Bend Bliss

We are back from our whirlwind tour of Bend! It was a mad dash for the door (okay several mad dashes as we kept remembering things we had forgotten) after work yesterday but we made it on the road about 4:30pm. The film began at 8pm so I had the petal to the metal in the GEO as we rounded Mount Hood.

We make one pit stop, for some human fuel in Madras. When we vacationed at Lake Billy Chinook this summer we were super excited to see that there was a Sonic in Madras (the next closest Sonic is in VAncouver WA) and then super disappointed when we got closer and saw that it was still under construction. This time it was open! I was slightly discouraged when I saw that they did not offer the Hickory Burger. Maybe that is a regional OK offering? I made due with a toaster burger with hickory sauce and it was pretty close. YUM!

Next stop was the McMenamins Old St Francis School where The Skyjacker was screening as part of the Bend Film festival. Amazingly we made it with a few minutes to spare so we enjoyed the Octoberfest brew at the bar and then joined the Director, Jeff Pickett, his mom and her husband to enjoy the show.

There were two shorts before the film: Death in Charge and Miracle Investigators. Death in Charge is an ironic look at death through both the eyes of a modern day child and Death when the child's harried single mom leaves her in the care of Death as a babysitter for the evening. Miracle Investigators is a very humorous look at the "miracles" that appear and are endorsed by the Catholic Church. It felt to me to be very much in the same vein as Shaolin Soccer so of course I was a fan!

The Skyjacker was a really interesting film inspired by the story of D.B. Cooper. The timing was fantastic and we can't wait to see Nature when it is complete. The film was well attended and the audience has some great questions - way to go Jeff!

After the film Jeff's family was kind enough to let us crash at their place on Crooked River Ranch which was amazing. We played pool in the game room and got a chance to view some of Jeff's mom's bronze work which was amazing. The sun glinting off of the Deschutes River this morning was so beautiful. We wish we could have stayed longer but we left Scraps in charge of the farm and really needed to hit the road early. Next time!