Ashland, Part 2

We joined with friends Anne and Jerry as well as their grandchildren to further enjoy Ashland.

We all started with the musical Hairspray recommended by avid Ashland attendee and good friend JoAnn.  The play was not on our first list of plays to see but wound up being a favorite.  The young ones enjoyed the music and dance and the olders found the story still resonant.

While Jeff went on to see the evening plays, the rest of us went swimming or watched the swimmers.

After swimming, we enjoyed a great sushi dinner at Umami.  We could not resist trying "love and kisses" sushi.

We toured Harry and David’s, learning about the products and processes this company uses to create their tempting and luscious treats. 

These two men are the actual Harry & David in their orchard.

 We plan to return to do some last minute shopping before we head back to CA.

Again, the whole group enjoyed another play, Alice in Wonderland.  The costumes and actors were wonderful though the younger members were more critical and thought more favorably about Hairspray.

After a tasty dinner at Martino’s, the kids burned off energy in Lithia Park.

Bend, High Desert and Newberry

Breakfast at the motel was minimal so we opted for brunch in Bend.  Two yesses and a two “eh”s for Victorian Café. 

We spent most of the day at the High Desert Museum where we learned from the exhibits on rescued native animals and on the indigenous peoples of the area.

We particularly enjoyed the otter and the falcon presentations that let us get closer to the animals while increasing our knowledge.  Exhibits on the native peoples, development of the area and art are excellent.

Bennett liked climbing the spider web

and going up and down the slide.

Anna Lee checked out a large stack of blankets collected and made Native American women.

Jeff and Bennett climbed Big Obsidian Flow seeing the shiny, black, sharp rocks  thrown up by volcanic activity. 

We abstained since we had climbed it before and (fill in your own reason).

Starting with the guys

The guys, Jeff and Bennett, arrived in Portland.  We had visited OMSI, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, several decades ago.  Our return trip was to a much larger, more modern and newly located institution.  We spent time in the Pixar exhibit learning about how characters are created and how they are made to move in human-like ways.

 Much of the exhibit is hands-on, motivating future designers.

Bennett enjoyed meeting Walee

Then we went to the Planetarium to see Lazar Movie Madness, a sound and light show that combined music and movies.  

After a mandatory visit to Powell City of Books, we headed south.  Along the way we stopped at Silver Springs Falls.  The guys hiked up to see seven falls while we trekked around and did visit one.  This is a beautiful area way off the highway.

Then we went to Crescent where we are spending three days.  On the first day, we went to Crater Lake, an area we have visited several times.

Again the guys hiked, this time 3.8 miles round trip up to Garfield Peak, while we wandered around viewing the lake. 

Bennett earned a Junior Ranger badge for completing 7 pages of an activity book specifically about Crater Lake.

 Our short hike along The Pinnacles gave us great views of these strange formations.

We are staying in a “lodge” decorated with hunting and cabin motifs.  This is the toilet seat and, yes, those are what you think they are.

This is a very small, rustic town with a very good restaurant which is good since it is the only one in town.  They had interesting phones too.

Around Oregon

Ashland, Part I, few photos.

We are still adjusting to life without an RV.  Our motor trip for this year is to one of our favorite destinations, Ashland, OR and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  Actually they now go way beyond the Bard and have added several entirely new productions.

Our first play this year was Mother Road, a tale influenced by Grapes of Wrath.  Hispanic and Anglo descendants of a Tom Joad didn’t know they were related and confront their commonality.  This is a play of hope that people of different cultures can find common ground.

Next we saw Indecent, a controversial play inspired by Shalom Ashe’s G-d of Vengeance. It tells about the twentieth century history of the Jewish people.  We stayed for the theater discussion.  One criticism was that OSF has done only two plays with Jewish content, the second one being Merchant of Venus.  Several people in the discussion expressed displeasure that these plays present common stereotyping.  We found the play powerful and also disturbing.  (We discovered we had seen one of principal actors in Elephant and Piggy back in DC.  What a change of roles.)

Because of the smoke in the area, the outdoor plays are being presented in the high school theater.  This made Macbeth more intimate and disturbing.  The actor who played Lady Macbeth was fantastic and we look forward to seeing her in another play next week.  Some of the minor actors in this play were so weak we thought they were walk-ons.

