Day 9 - Ashland

It was hot! We kept the AC in the car on full blast. Route 199 was a beautiful, a freshly paved, wide 2-lane highway winding through river valleys and mountain passes. We were back into Oregon before lunch and it looked a lot like the Okanogan - very dry, some grazing cattle, a few trees.
We stopped for lunch at a state park and found a meandering stream where Kay could soak her feet. Gas prices were much lower in Oregon, by about 30 cents a gallon - taxes. I filled up and we found a kiosk where I ordered a double shot espresso vanilla shake - Wow was that good - just what I needed for the next 2 hours of driving.


Ashland is at the very southern end of Oregon, quite an out of the way place to be hosting a Shakespearean festival. It is NOT easy to get to. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is quite a bit larger than Vancouver's Bard on the Beach. It has been in operation since the late 60's and has 3 large theatres. We had tickets to see Henry VIII in the open air theatre - modeled after the Globe theatre and constructed as a permanent Tudor design.
When we arrived in Ashland we found our pre-booked accommodation La Quinta - nothing fancy, but looking like a palace to us - and then headed into town to reconnoiter. Ashland is a quaint little town tucked into a river valley, surrounded by trees and looking very prosperous. Downtown is dominated by the 3 threatres high on a hill, surrounded by a shady grassy park, boutiques, restaurants and shops. I went to the information center while Kay lay down and napped in the shade. After a week camping we were ready for a bit of luxury and I strolled the narrow paths around the River exploring the market, and looking for the perfect restaurant. This means for Kay - excellent ethnic food, romantic setting, great service, and cheap. Hmm. I will settle for 3 out of 4 and after agonizing over menus, found the perfect spot - Thai Pepper Restaurant - Thai food, next to the River, outside and what seemed to be very friendly staff. We decided to splurge and call it our Anniversary (Aug 11) Dinner. I booked early to give us time to eat and get to the play at 7:30 - we rushed back to the hotel for a hot tub, swim, shower and change into the few good clothes we had. Such luxury!

The Spot - Outdoors in the Shade by the River










The Drinks - Martinis & Chilled Gewurtztraminer



The Meal -Bill - Indonesian Rack of Lamb, Kay - Coconut Curry








Henry VIII for Shakespeare fans is NOT one of his best. Henry himself is a ponderous part, supposedly wrestling with his conscience and still in love with Katherine - apparently written so as not to offend James I of England at the time it was written - so much of the play was slow moving. In addition, the actor portraying Henry was tall, thin and had a squeaky voice (Henry VIII?). BUT more than making up for the lack of action was the part of Queen Katherine - Henry's first Queen - a woman scorned - ladies take note - if you want a truly great example of a defiant, sharp witted, literate and spirited woman of Shakespeare this was it. Whenever she was on stage we were ... well... awake and riveted. The actress was Spanish and wow what a performance. It had been a long hot day, lots of driving, and a great bottle of wine, so who could blame either of us for drifting off under the stars towards the end of Act II.
On this hot, dry, clear night we hurried back to our air conditioned hotel and it was "lights out"!