She stumbled into the pub on her companion’s arm and tottered toward our table. Though her features suggested she was middle-aged or older, she threw her arms out wide like a giddy school girl and in drunken but exuberant tones proclaimed: “This town is amazing! Oh my God! So much to do and see! Everywhere you turn…”
My husband and I were seated at a quiet two-person table in one of our favorite pubs in Bend, Oregon: The Cellar. Carved into the sub-level below the city sidewalks, it’s the kind of small, cozy, atmospheric place that invites you to sit and escape the world for a while. They brew their own beers and bake homemade pot pies and shortbreads. It feels a bit like Harry Potter, all “growed up.” The analogue clock above our heads displayed the time for Kensington Station.
My husband was finishing his curry pot pie, and I was sipping a glass of wine. A few of the staff had already gone home for the evening, and the bartender was marking time until last call. The little electric fireplace near our table gave off an ersatz glow. We had been the only customers left in the place until the woman and her companion blustered in.
We agreed with her, getting a kick out of her childlike delight in discovering Bend. We could hardly blame her. It’s become one of our all-time favorite “wide spots.” (In all honesty, though, with a population of just over 100,000, it’s much wider—and quirkier—than your average wide spot. More on Bend later…)
Discovery has become its own dopamine hit.
We’ve since let that delight carry over into our other adventures. Discovery has become its own dopamine hit. On our travels through California, Oregon, and Washington, we’ve taken the time to stop and explore the places we’d normally just drive through. (Or mutter curses at for being speed-traps.) This section of the blog aims to share that excitement and help other travelers find those places that are both “Forgotten and Charmed.”
May the road rise to meet you!