When it comes to my girlfriends getting married, I am all in. You want me to bike around a city doing physical activity and collecting jugs of alcohol? Sign me up. The following day includes kayaking in the rain? Sure! Just to be clear, none of this is what I normally do in my free time, but for one of my oldest friends, you won’t even know it’s my first time.

Flying out to Bend was my first trip since I started my new job and I was a little nervous, but grateful that I could spend it with Sam especially having missed her elopement. The weekend started with everyone arriving to the house and every time someone got there, a shot was taken by the group. How we survived the weekend, I’ll never know. It was not only my most physical weekend, but my most hydrated one as well.

Given the fact that I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, Bend wasn’t a city I had ever traveled to. In my opinion, it’s a low key Portland. Everyone seemed relaxed; the pace was slower, but in comparison to San Francisco, I’d say that about any city. I had forgotten how much I loved spending time outdoor and our weekend was full of that. On our last night out, we brought the bride to the club and I was seriously concerned that I’d miss my early flight out the next morning. Here’s the PG-rated version of my trip in photos: