Driving home from Washington, we typically spend the night in Eugene, OR. This time, we decided to try some place new. I am so glad we did. I am completely enamored with this town, and can’t wait to return.
We stayed at the Ashland Springs Hotel, a historic boutique hotel in downtown Ashland. A beautiful property. We hoped to stay an extra night, but they were sold out.
I took the boys to dinner while David stayed at the hotel with the puppies. We went to the Standing Stone Brewing Company. Excellent menu and service. Alex saw on the menu the Offal Taco and decided he had to order it. He was partly disappointed and partly relieved that they were out of it!
We walked around town after. They have a public drinking fountain that contains natural spring water high in lithium oxide. It tastes and smells nasty, but we all tried it anyway.
Ten months out of the year, Ashland hosts the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. There are multiple shows and stages through the days/evenings, all within walking distance of each other. We saw school groups walking through the town and that was why our hotel was sold out on a midweek day.
Ashland also has a beautiful 100 acre park, with one of the entrances downtown. We were looking forward to walking through it, but dismayed to learn that dogs are not allowed. Apparently there’s a bit of a transient/homeless population who would not properly tend to their dogs behavior or their droppings. I was able to walk the dogs along the parks permits for a bit (a public sidewalk). I hope to someday come back without the dogs and hike through it.
A couple shots of the outer edge of Lithia Park…
The hotel had many lovely architectural details and decor. They also had a small garden. These photos don’t do it justice, but gives a hint to the beauty…
