Oregon Car Trip, August 23 - 31, 2019

I had three goals in mind for this car trip of 1,000 miles more or less.  First, acquire more McMenamins Passport Stamps, second, acquire several more Geocaching Virtuals and possibly a cache or two, and third, attend several plays at the Oregon Shakespearean Festival in Ashland, Oregon. 

The first day (August 23) I bought two six packs of Fiji Water at Fred Meyer at 8:30am.  I found a cache in Aurora where I bought a small bag of Dark Chocolate Coated Hazelnuts, got McMenamins passport stamps in Salem where the Prize was sandwich of my choice, got a McMenamins passport stamp at Central Oregon Coast where the Prize was a Bowl of Clam Chowder, found the Virtual Yaquina, turned east at Newport, and got McMenamins passport stamps at Corvallis where the Prize was an Appetizer of my choice.  I stayed the night for free in a king suite at the Comfort Suites in Corvallis using my points.

The second day (August 24) I had a hearty breakfast at the Comfort Suites and then headed south on I-5.  I got the Passport stamps in Eugene where the Prize was a take-out basket of Cajun tots with small container of dip.  Great snack as I headed south.  I got the Passport stamp in Southern Oregon where the Prize was an Exclusive Roseburg Station Passport T-shirt.  I checked in the Ashland Hills Hotel and Suites.  I had a King Suite with a balcony - Room 265.  I saw "Hairspray" at the Angus Bowmer Theatre.  Afterwards I stopped at Safeway to buy a late dinner of Asian Chicken Salad. 

The third day (August 25) I had breakfast at the hotel.  I drove to Medford where I visited Harry and David Country Village.  I bought a couple small bags of Trail Mix.  I found a cache at a cemetery in Phoenix and a Virtual at a monument in Medford.  Back at the hotel I watched "Bourne Identity" on television and rested.  I went to the Road Scholar table in the lobby to pick up my welcome packet.  We had Orientation at 5:00 followed by a catered buffet dinner.  I skipped the evening lecture to attend the OSF performance of "Alice in Wonderland" at the Mountain Avenue Theatre on my own.  Incredible costumes!

The 4th day (August 26) I had breakfast at the hotel.  We rode the chartered bus to downtown Ashland where a company member led us on an informative "walk and talk" through three theaters - the indoor Angus Bowmer and Thomas theatres, and the outdoor Elizabethan theatre.  We had a delicious boxed lunch.  We met another company member, who took us through OSF production shops and a costume shop.  We had a lecture at 3:00. We had a catered dinner at the hotel.  After dinner, we had a lecture led by a theatre expert. 

The 5th day (August 27) I had breakfast at the hotel.  We had lectures all morning followed by a catered lunch at the hotel.  I attended the OSF production of "Mother Road" at the Angus Bowmer Theatre.  Tickets were sold for $10.00 plus a can of vegetables etc. for the Food Drive.   The evening production was OSF "As You Like It" at the Angus Bowmer Theatre.  I really, really did not like it.  The love story was set in a timeless, abstract world.  Duke Senior was cast as a woman.  I think that I will not attend any more Shakespearean plays at OSF in the future.  I got an Egg Salad Sandwich at the Arco Station for a midnight snack.

The 6th day (August 28) began with breakfast at the hotel.  We had lectures all morning followed by a catered lunch at the hotel.  I took a nap in the afternoon.  We had a catered dinner at the hotel.  This evening we saw the OSF production "All's Well That Ends Well" in the outdoor open-air Elizabethan Theatre.   It was a little better than the previous Shakespearean play but not much. 

The 7th day (August 29) began with breakfast at the hotel.  We had two morning lectures.  We had lunch and dinner catered at the hotel.  Tonight we experienced the final OSF production of "Between Two Knees" at the Thomas Theatre.  The script utilizes humor to humanize the horrific treatment of Native cultures. 

On the 8th day (August 30) I did not stay to have breakfast at the hotel nor attend the morning lecture.  I hit the road to Medford where I ate a Bacon Egg Cheese Biscuit with a cup of Orange Juice at McDonalds at 8:30am.  I headed east to Klamath Falls where I had a delicious salmon bagel at The Daily Bagel for lunch.  I found six Virtuals along the way.  I headed north to Bend.  I got a Prize at McMenamins Old St. Francis School of a Silver Metal Lunchbox after getting five stamps.  I stayed the night for free in a King Suite at the Comfort Suites in Redmond using my points.   I had ham and cheese hot pockets with bottled orange juice free for dinner.

This was the 9th and final day of my trip.  I had breakfast at the hotel.  I traveled northwest on Hwy 26 arriving home in the late afternoon.  Traffic was bumper to bumper.  Traveling Labor Day weekend was not a good idea.  I traveled 933 miles.  I found eight Virtuals and two traditional caches.   I visited five McMenamins to get Passport Stamps.  And I saw six of the 11 OSF productions for 2019.