Ashland, Oregon – 8/14/2014
AUGUST 14, 2014 (Thursday)
Slept pretty good. Like we said, old but clean. We lazed around and read until check-out time (11:00 AM). When we did leave, we drove around looking for a place to have coffee and breakfast. We were hoping for an IHOP (International House of Pancakes) but ended up (again) at the Elmer’s we had eaten at coming up. We were seated in the gambling section, which was much quieter and more intimate than the regular dining area. Was fun, plus we won $2.75.
After breakfast we went to Costco (got gas – $3.73) and to a market very much like Whole Foods. After that we drove the back roads to Jacksonville. What a cute little town. Want to come back and explore it more. Then on to Ashland. Even cuter town, more quaint with fun and unique shops to explore. Again, want to come back and explore. We went up to the festival box office and got our tickets for the show tonight. Excited.
By this time it was 2:30 PM so we decided to see if we could check into our hotel. There was no problem and we got into our room right away. Very small and similar to last night’s hotel (we think they’re related some way), but clean. We unloaded the car and just took a little nap before leaving for dinner and the play.
Around 5:30 PM, we left looking for a place to eat. I had looked at YELP and there were two places – both steak houses. Michael wanted steak and I told him if his gout acted up I didn’t want to hear about it. We settled on Omar’s. It got good reviews and was right down the road. It looks like the kind of place from the 50’s or 60’s with the red leather type booths.
We were able to be seated right away. Michael ordered a steak sandwich with the table salad, and I got the table salad, a baked potato and a lemonade (hard liquor type). The table salad was quite interesting in that they bring it to the table and you make your own. There is a large main bowl sitting inside a larger sectioned platter that has tomatoes, broccoli, garbanzo beans, and croûtons. They also brought out two different types of salad dressing. The salad was excellent, as was the baked potato. I also got a bite out of Michael’s steak, which was very delicious and left me wishing I had ordered that too. After dinner we split a dessert, a dark chocolate cake drizzled in dark chocolate, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yummy. Perfect for splitting but would have exploded both of us if we had each had one.
We left for the play immediately after dinner. Parking was hard to find so we went into the parking garage. Nothing. We lucked out, though, and found parking for electric vehicles. Yahoo. Another reason we love our plug-in so much. The walk to the theater was less than a block.
When we got to the park in front of the theater, there was a group of three men playing two violins and a cello. Excellent. Loved it. People were sitting and standing around enjoying the music before the play. What a great way to start the evening. We also went into the small gift shop. It had so many fun and unique things. Loved looking at it all.
The play started right on time – 8:00 PM. It was; “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.” It’s believed to be Shakespeare’s first play (theorized), and had the themes that would be in all of his plays – sexual identity, love, infidelity. What was shocking, however, was the fact that all parts in this performance were acted by women. It was hard to get past that for Michael and I (and for the people sitting near us). I know in Shakespeare’s days it was all acted by men playing men’s and women’s roles. Just when it’s so obviously a woman trying to act like a man – makes it difficult to totally get into the story line of the play. I did like it a lot and would give it a 7 out of 10. Would like to go back and see another one not so avant garde.
After the play we went straight home and to bed. That was our day. Hope yours was great!