Zeno's Bar & Grill

Except for the, um, THIRTY HOUR TRAIN RIDE, our trip to Oregon for a family reunion was great. Actually, even the train wasn’t so bad. We had a sleeping compartment and could also spend time doing the various activities on board, from watching a movie to wine tasting to “dining,” if you want to call it that.

We stayed at the Sunriver resort, which has more stuff to do than you can shake an old-growth pine stick at. My favorite day was the one where our family of five biked to a marina and rented a canoe to paddle six miles down a pristine river, then biked through more gorgeous scenery on the way back to the resort.

On the other days, we managed to squeeze in whitewater rafting (that's my oldest right in the middle of the raft), swimming, hot tubbing, more biking, massages at the spa and lots of eating, but somehow missed the horseback riding, rock climbing, golf and bazillions of other activities. Oh well, next time.

All in all, it’s a really fun place to visit, and a big part of it for me was being with a big group of family. We had about twenty people—from my eighty year old grandma to a ten month old baby cousin. We were constantly in and out of each other’s rooms, cooking big meals and generally hanging out. Maybe next time we’ll try it with friends—Kelly, are you up for it?

But I think we’ll skip the train.

--Melanie