Review: Bend Brewfest in Bend, Oregon

These two tall drinks of water road tripped with me down to Bend, Oregon, to enjoy some suds at the Bend Brewfest.

Nearly one year ago, Darling Husband's friend Marshall suggested we all go to the Bend Brewfest in Bend, Oregon, in 2016.

Well, we make plans and God laughs.

Marshall and his wife Cassie are having a baby in September and Cassie didn't want to go to a Beerfest in 90-degree heat when she's eight months pregnant. Imagine that.

Darling Husband, his friend Jamie and I all benefited from Marshall's bright idea. We took one day off work and headed down to Bend, a five-hour drive, to enjoy this special Beerfest.

Location
The brewfest is held at the Les Schwab Amphitheater. It took us about 25 minutes to walk there from our VRBO rental on Hill Street. The area is walkable, bikeable and right on the Deschutes River. The flowers were remarkable. Bright pinks, purples, yellows and greens poured through the public spaces like a river, washing every scene in delight.

Seriously the most gorgeous flowers I have seen in any city. They went on and on.

I don't know how parking was because we walked both days. The second day, we parked by the Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoes rentals place and walked over to the amphitheater (five-minute walk). We rented tubes after we had our lunch and beer fill and floated the river right back to Tumalo Creek. This was a genius idea.

What surprised me was how small the venue was. I was expecting thousands upon thousands of people, reminiscent of our Watershed Music Festival experience weeks prior. But, when we arrived at noon on the second day of the festival that Friday, there were just a couple hundred people.

On both days, we had to queue up in a short line to have our IDs checked, get our wristbands and buy our tokens and mugs.

The corn hole was free! Beware of the guy from Kentucky who asks you to play doubles. He played this in college and he will win.

Cost
The price was decent. Just $20 got us each one souvenir plastic mug and five tasting tokens. Darling Husband and I only used four tokens each our first day. We bought five more for $5 total to share on the last day and then I wanted a full glass of Burnside's Sun Splash, so I went back for four more tokens, $4, for a full-size beer. That's $29 for two people for a lot of beer and two days of fun!

Food
The first thing we did both Friday and Saturday was start with a meal. On Friday, Darling Husband and I went to the Acme Hot Dog Co. food truck. Inside the venue were about 10 food trucks with different cuisine. I got a hot dog covered in cabbage-style salad that had a spicy aioli. Darling Husband's hot dog had bacon and mac and cheese on it.

The second day, Darling Husband got island noodles, which were decent. Jamie and I had gyros and we all shared a piece of baklava. The gyros were great because they weren't a gut bomb like other typical festival fare.

Most food was right around the $10 mark per meal. Darling Husband and I spent about $40 on food for two lunches over two days.

Jamie enjoyed a barbecue lunch on Friday at Brewfest.

Atmosphere
The atmosphere was so mellow. We arrived right around noon both days and this worked for us. The gal at the hot dog food truck said the festival gets really rowdy after dark and watching the guests stumble or fall was entertaining to her. This made us very grateful to be early birds.

The event was family friendly before 7 p.m., which surprised me. The kids were fine, but there was nothing  for them to do. Or us, for that matter.

There were tables so we could steal some shade at and enjoy a meal. We ended up sharing each time and it was a fun way to meet locals and tourists.

One vendor brought corn hole, which we played on Friday. But, other than drinking beer, there wasn't anything to do. We spent just about two hours at the festival each day, Friday then Saturday, before we sought other endeavors for the day -- namely tubing on the chilly, delightful Deschutes.

Amenities
There were plenty of porta potties to go around. I like that they had filtered water stations too so we could stay hydrated - it was HOT! Amenities weren't great for families. There was only a certain number of tables under shade canopies and you had to battle for a seat. And I didn't see any place where babies could be changed.

The Beer
Oh yeah -- the beer! Because we all shared sips of each others' beers, I lost count of how many I tried and I didn't see the scorecard in my Brewfest booklet until the last second.

Standouts for me:

• Toutle-Loo Pale Ale by Ashtown
• Vanilla Pumpkin Porter by Klamath Basin
• Ferrari Red by Shade Tree
• Infrared Northwest Ale by Old 99
• DJ Jazzy Heff by Gilgamesh
• Sunsplash by Burnside

Verdict: I am glad that Bend Brewfest didn't cost us a ton because in reality, we only spent about four hours total at the event. We did get to try a wide range of beer from smaller breweries we hadn't heard of before, And, the biggies were there too. The variety of breweries was excellent. During and after our trip, we all talked about returning to Bend on a road trip in the future. Some locals said the Bite of Bend was fun too, so we might opt to do that in 2017.

We'll see you again, Bend!

What to Eat + Do in Leavenworth, Wash. AND How to Survive the Crowds

Bring a sled for some free fun on the little hill in town center of Leavenworth.

