Sojourn to Sunriver

Hi Blog.  On Sunday, September 1, 2013, we bade a fond farewell to Sam, Kim and Laila as they head back to Portland.  We met the clan (Mike, Leslie, Jeff, Emerson, Chelsea, Sam, Kim, Laila) for breakfast at the Black Bear Dinner.  After a hearty breakfast, it was time to bid the travelers farewell. Here Dave is capturing the final few moments with cousin Chelsea.

Wait - don't go.  Time for one more close up.  Say "Cheeeeese." (We miss you guys!)

After breakfast, plans were made to rendezvous with Mike, Leslie and Chelsea in Sunriver, Oregon.  Dave had visited this resort town once before, but this was Kathy's first visit.

For those of you not from Oregon, Sunriver is like Disney World without the rides.  It is a giant planned residential and resort community.  It is located on the eastern flank of the Deschutes River about 15 miles south of Bend at the base of the Cascade Mountain Range. Sunriver consists of residential homesites and common areas, recreational facilities, the Sunriver Resort and shops at The Village at Sunriver. The Sunriver Resort Lodge has hotel rooms, banquet facilities, a fine dining restaurant, and other amenities. Sunriver Resort manages four golf courses. The community is also home to more than two dozen tennis courts, water slide parks, swimming pools, picnic parks, a nature center, stables, a marina and an airport — all accessible via 33 miles of paved pathways for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Here were are biking out to the Deschutes River next to one of the golf courses.  That little pointy thing sticking up over the horizon is Mount Bachelor, a very popular ski resort.

One big pastime in Sunriver is floating down the Deschutes River.  We saw every type of contraption - paddle board, kayak, inner tube and raft.  Here is the view from a small footbridge over the river to National Forest Land.

The weather today was just perfect for a float trip.

As we biked through town, we stopped and chatted with this family of deer.  The mom and two fawns like to munch inside the traffic circle.

After cycling around town, we stopped at Fort Rock Park for the Sunriver Sunfest Wine Festival.  Here is Kathy showing off one of the Pino Noirs we purchased:

The event was especially important to us for two reasons:  it was the 21st anniversary of our going together, and it continued our annual tradition of spending Labor Day at a jazz and wine festival!

Our favorite performers of the day were Summit Express, a Dixieland Jazz Band. They were even better than the Dixieland bands we heard in New Orleans!  We loved their music so much we bought their CD.  Here is a little sample of their music:

Summit Express at Sunriver Sunfest Wine Festival

We topped off the evening by meeting up with Mike, Leslie and Chelsea for a fantastic Italian dinner at Marcello's. We have more adventures planned for tomorrow, so stay tuned.