Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2010

Our living room

Our very own patio!

The bedroom (we fell in love with the color of the walls!)

The bathroom - LOVED the sink!

Our own entrance - so nice to come home to this every day!

Creek running through Lithia Park in Ashland

Love the old main streets! We ate Sunday brunch here

Small town U.S.A.

The Elizabethan stage where we saw "The Twelth Night"

(Made to look like the Globe Theatre in England)

I just had the best weekend! Years ago, my mom and I drove through Ashland, OR on our way to California and made a promise to each other that we'd come back someday and see some plays there! Well, quite a few years later we were able to do that! We started talking about it back in August and were able to find a weekend that worked for both of us, flights that were somewhat close to each other, tickets to the plays we wanted, and a place to stay! We can't believe it all worked out but we are so glad it did! We both needed it and feel very refreshed! We flew into Medford, OR - small airport - but that was a nice change! I even flew on a small plane with propellers (first time on one of those!) - we then drove the 8 miles or so down I-5 to Ashland, OR. It is a small town run by two things - the Shakespeare Festival (from February to October) and Southern Oregon University. The town is filled with B&B's, yummy restaurants and bistros, cute boutique shops, and the cutest homes you've ever seen! We stayed at The Palms - when we drove up to it, they have a vintage sign out front that says "motel" - my mom immediately thought the worst (we had just driven by a really old motel) - but I told her to give it a chance! It was the greatest place - it had recently been redone - our room was in a converted bungalow with two other units - our unit had a living room/kitchenette with a separate bedroom and bathroom. The colors were so soothing and tastefully done. It was so nice to "come home" there every day!

One of the great things about this weekend was to not be on a schedule. It was so nice to get up when we wanted, play all day, and then end the day with a fantastic play! On Saturday night we went to "Pride and Prejudice". Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Jane Austen! I'm so glad we got tickets! The actors and actresses were so good and I love the humor that they bring to the stage. We laughed so much - loved it!

On Sunday we took a drive up north to a small town called Jacksonville - it was exactly what a historic American town should look like! We had such a good time walking up and down the main street and having Sunday brunch at the Jacksonville Inn. So good! On Sunday night, we attended a Shakespeare play called "The Twelth Night" about mixed identities and crazy romances. I was a little nervous before we went because I hadn't studied this particular play and didn't know if I would know what was going on. But as soon as it started, you were sucked in - surprisingly I understood it and loved it! Laughed at all the right parts, too!

Thank you so much, Mom, for such a great weekend! I wish we could do this every year! I'm looking forward to our next big adventure!