Week 29 - Bend is Cool

I chose to keep my title simple this week - "Bend is cool", as it accurately reflects my feelings after spending time there. However, a conversation with a local named Morgan left me with a different perspective. While trying river surfing for the first time, Morgan offered tips on how to stay on the river wave, and shared some thoughts on his town: "Bend is not cool, and make sure people know that." I was taken aback, as we were surfing in the middle of town under sunny skies, on one of the 300 days of sunny weather the area receives each year. But as Morgan explained, Bend is a unique and special place, and he doesn't want to share the secret because everybody will move there. So, I don’t want to write this blog to encourage you to move to Bend, more to inform you how amazing of a time we had. Also, our friend from Clemson who now lives in Bend, B-Rad, thinks that in a few years traffic MIGHT be bad, so another reason to think twice about moving there.

We got good at river surfing

Upon our arrival in Bend, we made our way to B-Rad's house, excited to be with him for the second time on our journey (B-Rad lives with Chad…Brad and Chad…dynamic duo). We arrived as game night was starting, and to our surprise, the group was filled with people from all over the world. It turned out B-Rad had found himself in a friend group of au pairs, individuals who come from other countries to work as nannies for American families. The group consisted of people from Germany, Italy, Austria, France, England, and South Africa. We continued to hang out with them throughout the week and I even celebrated my birthday with them on Monday, a surprise party! Well, I pretended to be surprised, and they believed me - I must have done a good job acting shocked because they were so excited. Unless they read this blog, they'll never know we pranked them. We also skied, went line dancing/swing dancing, and even bowled together. We randomly picked bowling partners with the au pairs and competed, my partner and I didn’t place so well. It turns out the French aren't too great at bowling...

The best surprise party

Lots of different nationalities in this picture

On our second day in Bend, we attended the Trinity Lutheran Church and School's auction, themed as "a night in Havana." We dressed up in our best attire and enjoyed the event. Afterward, we stayed to help tear down the decorations so the gym could be used for church the next morning. This was our latest night of service work yet, as we worked alongside 15 other volunteers until 2:30 a.m. As the night got later and earlier into the morning, the work became more exciting as our exhaustion kicked in. We found ourselves bonding over our shared exhaustion. Despite the late hour, I never expected to have as much fun as I did dismantling decorations in a high school gym. The Trinity Lutheran Church and School community continued to welcome us in, specifically the Payers, the Garus, and our good friend Reese.

We fit right in

Our connection to the families at the school was through Mayor Cristi in South Lake Tahoe, who introduced us to one of her best friends, Jen Payer. The Payer family quickly welcomed us, making us feel part of their family right away. We attended their son Tucker's lacrosse game, cheered with Grandma Melanie (who taught me how to cheer for more big hits from the players), shared multiple dinners, went for ice cream, and even practiced lacrosse trick shots with their other son Easton. I immediately felt at ease with both the parents and the kids, feeling strangely like we were all the same age because of how well we got along. Tucker even skipped school one day to volunteer with us, with his parents' approval. If you're interested in learning more about their family, you can check out the news story on their prank war with their extended family.

Trick shot oh yeah

The Payer family introduced us to the Garus family, who graciously provided us with a place to stay for the week. We were amazed by their impressive facilities, which included two pickleball courts, two basketball courts (my two favorite sports to play), and so much more. We were even more amazed by how enjoyable it was to spend time with them. Each morning, Toby and April made us coffee and breakfast before we started our day. It was an excellent way to start the day and put us in a good mood after having such a great time with them. Most nights, after our full days, we stayed up late talking, laughing, and sharing crazy stories. My favorite story was how Toby pays his high school son’s friends to get funny haircuts. Toby also made sure we watched Joe Dirt together, my first time seeing it. Despite their busy schedules, they prioritized spending time with us, and we are grateful for that. One day, Toby took us snowmobiling. It was wild. I had never ridden a snowmobile before, and I can't remember the last time I yelled as much as I did that day. The speed was exhilarating -- we were going faster than our bus ever has. I couldn't help but scream when going fast. Thankfully, the snowmobiles were loud so no one would worry something was wrong. We fell a lot too - probably around 100 times altogether. Half the time, the snowmobile flipped, but Toby was always there to help us flip it back over. While he never got mad at us, he did seem to get a kick out of our constant wipeouts, especially when we continued to hit the only tree around us. Regardless, Toby's good humor and encouragement made us feel like pros by the end of the day.

Classic Wipeout

Sometimes you have to chase your snowmobile when you lose it to the hill

Reese, the Youth Ministry Intern at Trinity Lutheran Church and School, lives in a guest house on the Garus property, so we were neighbors for the week. Despite some controversy surrounding Reese, as April Garus and Jen Payer don't want him mentioned due to his teasing about their fear of snakes and calling them boomers, I feel like he deserves a mention especially because he drove six hours to spend an afternoon with us in Portland. If we lived in the same place, he would be one of my closest friends. It's not often we get to meet new people our age who we click with so quickly. Reese joined in on most of our after-work activities, including helping us reach our goal of 100 falls on the snowmobiles. You learn a lot about your neighbors especially when you are in close proximity. For instance, Saturday morning I heard Linda, Reese’s truck, rev up. Out of curiosity, I walked over to see where he was going. He looked at me and seemed confused. He was about to head to the school to work for the day. Good thing I was there to remind him it was Saturday and he was just being a silly goose. I am glad we were able to Lend Our Services to Reese by reminding him of the days of the week.

April helping Reese with his blisters from snowmobiling

Jen introduced us to Heiling Reins, a non-profit that specializes in equine therapy. During our time there, we helped out by painting their barn doors, a deck, and even picking up horse manure. Out of all the work activities, my favorite was picking up the horse “doo-doo”. It might seem strange, but I found it therapeutic, which was fitting for where we were. Perhaps it was because I was spending time with the horses and immersing myself in their environment. Despite being allergic to horses, I learned a lot about their intelligence and the benefits of being around them.

I find myself feeling overwhelmed in a positive way, with so many wonderful experiences to write about this week. I continue to be surprised at how kind and generous people are in this country. We're heading to McMinnville, Oregon next week for more adventures.