The warm weather continued on Monday with a high in the 90s. I rode the Spyder down to La Pine to buy beer and water and check out Ray’s grocery store. After I came back and had lunch with Donna, I realized that Ray’s in La Pine was only about a mile closer than the Walmart Supercenter in Bend. So we rode to Bend to get groceries there – it’s a much larger store than Ray’s.

With the hot weather, we didn’t have much activity Monday afternoon. Donna marinated Jamaican Jerk chicken which I grilled. She served it with a mango salsa topping – we haven’t had this dish in quite a while – it’s a favorite.

Jamaican Jerk chicken with green beans and brown rice

Donna served it with steamed green beans and a short grain brown rice she bought at the farmers’ market in Chico. The rice has a nutty flavor and a firm texture. We used paper plates – we’re in a gray water conservation mode since we don’t have sewer hook ups here at Sun River Thousand Trails. I’ve scheduled a pump-out for Friday – that’ll be nine days without dumping the tanks.

On Tuesday morning we joined Julie, Lance, Bonnie, Mike and Michelle for coffee. Mike brews a pot every morning and invites everyone for coffee talk. We exchanged stories for about an hour, then we went to the pickleball courts. Lance, Bonnie, Julie and TJ are avid pickleballers. Donna and I were surprised to find several other people on the courts – we haven’t noticed much activity there other than our group. A couple of youngsters joined in a few games and played surprisingly well. I got my exercise in for the day.

Plenty of activity on the pickleball courts

I’ve ordered new suspension for the Spyder – a custom set of Elka shocks and springs. Good suspension is one of the best upgrades you can make to a vehicle. Most of the motorcycles I’ve owned were upgraded to either Fox, Penske or Ohlins suspension. The folks at Elka specialize in powersports suspension and they make a range of shocks and springs for Spyders. While I was on the pickleball court, John at Elka phoned. He said I needed to measure the rear shock length as Can Am used two different set-ups for our Spyder and he wanted to be sure he was building the right shock for it. I measured the rear shock after lunch and gave him the length. I hope to get the new shocks in a few weeks.

I spent the rest of the afternoon reading while Donna worked on writing her organizing newsletter. The high temperature reached 90 degrees. We heard thunder but the showers bypassed us. We had a brief period of rain Monday night – not much, just a few minutes of rain drops.

Donna made a pot of chili and by 7pm it was cool enough in the shade to sit out at the picnic table and dine.

Dinner al fresco at the picnic table

I had a bottle of IPA with my chili – Ray’s had a large selection of northwest brewed IPA. Oregon has the best prices on 22-ounce bomber bottles of craft beer.

Portland Brewing IPA

Today there will be a change in the weather. The high is expected to be a comfortable 74 degrees – the start of a cooling trend. By Friday, the high will only be in the 60s. Donna and Julie are going to Bend for a lunch meetup with their friends and colleagues from their SendOut Cards team. (That’s how Julie and Donna met.) I’m planning to meet Donna in Bend and we’ll ride the Spyder to the farmers’ market.