Happy Fall! At the beginning of this week Loren and I left California to drive north on a day with beautiful weather. I must say that because where we are now does not always have such beautiful weather. We drove past Mount Shasta, on our way to Oregon.

We arrived in Ashland in time to join our friends at their home for a lovely dinner, together with another couple who also drove up from California to visit for a couple of days. Loren and I stayed overnight two nights with our friends who live in Ashland, and our other friends stayed in a nearby hotel that is pet friendly.

The next day threatened rain. We waffled about whether to go out for a hike, and ultimately decided while Loren and our other male friends watched a football game, we women took a hike in Lithia Park, which turned out to be partly in the rain. We followed suit with others who had created cairns in one part of the park, and my friend declared ours represented “Peace, Love and Friendship.” 

 

That evening we enjoyed drinks over a jazz ensemble at the hotel, followed by a nice dinner out.

  

Loren and I moved into our AirBnB, which is walking distance to downtown Ashland, including  a Bikram Yoga studio. We are here for the next 30 days, and I have given myself a 30 day challenge — I plan to take a Bikram class every day, or, if I have to miss a day, I will take two on another day to make it up. Later that afternoon Loren and I went for a hike with our friends from California on Hearts Nature Trail.

Afterwards, we treated ourselves to an ice cream, next door to where I noticed another International Peace Pole. That evening we had dinner out together with our other friend.

After our friends from California headed to Crater Lake, and our other friend was working, Loren and I bought tickets to see Cambodian Rock Band that is part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Our friends from Ashland raved about it, and rightly so. This is not a Shakespearean play, as about half the Festival is devoted to theater by other playwrights. This cast are headed to New York soon, and Loren thinks they will be held over there, because this play is that good. If you ever have the chance to see Cambodian Rock Band, please be sure to do so.

Another day Loren and I took an OSF Backstage Tour. We felt lucky that the most well informed tour guide was our small group leader for the main part of the tour. We also met a lovely couple on the tour from Albuquerque. They have been coming to Ashland for the Festival for the past forty years. That evening Loren and I went to the “Green” for a free dance demonstration, which this evening was performed by Danceability.

And another day, Loren and I with one of our friends from Ashland took a hike up to the summit of Grizzly Peak. We debated if the mist we walked through was fog or clouds. I just looked it up online and learned that fog is a type of cloud that touches the ground. The main thing is we had a lovely hike, the vapor lifted, allowing the sun to shine for us.