Next, we found some bikes in the garage and hit the trails to explore for a couple hours.
We ate dinner at the Sunriver Brewhouse. They had gluten-free beer(yay!), and I ate the artichoke crab melt on a gluten-free bun, which was exceptional! The service staff was very friendly and helpful about gluten-free options and gave advice about other things to do in the area.
After dinner, we grabbed drinks at The Owl's Nest, a bar at the Resort. They had a live band playing a combination of jazz and classic rock.
After that we retired to our cabin to wind down in the hot tub before bed. Saturday morning after sleeping late I escaped to the porch to recover with coconut water and start a new book in the sun while Tyler made breakfast.
We spent the day at SHARC, Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic & Recreation Center. There was an indoor pool, a lazy river, a water slide, and a hot tub. The lazy river was nice, but a little to fast for me to consider it "lazy", and the amount of children(and grown-up children) splashing each other reduced my ability to relax much. The water slide was great, but as it was May in Oregon the wind at the top of the slide was frigid and I couldn't bring myself to make the climb more than once.
After the water park we lounged around watching tv and playing board games. Smitty taught me to play chess, which I am apparently naturally amazing at. For dinner we made the most amazing fish tacos I've ever had in my life and had a low-key night.
Sunday morning I snuck in a quick run in the rain before making breakfast.
Our friends Wayne and Emilee were staying nearby, so we met them in Bend for the day to brewery-hop. We started at Deschutes Brewery, which had an excellent Belgian-style gluten-free beer. They identified the gluten-free beverages by putting a rubber band around the glass. I thought that was clever.
Our next stop was Bend Brewing Co. They didn't have a gluten-free beer but they had a hard cider that I loved. It's called Strongbow, and it's dry instead of sweet like most ciders.
After that we made our way to 10 Barrel Brewing Company, which we had heard good things about. I had to stand in line for almost a half hour only to find out they had no gluten-free options. There was nowhere to sit and there were fire pits blowing smoke everywhere. Our friends downed their drinks and we left disappointed and unsatisfied.
After a great day with great people, we returned to our haven and Tyler cooked a nice steak dinner(chicken for me). We played more games, which became very competitive, and enjoyed our last night of relaxation.
On Monday, we slept in and cleaned up the cabin. We stopped in Bend for lunch at McMenamins Old St. Francis School. Then we sadly drove back to real life. Sunriver is one place I've always loved. It isn't a far drive from Portland, and every visit feels like a real vacation.
