a bit and cheered us on from the sidelines. 

On the way home, we stopped at Blondie's Pizza for a couple of pies, which we gratefully devoured back at the cabin. Then it was leftover cake for dessert and another soak in the hot tub! This was the first night we soaked in the hot tub when the sky wasn't overcast. You could see tons of stars. Ryan even saw a few shooting stars! Gorgeous. 

After we'd cleaned up a little, we decided end the night by sampling our tasting flight from Crater Lake Spirits. It was really fun to try the six spirits they provided. Our thoughts:

1.) The plain Vodka was perfectly good. Just a clean alcohol.

2.) The Prohibition Gin - I'm not typically a fan of gin, but having hiked at Smith Rock earlier in the week, with the smell of juniper tied to such a good memory now, I actually really liked this spirit.

3.) We decided that the Pepper Vodka would make a great bloody Mary, but that we didn't want to drink it solo.

4.) The Rye Whiskey was yummy and good for mixed drinks.

5.) The Sweet Ginger Vodka might have been my favorite. It was delicious solo with a bit of ice, and I'm interested in using it to make some sort of Asian pear martini, to have with sushi. I bet it would be fantastic!

6.) We put small slugs of the Hazelnut Espresso Vodka in our coffee the next morning, and it was reeeeally good! 

More to come . . .

Two cuties in the hot tub!