Arrived here last night after a day long trip from John Day (3 hours by GPS). Bend was not originally on my ‘itinerary’. But when it came time to leave Idaho I glanced at the map and noticed it sitting there in Central Oregon and remembered that I had an old friend who had moved to Bend several years earlier. I got in touch, discovered she was still there, and set off in that direction.
It’s a great town. The people in John Day warned me that Bend had once been a nice place but of late had become Los Angeles – an allusion to the number of Californians who had discovered it and moved there. Of course the people in John Day also warned me that the country was on the verge of collapse and that riots and looting would soon ensue unless Michelle made it to the White House. (No, I’m not making that up.)
I decided Bend had a distinct advantage over JD. Once I saw it I also decided that Reston, my hometown in Virginia, would be much like Bend if it had 20,000 more residents, no traffic issues, a more relaxed attitude, a river running through it to connect all its wonderful lakes, a real central park and some history that preceded R.E. Simon. But of course I haven’t been here when it snows.
I’m out f here this morning but went out and took a few more pictures to share. Here they are.
RichardBeGone 