Vacation - Destination 2, Oregon

We decided to fly from Nashville to Eugene and then drive to our next half marathon. This was sort of an odd choice, but it was the practical decision. First, flying to Eugene required only 1 flight connection instead of 2. It was also relatively inexpensive. The clincher for Eugene was I found a lovely suite at a bed and breakfast with an ensuite washer and dryer. Midway through a 10 day trip you need to do some laundry.

That simple 1 connection trip turned into a 20 hour battle with United Airlines. When we finally arrived in Eugene, Oregon we were both exhausted. I had actually slept for 2 hours on the floor of the "Mediation Room" in the Nashville airport. Lets just pretend it was a very, very deep mediation.

Steve had been to Eugene before, but my only visits to Oregon have been in Portland. We had planned to hang out in Eugene and visit some of the places he remembered. Then we'd take an entire day for a leisurely drive, stopping at whatever spot interested us. Of course, the snafu with United put the kibosh to that plan since we lost an entire day in airports.

We only had a few hours in Eugene before we needed to start the drive south. Luckily it was a beautiful day. We did a little walk in the neighborhood near the university. We had lunch a brewpub that Steve remembered fondly, perused a used record shop and got a yummy Americano at a coffee shop. (The photo is Steve enjoying a hot day and a cold beer. Great combo!)

Then it was back in the car for the drive to Northern California. Oregon is beautiful and I definitely want to go back there when we have about 6 days to make that drive instead of 6 hours. I wanted to stop at Crater Lake and Caves National Monument, but alas there was no time.

Oregon, next time I promise to give you the attention you deserve.