We were able to dine at the patio once, and it is definitely a nice spot. But now we are back to the usual Oregon cool showery spring, so it may be a while until we get to use it again...

I was just going to plan out the first one and get supplies, but Steph and Em were at a birthday party, so I decided to git-r-done! Except that I got about half as much 1/4 minus gravel that I needed... guess I'll finish it next week.

So here you go Steph, Happy Mother's Day! :-)

The Deschutes River -- looking to the south.

Every year in the spring, a group of life-long friends gets together in Sunriver for a kid-less weekend. There is always golf, dinner out, relaxation, and lots of laughter. Oh yeah, and lots of hanging out in the sun.

The dry climate of the high desert has its own natural beauty, even if it isn't as green as the Willamette Valley. I had always thought that the Oregon Coast would be the place for me if I could live anywhere in the world, but Central Oregon has really grown on me... the abundant sunshine has a lot to do with that.

I was part of a group of 6 that stopped in at 7:30 on a busy Friday night, and I could not imagine a better sushi experience. Kanpai is quite small, and everything is freshly made to order for you, so don't expect your sushi to come out at a fast food pace. I read all of the yelp reviews before visiting, and was pleasantly surprised to find excellent service from wait staff and no unreasonable waits for anything.

We tried a variety of different Nigiri and Sashimi options, as well as several of the Classic and Specialty rolls.

First off, the star of the show for me -- an absolute standout that dazzled my taste buds and had me on cloud nine: the Yakuza roll: Ahi Tuna, Cucumbers, Tempura Fried Jalapenos, topped w/ Seared Filet Mignon, Pickled Red Onions, and Wasabi Aioli. This roll had it all -- perfect texture, a little spice, and complex flavors. Outstanding.

Also near the top would be the special Nigiri of the evening: Ahi & Striped Sea Bass in a light, flavorful, sesame oil and soy sauce. All incredibly fresh and vibrant.

I'm a fan of a good dry sake, so the server brought me two different samples to try, and I ended up ordering the Origin of Purity -- an excellent accompaniment to my dinner. Highly recommended.

The fun part for me was sharing the many different flavors from the variety that we ordered -- and the conversation with friends that happened during the short wait times between our courses. In addition to the above mentioned items, we also ordered and enjoyed the following:

-Salmon & Ahi Nigiri
-Broiled Tomato Nigiri
-Flying Kamikaze
-Shipwrecks
-Orgasm
-Tsunami
-Kanpai Roll

Our night was topped off perfectly with a sampling of Kanpai's homemade ice creams -- Salted Caramel, Coconut, Avocado, and Fermented Garlic. They were unusual, flavorful, and just the right amount of sweetness to finish the evening.

Five stars for sure. We will be back.

I have been to The Farmstead numerous times since it opened 10+ years ago, and have always been pleased with the food and service -- even with the different menu changes that have happened along the way. Today's visit was to the restaurant side of the establishment, not the pub -- although we have had good results at the pub, as well.

Today's lunch visit was to celebrate my mother's 65th birthday, and I have to say that it was an excellent choice. The Farmstead offers a wide range of American classics, as well as 'newer' fusion type flavors (oriental and southwest influences). Within our group of five, we had a philly steak wrap, thai chicken wrap, cheeseburger, kids fish n' chips, and my blackened ahi tuna entree salad -- all of which were met with high praise.

The ahi salad seemed like a perfect choice for me since I was keeping an eye on calories, and I was not disappointed. The base was a nice mix of spring greens, with fried wantons, chunks of apple and celery, all topped with the seared and sliced ahi. The ahi was cooked perfectly, with a nice spicy kick -- and the texture? Just like buttah! The salad had a light, somewhat spicy, dressing with traditional oriental flavors -- ginger being one of the more notable standouts. Top notch.

The birthday girl ordered her own cheesecake for dessert, and the rest of us shared a brownie/cookie crumble sundae -- a nice finish to a great meal.

The only real critique I would have is more pertaining to the layout of the restaurant dining room. When patrons enter the restaurant, there is no sign saying whether they are to wait to be seated, or to seat themselves. If the servers are at their prep station, or tending to patrons on the west side of the dining room, they have no way of knowing that someone is waiting to be seated. This did create an awkward moment when we entered, including a longer than expected wait in the lobby, until we ventured into the dining room to contact a server.

But that is minor. We rate The Farmstead very high overall, and we will definitely be back again!

[I give it 4 stars out of 5]

Noah and I have a renewed aviation interest after our recent travels to Canada, and we stumbled upon this story while watching plane videos on YouTube. Here is a link to an excellent Smithonian Channel presentation on this event: Gimli Glider Story.

If I'm in town and feeling the need for really good, authentic Mexican food, I head to El Chilito to get four asada tacos (with everything) and add their homemade hot sauce, a squeeze of lime, and some pickled jalapeños, and I'm a happy boy. Their horchata is really good too, so I've got to have one of those to wash it all down.

I'm just a basic taco guy, but they also have really good burritos, quesadillas, and beans & rice.

Initially I gave this place 4 out of 5 stars, based on comparing them with my top Mexican choice in the area, Luis's Taqueria (in Woodburn). I actually think El Chilito's asada tacos are a little tastier, but Luis's is a notch above in these key areas: homemade tortillas, atmosphere and cleanliness, and freshness of ingredients. If El Chilito starts making tortillas like Luis's, I'll put up another star to 5 out of 5.

[Update: 1/29/13]

I stopped in to get a to-go lunch from El Chilito again today, and have decided to up my rating to 5 stars. I recently tried their "al pastor", and I actually like it *better* than the asada -- I didn't think that was possible! The al pastor has a little sweetness to it, with a rich, warm flavor that I just can't get enough of. They still don't have homemade tortillas, but I decided that if I found myself craving this place just as much as Luis's, then I'd better give it the same rating. Canby's best right here.

The last two nights have been spent playing, and I have to admit that it is actually quite fun and challenging at the same time. Noah won the first two times we played, but I beat him tonight -- yes! Steph likes it, too. If you are looking for a game that requires strategy, yet moves along fairly quickly, I highly recommend this one.

For a pretty good explanation on game-play, I recommend watching this YouTube video: TTR - Europe (If you can get past the poor sound and the fish-eye camera lens, it's really an informative video)

I opted for a 160 GB SSD (solid state drive) because I am really impatient and I wanted it to be extra speedy (start-up happens in a snap!). 160 GB is small by SATA hard drive standards, but we have a 1.5 TB SATA hard drive on our HP desktop, along with a fully functional secure network, so I didn't really feel the need to put a bulky SATA drive on my new laptop. I thought of getting an "UltraBook Folio", but they didn't come with any kind of optical drive, and the one I was eyeing only had a 128 GB SSD -- all for more money than the EliteBook.

So now I can officially say... I switch to Mac, and then I came back. I'll stick with PC's from now on... unless the only option is Windows 8. But for now, I'm happy with my Windows 7 Professional.