Ashland

If you've ever tried to go to Ashland in the summer then you know it is insane there. Cars clog the streets and tourists swarm the sidewalks like minks after an ELF raid. You have to go two miles deep into Lithia Park just to escape the smell of Vanillaroma perfume. So that's why we always go in April and just pray for good weather. It's worked so far.
Mayor John Stromberg was nice enough to autograph our map at the recent OMA conference in Salem. Amazingly (and bravely), he keeps a blog, too. And that's just asking for trouble when you're the Mayor of an entire city.
Anyway, going to Ashland in April allows you to stay somewhere a little better than the Super 8 out by the freeway. We stayed at the Ashland Springs Hotel and even got a discount because I lied and said I was with Bear Creek Medical. Probably shouldn't say that. We also got to eat at Chateaulin and I had a really good golden beet salad. But things change. I heard that the famous Lithia Water fountain doesn't run anymore because someone complained, but I'm not sure if that's true. I also heard that the old pizza place that backed up to Ashland Creek has been demolished in favor of a condo project. Again, I haven't been there since April of '06 so maybe that's not true either.
At any rate, sometimes I think of Ashland as what all of Oregon would look like if Californians ruled the earth. Nothing against Ashland or Californians, in fact far from it. I love the fact that Ashland exists--it's like visiting a whole different state without leaving Oregon's borders.
16 down, 226 to go.