But Sunriver has grown on me in the three years I have been going there for the Pacific Crest Triathlon. It has grown on me so much that we planned a 6-day vacation there this year and then spent much of the 6 days turning to Barkernews and saying, "I love it here".
I love the smell of the high desert and the pine trees. I love the omnipresent sunshine and the hot temperatures. I love that I can ride the cruiser bike (thoughtfully provided by the rental house) around 33 miles of bike paths- to the store, to the pool, to the river. I love that out the back door are miles and miles of beautiful road, calling my bike, and miles and miles of trail, calling my mountain bike.
I really love the opportunities Sunriver provides for us to spend time as a family and to hang out with friends.
Can you tell it was an awesome vacation?
Witness the evidence:
Barkernews and Hazel (and Baby, of course) admire the sun and the river and the glorious feeling of not having to go to work.
Did I mention I did a little triathlon while I was there? Yep, the Pacific Crest Olympic distance race. I took 7 minutes off my 2009 time, 13th out of 46 in my age group. Next year, I shoot for under 3 hours. Pretty sure I can do it if I improve my run training. Maybe.
Did I mention the cruiser bikes? (Barkernews used his mountain bike since he needed a gear or two to pull the baby trailer.) Oh My God, I need one. Unfortunately, in my real life, I live at the bottom of a very steep hill so unless I move or get a cruiser bike with a motor, it's not happening.
I love vacation! That's Eli, Sara's 13-month-old, in the foreground. She's pretty dang cute.
Barkernews and I managed to sneak off for a little mountain biking fun on the Deschutes River, thanks to LeAnn's daughter, Sara. That was stupid fun. Seriously, it was a major highlight of my vacation for us to go out and ride together and a gorgeous, fun trail which was perfect for our abilities.