The City “fathers’ of Carefree, Arizona, according to a story, sat around in a local watering hole deciding what to name the streets of Carefree, since many of the streets were nameless. While they downed their brews what they came up with was inspired!
You, too, can be on Easy Street - in Carefree, Arizona
Ah, if only everyone could be Carefree – or travel there. It’s a town in Arizona north of Phoenix, by the way, but it is also a state of mind.
On a recent stay at the Carefree Resort & Villas in Carefree, the experience lived up to the name.
Carefree Resort & Villas entrance
After a two and a half hour drive over the Cascade Mountains on a road (U.S. 20) that wouldn’t win any awards for staying in a straight line, I arrived in Corvallis, Oregon. Most people will probably say, WHERE?
Although near Eugene, Albany, Salem and, ultimately, Portland, Corvallis is not the most well known of cities in the Willamette Valley. While the aforementioned cities have a common trait (they are all next to I-5 traveling north and south through Oregon), Corvallis is just a bit off the beaten track (8 miles west of the interstate highway.) Not so much a tourist destination as a sports and education destination, Corvallis is home to Oregon State University. GO BEAVS! (more…)
Bend has an interesting shopping area that was salvaged from a real old mill, a lumber mill.
Called the Old Mill District, it has become the center for some upscale shopping, restaurants and events.
In an effort to be evocative, the old smokestacks are still there and there is a sign that says, “Can you smell the sawdust?”
Old Mill District
After the strenuous drive on RT 242 (see our blog on September 17) to get to Bend, we were prepared to really relax!
Our hotel in Bend, the Shilo Inn, offered rooms with fully-equipped kitchens and a view of the river. A separate building contained an enclosed pool with spa and sauna. Furnishings were a little worn, but the amenities were good with freebies offered for their full breakfast buffet, so not a bad deal all together.
We headed to downtown to look around and saw the following fellow sitting on a bench. From a distance, he looked quite real!
Bench sitter in downtown Bend
We have already talked about the Farmer’s Market (see our blog on October 9) we visited and had a chance to stroll the path along the Deschutes River. We did not tell you about the very unusual restaurant that has a tree going through the roof in the middle of of a room.
Truly – a tree that goes through the roof! When the restaurant owners decided to add another room, they didn’t want to destroy the 300-year-old tree. Oregon people are like that. So, they built the tree into the room.
Trees in Pine Tavern Restaurant
Through the roof!
Besides the unusual attraction of a tree going through the roof, the Pine Tavern has a spacious patio overlooking the Deschutes River. We opted to sit there with an idyllic view. The patio has round tables with mis-matched linen napkins.
Our waitress Nikki, was most accommodating. She offered to make iced decaf tea for me, since they didn’t have anything decaf. Although I remember liking the food, I don’t remember what we ate because we suddenly had a hovering bee that just wouldn’t go away.
When we brought the bee to Nikki’s attention, she commented that there was no extra charge for the bee. The way she said it, it was funny and we laughed and relaxed.
The view was mesmerizing and,when it was time to leave, we did so reluctantly. As we left we saw two staffers sitting at empty booths in the restaurant folding napkins! All of those napkins do need to be folded!
We liked the Pine Tavern Restaurant. Good food with an old-fashioned, gracious atmosphere.
With the fourth largest number of breweries in the U.S., Oregon is a good place to find some suds on a Friday night, or any night, for that matter.
On a recent trip to Oregon, I decided to try out some of the bigger names in the micro-brewery and brewpub business, as well as one of the smaller and newest entries into the business.
On first glance, Eugene, Oregon would not appear to be a vacation destination. It is home to the University of Oregon and is located in the Willamette Valley.
Downtown Eugene from Skinner Butte
Besides our visit to the Sea Lion Caves (see the September 15 blog), we stopped for lunch and a little sightseeing in Florence, Oregon. On the coast just a few miles south of the Sea Lion Caves, Florence just happened to have a Mo’s Restaurant, a regional chain with a waterside restaurant. We were hungry and headed to Mo’s.
There are branches of the chain in many towns and the advertising, including giant billboards, really pays off. The restaurant was extremely busy. We waited briefly and were seated way near the back. The wait staff moves briskly and so do the prep people, who were industriously sprinkling toppings on some entrees when I passed by.
"Greeter" at Mo's
We love farmer’s markets! The joy of finding produce so fresh that it just came out of the ground that very day is a major rush for people with a black thumb (those who cannot grow things well) like me.
How many food products have you actually seen produced? Most people will say – none!
You eat and you drink every day, but with the exception of the FREE BEER tour at one of those national breweries, most people would rather eat and drink than know how it was made!!!! (more…)
