Weekend in Euphoric Energetic Eugene!

June 1, 2014

Friday, May 30^th we left Cape Perpetua to arrive in Eugene by the evening. We drove south again on Route 101, and took a quick detour into Carl G. Washburne State Park to use their free dump. The dump at Cape Blanco was closed indefinitely, and Cape Perpetua had none, so the poor rig was ready to be dumped. After that, we drove further south to Florence where we planned to follow Route 126 into Eugene.


In Florence we avoided the commercial strip and parked in the old harbor area along the Siuslaw River, at the northern terminus of the Oregon dunes and close to the ocean. It was a bit touristy, but we found a good restaurant, the Bridgewater Restaurant and Zebra Bar, and Greg decided that a fried local oyster sandwich and onion rings was close enough to fish and chips, and noshed on that. We wandered about a bit, and found a cute pocket park along the water. One lone sea lion was trolling the waters there.

Pushing the fish&chips envelope - Oyster burger & rings

Florence Harbor

Sand dunes just across the harbor

The pocket park on the river

Mural on harbor building

Time to settle down and be fish mongers?

The rest of the afternoon we drove east on 126 along the river to Eugene. We found Ann and John's house and enjoyed our evening with them. Ann cooked us a great dinner featuring local Moroccan lamb sausages. Ymmm!!! We begged showers and climbed back into the rig for the night. Ann graciously offered the guest room, but you know how you always sleep best in your own bed!


Saturday morning Ann drove us downtown to the famous Eugene Saturday Market. It has been going on for decades and is quintessential Eugene. One block was full of the most gorgeous local produce I have seen for many states! I decided to wait until later to buy some so I would not have to carry it, but missed out on most of the stalls because they closed up before the rest of the market. Several other blocks contained lots of craft and food booths, busking musicians, and the centerpiece was the stage with live performances from local musicians. We wandered about and enjoyed the funky ambiance, made a few purchases, and bought lunch. The highlight was the infamous Kesey Bus that drove through twice, crammed to the gills on top and inside with youthful revelers. I missed photos each time! The Ken Kesey collection, (government test subject for LSD, father of the Flower Power LSD movement, and author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Once a Great Notion) is housed at the University of Oregon in Eugene. I don't know if they also own the bus. (I think his son still owns the first and second psychedelic buses).

Lots of interesting crafts and art

Live music

Some useful crafts, some not so much...Cro-Magnon Croquet set!

Buskers everywhere you looked

Advertised to be made by an old hippie

Good coffee helped Greg keep up with Ann and Kathleen

Kathleen bought a mug from this potter

Lunch from the Afghan booth

Warning in parking garage stairwell

Kesey Square

Kesey Square food carts and sculptures

On the way back to Ann's we stopped to see her workplace at the university library and saw a bit of campus. I was blown away by the huge amount of bike racks, filled up even on a weekend. When we arrived back at Ann's to pick up John to go tasting at Sweet Cheeks Winery, we decided to enjoy the beautiful late afternoon on their deck instead. They broke out their stock of Sweet Cheeks and we spent a few lovely hours tasting wine, conversing, and enjoying the Asian garden, while Greg played with their cats, Truffle and Alistair.

Eugene has lots of bike lanes and is flat enough for easy biking

Relaxing on the back deck

Our hosts, Ann and John

The lord of the manor

Sweet Cheeks wine

Entertaining the cats into exhaustion

Truffle waiting for more action

Time for some food, so we drove into the neighborhood known as the Whit, and went to the Falling Sky Deli. Their main brewpub is elsewhere in Eugene, this is a new one specializing in the same beer, but different food. Everything served is sourced locally and made by them. The meats are either cured or smoked. We started with flights of their brews in order to taste more of them, had appetizers, then we moved on to sandwiches. The duck and lamb pastramis were amazing, especially after we “Ruebenized” them! After a little too much brew and food, we went back to Ann and John's and called it a night.

Rocket scientists hard at work deciphering the menu

Fearlessly attacking the giant corned beef sandwich

I'm not sure how you get pastrami from a duck but it sure is good!

Sunday morning, they sent us off with another gourmet breakfast cooked by Ann. Before leaving Eugene, we drove to Fred Meyer to re-supply for the next stage of our trip. We really enjoyed our visit, and Ann and John gave us a good taste of Eugene, in several ways! Definitely a fun, “Eunique” place and one that will be on our list to return to in the future. Thanks to Ann and John for showing us such a delightful time in a really terrific town! A toast to the hosts, (with some Sweet Cheeks!)