Adventures in Oregonland
/This past weekend was the Labor day weekend and my parents were in town visiting. And not just any visit, but the first visit to Oregon with me as an Oregonian in my new Shasta home with Josh. To help acquaint my parents, we planned some fun adventures around Oregon and hit up the local Eugene favorite spots.
Historic Jacksonville
View from Heceta Light House
Tuesday my parents were supposed to have a little morning time in Eugene, but unfortunately there was some flight issues (their later flight was delayed so they needed to grab an earlier flight to ensure their SF connection). So good-byes were quickly said, but the great weekend was remembered!
- Thursday: My parents arrived in the afternoon. First order of business was lunch. And what better place than the Beir Stein, a fun German pub-type restaurant. After our tummies were full, Mom and I abandoned dad at the hotel (btw, Josh at classes all day) and got our pedi's at the Pearl Day Spa...Ahh relaxing! To wrap up the day, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Belly.
- Friday: Josh had to get some school work done, so I took my parents out to the Eugene Wineries. My dad was able to quiz the local wine makers on their knowledge of French wines and bottles (yup, the favorite one was asked: why the different bottle shapes). We started at Silveran Ridge then headed over to Sweet Cheeks (my favorite since it has a very sweet wine option). We rounded out the winery tour at King Estate for lunch. I think my wine-loving dad would say "not so bad" about Eugene wines...that translates to: success! To finish the day, we headed over to Red Agave, which Josh has wanted to try ever since coming to Eugene.
- Saturday: A day of...rain! Well, the first part at least. I drove through the downpour to get us safely to Ashland where luckily the rain ended. Before arriving we made a pit-stop at Rogue Creamery to taste some blue cheeses. Not my favorite cheese (go goats), but for blue cheese not bad! Upon arriving to Ashland, my froyo radar went off. I found the ever-so-popular self-serve type froyo spot (dangerous stuff man, I tell ya). The Yogurt Hut is decent, but it ain't no Yumi Yogurt. But I'll take it! After some Heather indulgence, we roamed the cute town. The big event of the day though, was the play (Ashland is the Shakespeare "capital"). We opted for one of Shakespeare's lighter plays, Much Ado About Nothing. If you haven't seen the movie version, you should! Great play, no rain (outdoor theatre in true Old Globe style), and great company.
- Sunday: We headed out of our Medford's lodging, and picked up breakfast and some shopping/walking in the cute historic downtown of Jacksonville. We saw art and llamas at the Sunday (no sarcastic talking llamas sadly - that would be a Emperors New Groove reference). Next we ventured into Applegate. Don and Nada's old home was looking great and peaceful as ever. We also tasted the local Southern wines at Woolridge and Schmidt. Then a leisure (late) lunch along the Rogue River. A quick stop for a shaved ice (ahhh Kauai days) at the Ice Shack in Grant's Pass and then the rest of the day was driving home (better weather of course with Josh behind the wheel).
Historic Jacksonville- Monday: Let's go to the beach! Monday was a fun day in Florence, our closest beach town from Eugene. We walked along the water, grabbed lunch at the local fish restaurant, and then roamed the cute old town. The highlight for me, was the Heceta Lighthouse, just up the coast a few miles. We hiked the 1/2 mile up to the lighthouse for some spectacular views.
View from Heceta Light HouseTuesday my parents were supposed to have a little morning time in Eugene, but unfortunately there was some flight issues (their later flight was delayed so they needed to grab an earlier flight to ensure their SF connection). So good-byes were quickly said, but the great weekend was remembered!
