Sisters & Mt. Bachelor, OR

To start this post, we have images from a tubing and snow-shoeing expedition in Sisters, OR. We spent the morning and early afternoon having fun in the fluffy white stuff. Tubing was great, on pristine, untouched hills. And the show-shoeing was really fun. Great marked trails and not much else to look at but nature.

And now some images from a day on the slopes at Mt. Bachelor. This is not a sport for the weak of heart, or wallet...

... But it is a great way to be on a mountain for a day (or longer).

Companion Coffeehouse, Bend, OR

Bend, Bend, Bend... oh how sweet it is. When you're here in Bend and you need some caffeine, I think you should give this place a shot (get it!?). And let me say that a bit more positively - this is one of the nicest coffee shops I've been to in a long time. 

Now, they really only do coffee and some select eats. It's not like a bike/coffee shop, or one that also serves beer at night. It's just coffee, and they seem to do it very well. I mean, have you ever heard of a Brown Sugar Bourbon Latte? Well, I'd highly recommend it (decaf for me of course). 

I give high marks for their store design, staff & service, coffee, and at least the gluten-free peanut butter cookie I scarfed down. The evening we visited, they stayed open past closing to serve us - impressed.

They serve up some merch as well, plus art work for sale around the store.

And who would have thought of this little detail above the menu baords? I dunno, not me.

If you need some joe, you gotta go!

Monster Energy AMA Supercross Round #4 (Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum), Oakland CA

What. A. Day. And for sure, this is a whole day. You can arrive to the Fan Fair (team pits) at noon, spending the afternoon watching all the goings-on, checking out vendors, trying out stuff... and then head into the stadium about 6pm for the start of the racing, which itself goes for 3-4 hours. That's a whole day folks. You can cram in 6-8 hours of supercross action, no problemo.

I started in the fan area, where I find the pits to be the most interesting, especially scoping out the vintage bikes and watching the mechanics work on their riders' bike(s).

Then head into the stadium proper (this is where the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders and Oakland A's play their home games) for refreshments and finding the seats...

No...

Warmer...

Yes!

Although it was clear, being in the 2nd row has it's advantages, but one of them is not being able to see the whole race/track. Advantages include being able to really see the riders fly over the jumps, smell the fumes (very unique smell) and see things at a more close-up level in general.

Lights down for Star Spangled Banner and rider intros...

"Fans, please turn on your phone's flashlight to light up the stadium..."

Watch out, flamethrowers!

Now, let's get to the racing...

Great product here. Well-done event. The only thing that could top it off is a hot-fudge sundae - I don't suppose you have one of those too? What, you do?!

Sunday Marin Civic Center Farmers’ Market, San Rafael, CA

How could I stay away from the State of California's 3rd largest farmers' Market? I can't. And why would I want to? Sure, it was a little rainy out, but the food, the people watching, the community, and the FOOD.

Breakfast needed to be sourced, and it was hard... to decide which amazing offering I wanted in my belly! It turned into Deli vs. Pork?!

Pork won (and deli was out of salmon anyways... I know, it's rough)...

I added a local coffee purveyor too...

They also do something special for local chefs - they have carts available for them to handle their daily shopping, which I thought was genius.

If you can't tell, I am sold on this market. If you're anywhere near on a Sunday morning, I would very much recommend.