ROAD TRIP! A Great Introduction

Lithia Park, Ashland  (Image by A.N. Smith-Lee)

A scenic spot at Lithia Springs

Ah Ashland. What a beautiful little town. We cruised into our stop for the night, and the initial impression was…Yikes! We had booked a room at Lithia Springs Resort, and pulling off the highway at dusk, the approach was slightly less than desirable. The resort property was fronted by a number of auto dealerships with attendant fluttering BUY NOW flags and neon-bright come-ons. Farther back on the road, the resort itself shared space with a memory-care facility. Fortunately, first impressions were totally overblown. This place was great! Beautiful, carefully maintained landscaping (seriously fat Koi in a pond); spacious, clean, well-thought-out rooms similar to separate floors in a townhouse; and the water! I knew Ashland’s natural spring water was sulfur-based, so I expected the place to reek (each room had its own two-person tub for private bathing, and there was a swimming pool and hot-tub not far from our door). Oh, those clever spa folks! The water was filtered and “ozonated” – a fancy word for air bubbling through it in holding tanks (no chemicals!) - leaving almost no odor in the silky, alkaline, mineral rich water. It was hard to leave that tub, though the excellent fresh multi-choice full breakfast was a good reason. The staff was exceptional, too. Lithia Springs Resort is very much worth its tariff – even though they couldn’t predict who bought the land that fronted them.

Image courtesy TravelOregon

The Resort was a superb introduction to the town that has become synonymous with Shakespeare: During the city’s July Fourth celebration in 1935, Civic Leader Angus Bowmer arranged the first performances of what would become the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The festival grew during the 20th century, and has become an award-winning, internationally known setting for regional theater and other art events. The festival is also responsible for spawning a host of Shakespearean names for hotels and restaurants (A Midsummer’s Dream, Romeo Inn, Oberon’s Restaurant etc.)

Speaking of which – no Elizabethan wordplay here – we chanced upon a restaurant by the name of Sauce. What a lucky find! Dozens of excellent vegetarian, meat and allergy-sensitive food items, so fresh you could smell the dirt they grew in (wait – that doesn’t sound appetizing!). Better to say we both enjoyed a really welcome hot meal in friendly (and very popular) surroundings.

And in a direct connection to San Francisco, Ashland used the same famed park designer, John McLaren, for their own city park – where we were delighted to visit on Day Three