I really loved that Darling Husband and I booked our second December trip to Leavenworth,Wash. After being novices the first year, we had much more insight into what we wanted to do and where we wanted to eat.

On Saturdays and Sundays during the holidays, tour buses bring THOUSANDS of cheerful Christmas lovers into the tiny town. Saturday is especially busy because of the Christmas Tree Lighting at 4:30 p.m. Streets are closed so there is enough room for everyone to walk. Store lines for the cash register wind throughout and the wait for lunch takes an hour or more. Bring your patience and these tips.

Friday is your new favorite day

Both years, Dane and I stayed in Leavenworth Friday-Sunday. In 2014, we tried to do lunch and shopping on Saturday. This was a mistake. This year, we knew that our high priority spots to visit and eat needed to be visited Friday night when there are FAR fewer people in town. Planning this way saved us a lot of wait time and stress in 2015.

Have a refuge

In 2014 the weather was clear and freezing. This year we had a damp, cold, rain-snow mix. The effect the rain-snow had was amazing. All of the thousands of people bussed in had nowhere to get out of the rain. They huddled under overhangs and spent mindless hours looking at Christmas ornaments to stay dry. Dane and I headed back to our room at the Bavarian Lodge to watch a Christmas movie or do puzzles. This was definitely an advantage.

Bring a sled

Wake up early in the morning and bring your sled to Town Square. I love sledding and getting there before all of the kids made me feel safe (I’m not one who wants to run over kids). The hill is small enough for wimps like me. And even when there was no snow in 2014, they trucked snow in for the sledding hill. FREE!

Make reservations, and do so early

Thankfully, I love dinner reservations and tend to make them rather than not. We enjoyed Italian dinner at Visconti’s in 2014 and at Watershed Café in 2015. The line for a table at Visconti’s that night was insane. I felt terrible for the hungry families that waited for hours. Watershed in 2015 said it only took dinner reservations at 6 and 8 p.m. It was far more mellow than Visconti’s, but not as family friendly. Definitely perfect for a romantic date. Visconti’s food was good, but they definitely hustled us out. Watershed had a great menu, but was pricey and only had one waitress for the entire dining room. She did her best, but service was very slow. $$$$

Don't miss the Priebe Porter and pretzel at Icicle Brewing Company.

BEST Friday night grub

No dinner reservation needed Friday evening. At 4 p.m., go to Icicle Brewing Company and order a pint of their Priebe Porter and a soft pretzel with real butter, salt and Beecher’s cheese. Then walk over to Munchen House and sit at a fire table while enjoying German sausage, chili and more beer, of course! $

Lunch - skip it

We had lunch at Bavarian Bistro & Bar in 2014 and at Andreas Keller Restaurant in 2015. Skip Bavarian Bistro & Bar. We waited an hour or more. Andreas Keller was timed perfectly – 11:30 a.m. – food was great (Schnitzel cordon bleu), but EXPENSIVE!!! Pack some sandwiches and eat in your room. Save your money for dinner. $$$-$$$$

Set a budget for Kris Kringl

My most favorite shop in Leavenworth is Kris Kringl. It has every Christmas ornament, decoration and trinket you never knew you needed! In 2014 I went a little crazy and we ended up buying three Snow Village houses, characters for those houses, and a Christmas ornament for everyone in my family. This year, Darling Husband and I took inventory of what we needed and purchased one Snow Village house and one character. Phew. $$-$$$$

Two glasses of joy and some wine tasting at IRW Uptown.

For when you’re feeling classy

My most favorite Saturday after-lunch refuge in 2015 was the Icicle Ridge Winery tasting room (called IRW Uptown). OMG. The décor – cushy white banquettes, huge antler chandeliers, white, black and gold everywhere AND good wine! Dane and I spent a couple of hours trying the wine flights (red for me, white for him) and followed that up with a glass of their sparkling JOY. We brought home the Christmas Cab, which was delicious. And their Riesling was the best I have ever tasted. $$$$

The most swanky tasting room I have ever been in. I'm in love!

For when you’re feeling brave

Head out of town five miles to the Lt. Michael Adams Tubing Hill. $18 will get you a pass to tube as much as you want down a death-defying, steep hill on tubes that they wax. Dane enjoyed himself. I was a wimp who enjoyed watching him almost toss his cookies. $

Watch your loved ones fly down an icy hill! They do let you try it for free once to see if you like it. I didn't even get that far. 

Verdict: The second December trip to Leavenworth was a success. We stood in line and waited far less than in 2014. We did not renew the second year because we feel like we’ve done it. On to somewhere new! But, I highly recommend a weekend trip for Christmas-loving couples. It’s very expensive, so set a budget, do as much on Friday as possible and enjoy!