Ashland: My Disneyland

In meditation, you're often told to find your happy place -- a real or mythical destination where you feel soothed, safe and calm. For many years, a beach on Oahu called Sans Souci has been my go-to happy place. Sans Souci is a small inlet with water so calm, warm and salty that you feel like you're floating in a gigantic bathtub under the bright, cheerful sun.

Sans Souci beach in Honolulu (not the enclosed part - the beachy part)
Photo taken from a vacation rental listing on VRBO.

I'm excited to report, though, that I've now found an entire town -- within driving distance, even -- that makes me so happy I get a little depressed when I think about it because I'm not there. That place? Ashland, Oregon.

In all fairness, I should mention that I was there for only two days, and the weather was ideal, which makes any place seem even better. Well, maybe not Detroit. Or Gary, Indiana. But when you've been living with 40-degree weather, drizzle and gray skies for 7 months, 85 degrees and sunny is heavenly.

A bit of a mountain view from our hotel parking lot

Ashland is nestled in the foothills of the Siskiyou and Cascade mountain ranges, about 15 miles north of the California border. It sits about 350 miles north of San Francisco and 285 miles south of Portland. In other words, Ashland is smack-dab in the middle of nowhere. The town is known primarily for its Shakespeare Festival, so I expected it to be filled with hippies in flowing velvet capes, lawns littered with D 'n' Ders practicing their sword-wielding techniques, and Burning Man devotees fire-dancing in the streets. I guess I expected Ashland to be a hot mess of a country fair. To my surprise, Ashland was vastly more sophisticated than any other town I've experienced in Oregon, and perhaps even in Washington as well (including you, Seattle).

Ashland's main thoroughfare, like any small town's, is crammed with boutiques, cafes, bookstores and restaurants. But the boutiques are upscale, the cafes and restaurants are largely organic, and there are more bookstores than you would expect in such a small place.

Where the magic happens: The Elizabethan Stage

What charmed me most about Ashland (in addition to it being a cute town) is that it's centered around three of my favorite things: literature, theatre and a great big, beautiful park. Established in 1908, Lithia Park is on the National Register of Historic Places and consists of 93 acres of forested canyonland along Ashland Creek. The sprawling park includes large, open green spaces, a bandshell, two duck ponds, tennis courts, a small Japanese garden and miles of hiking trails.

Strolling through this lovely park on a gorgeous day, we came across the three deer below quietly munching on some grass in the shade. A few feet beyond them, a mama duck led her squawking ducklings to a nearby pond. I felt like I'd stumbled into some idyllic scene from a fairytale and half expected the Seven Dwarves to appear, bunnies to gather at my feet, and little birds to land on my shoulders and chirp me a cheerful tune.

Lithia Park's name originates from the lithium oxide found in the creek's water -- the second-highest concentration of any natural spring (the highest being in Saratoga, in upstate New York). The people of Ashland are very proud of their spring water, and you can drink as much of it as you like from one of the fountains in the town square. Too bad it smells and tastes terrible.

Curious about how Ashlandites really live, we also wandered away from Lithia Park and the main drag. Because the park and town center lie in the bottom of the valley, we had to head uphill to get into the neighborhoods. When you head up, you get views. And more deer.

Unaccustomed to wandering for hours in 90 degree heat, we eventually headed back downhill and ducked into a bookstore cafe for some lunch in the shade.

Rested and refreshed, we hit the pavement again. Ashland has the highest concentration of bed-and-breakfasts I've ever seen. Since the town caters to literary and theatre-minded tourists, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to see B&B's tucked into even the most residential of streets. Oh, and more deer.

The final stop before we left town for our next destination was dinner on Calle Guanajuato overlooking Ashland Creek. The pedestrian thoroughfare is named for Ashland's sister city, Guanajuato, Mexico. Most guide books will tell you that you'll have a hard time finding a bad meal in Ashland. We left there unable to prove them wrong.

 Someday, when I win the lottery, I'll move to Ashland, open an art gallery and buy a nice bungalow with a view. With luck, the deer will come for free.