Our last play of the week was Cambodian Rock Band, a story of the Khmer Rouge invasion of Cambodia.  This play was so powerful, we were relieved not to have another play in the evening.

That evening we did enjoy the Ashland City Orchestra’s program of marches presented in Lithia Park.

On our way to the concert, we enjoyed watching ducks play in a pond.

Food: Delicious dining at Louie’s near the river but we had to share our food with the bees.  Excellent tapas at Ostras! 

We also took a 10K volksmarch around the town.  This was our first 10k in too many years.

Philadelphia

We drove south to Philadelphia; well, Jerry drove and Anna Lee slept.  Our prime purpose was to visit with Anna Lee’s cousins Barbara and Bob, secondarily to visit a city that has an endless supply of wonderful things to see and do.  Our first evening’s weather was perfect and we enjoyed a delicious dinner while catching up on each other’s lives.

We did learn an important lesson at the 100-year old inn where we stayed.  We are no longer built to stay on the third-floor of an old inn.  Not matter how delightful the breakfast conversation, the shlep up the stairs is not worth it.

After a good lunch (all the eating in Philadelphia was good), followed by a shared massive cookie,

we went to the National Constitution Center.  We had been here before, but as we studied the exhibits, we were reminded that it is vital to continually learn about and be aware of the amazing basis for this county.

The museum’s emphasis is that we, as American’s, are responsible for controlling our destiny.  Freedom Rising is  “360-degree live theatrical production that tells the story of the U.S. Constitution and the American quest for freedom.”   The program, "We the People"  demonstrates how the people have changed the country over the past two centuries. 

In Signers’ Hall the most photographed statue is of Alexander Hamilton.  With one exception, each signatories’ statue is based upon a real painting or portrait created during their life.

Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality is newly opened.  The exhibit tells both of the wonderful goals and the horrible reactions following the Civil War.

Among the artifacts is this remnant from the flag that draped Lincoln’s coffin as it travel from DC to Springfield, IL

In 1864 forty-eight signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation were offered for $10 each as a fundraiser to help Union soldiers.  Not all the them were purchased.  Recently, one sold for more than $2 million.

With no hint as to where we were going, Bob and Barbara took us to the Curtis Building where Bob had worked.  Upon entering we saw this overwhelming 15 x 49 foot glass mosaic.  Designed by Maxfield Parrish and created with 100,000 pieces of “favrile” glass by the Tiffany studios, the Dream Garden was unveiled in 1916.  But it was almost lost forever.  At one point in its history, owners of the building ordered the wall demolished.  On seeing the mosaic, which was hidden behind some drywall, the contractor asked if the owners were sure they wanted to demolish it.  Instead, a collection of trusts and benefactors purchased it and donated it to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to remain forever on display in its original home.

We dined at McNally’s where the Schmitter, a kaiser roll smothered with beef, salami, cheese, onions and more, is their specialty.  Jerry loved it, Anna Lee made a different choice.

Food is always part of our wonderful visits to Philly but the favorite is the Night Kitchen, an outstanding bakery where Barbara and Bob have ordered Bennett’s birthday cakes.  We bought a brownie for our flight home.  Mmmmm.

We had such a lovely time that we have made plans to return later in the year to continue conversations and visits, but we will stay in a more appropriate place.

Saranac Lake

Cheryl, Dave & Bennett's new home is in the small town of Saranac Lake..

We found the town quite charming with a lovely variety of good places to eat like the Blue Moon Cafe that we have now dined at thrice.

We walked around the town and visited this mural produced about 20 years ago by high school students.  It is one of several murals in the downtown area.

These bears greet anyone driving around Riverside Park.

There are excellent opportunities to experience nature indoors and out.  An ornithologist, accompanied by a Great Horned Owl and a Screech Owl, presented an outstanding talk on Birds of Prey that educated both the young and old.

On our last day we visited the just-opened farmers market where Anna Lee bought a wood-burned necklace.   Dinner was at a great Mexican restaurant.  Saranac Lake, we found, has a terrific food scene.

We continued eating, this time in Albany where the family enjoyed a Chinese dinner followed by a HUGE soft-serve ice cream with our cousins.

We must have still been hungry because Jeff took us to an excellent restaurant for brunch.  Next time we will share the creme Flan French toast, luscious and large.