Location: I arranged a trip to Old St. Francis School in Bend w/ some friends. I've always wanted to go to Bend in February as a way to reset my sun clock after a long rainy Portland winter. Sven & I went years ago and had a really nice time.
Fellow travelers:
Originally, Sven, Cecilia, Carl, Serin & Luke were all going to go. By the time the date arrived, only Serin & Luke came. But then sadly Serin got sick after dinner, so at the end it was just me & Luke sharing a scotch and cigar at O'Kanes! I guess it was a pretty good way to meet someone for the first time. :)
Favorite light:
Luke thought this light at O'Kanes was pretty unique, and I agree.
Originally, Sven, Cecilia, Carl, Serin & Luke were all going to go. By the time the date arrived, only Serin & Luke came. But then sadly Serin got sick after dinner, so at the end it was just me & Luke sharing a scotch and cigar at O'Kanes! I guess it was a pretty good way to meet someone for the first time. :)
For some reason every photo I took of them is blurry:
It was actually pretty amusing that Luke came because so many things are named after Father Luke:
Favorite light:
Luke thought this light at O'Kanes was pretty unique, and I agree.
I also thought this was an unusual mounting for one of their signature sun lamps:
Favorite art:
The soaking pool is my very favorite art. The Old St. Francis soaking pool is the best one in the whole chain. I love how it is totally enclosed but without a roof, which means the ambient air temperature varies drastically (in this case, it was VERY cold in the soaking atrium, which made the water that much more delicious). An open roof also allows for stars and rain (or even snow!). I love the tile work here. I love the lion spouts & fountain, which also help buffer the noise from other soakers. But I especially love the sun & moon stained glass windows, in part because they are aligned appropriately east-west, so in the morning the sun streams through the sun window beautifully. But I had to wait until guest-only hours because the soaking tub was PACKED otherwise.
But I also liked many of the other arts at Old St. Francis:
The soaking pool is my very favorite art. The Old St. Francis soaking pool is the best one in the whole chain. I love how it is totally enclosed but without a roof, which means the ambient air temperature varies drastically (in this case, it was VERY cold in the soaking atrium, which made the water that much more delicious). An open roof also allows for stars and rain (or even snow!). I love the tile work here. I love the lion spouts & fountain, which also help buffer the noise from other soakers. But I especially love the sun & moon stained glass windows, in part because they are aligned appropriately east-west, so in the morning the sun streams through the sun window beautifully. But I had to wait until guest-only hours because the soaking tub was PACKED otherwise.
Food:
I had an excellent fish the first night that was paired with mediocre sides. I tried room service for breakfast. But the star at Old St. Francis is the scones! They were soft and flavorful without being overly sweet. If I had known how amazing they were, I would have bought more. They change the flavor every day and are half-off after 3 p.m. The strawberry ones, in particular, are perfect. I wish more McMenamins locations carried these scones!
Passport stamps:
Old St. Francis School, Old St. Francis Pub, Fireside Bar, O'Kanes
Old St. Francis School, Old St. Francis Pub, Fireside Bar, O'Kanes
The Fireside room was PACKED. We tried to play shuffleboard there but the waiting list was long. But I loved O'Kanes. This double door was especially wonderful:
Because I completed an Passport page, I was eligible for a "Nun's Choice" prize. I chose a pack of McMenamins cards because I've not seen that as an option before. And how fun to play with friends the next time I go to a hotel!
Lodging:
Dear McMenamins: a portrait of the person your room is named after outside the room is charming. An art piece including that person as one of several elements inside the room is cool. But a portrait inside the room is creepy. I really don't like rooms where someone is staring at me in bed. In this case, Henry.
This room felt huge compared to the rooms I usually stay at because all the rooms at the St. Francis have bathrooms. Comfortable and pleasant rooms with great showers The only problem is that the rooms are next to the sidewalk and because people are loud outside, the heater fan needs to be run at all times just for the white noise.
I initially wanted to stay in one of the cottages, but they were totally booked months ahead of time! And alas, apparently someone bought those cottages and is moving them to Sun River so McMenamins can build more units in those spots. So now I'll never know what the cottages look like inside.
Other items of note:
- Apparently the brewery was built first! Then the restaurant & hotel.
- I was surprised St. Francis doesn't offer a free movie for hotel guests like many other McMenamins hotels do.
- Sadly, no milkshakes at this location.
- I only learned long afterwards that one of the paintings had been vandalized and repaired, and now I wish I had taken a closer look at the wolf drinking coffee w/ St. Francis around a campfire!
Explorations:
Also, I got to visit the lava fields! It was SO COLD:
Thump, a coffee shop just across the parking lot, with wish tags written in wood scraps:
Finally, a time-lapse video of the drive to Bend:
...and from Bend:
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