Whenever we travel to/through the state of Nevada I can’t help but relive a few childhood memories.  I grew up in a blink of a town known as Gardnerville, which is about 45 minutes south of Reno.

A few days ago in this post, I made mention of the fact that Ashland takes Halloween very seriously!  It rained for several hours today and it was still sprinkling when the parade got under way, but then the storm broke and the rain stopped. It was as it should be!  I use the term “parade” loosely because really, it’s a crazy free-for-all that brings out the whole town in costumed celebration.  At the head of the parade each year is a group of percussionist-playing local citizens who take Halloween to the next level. 

Greetings from Ashland ~  Ashland, is just 15 miles north of the California/Oregon border.  A town of about 22,000 residents, Ashland is home to the world renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Southern Oregon University, Lithia Park (a 93-acre park in the heart of town), the Ashland Independent Film Festival, the awesome Rogue River, over 60 wineries and the list goes on.

In my recent post River Guides and Chefs, I offered one of my reasons for launching this blog, food!  And who doesn’t love food?  There is a whole big world out there for roadies and foodies so if I can share even a small sampling, all the better. My decision to launch this blog and the reasons why actually came about in no particular order.

If you had told me five years ago that today, October 14, 2012, I would be living in Ashland, Oregon, owning and operating a bed and breakfast inn and launching my 2nd blog, I would have told you, “I don’t think so.”  And yet, here I am doing just that.