Eugene Weekend

Friday morning, we drove to Eugene for a two night stay at the Eugene Whiteaker International Hostel. Gail had several Halloween activities lined up for us. Eugene is a happening place, what with the University of Oregon and all that it brings.

We took separate cars as Gail was going up to Portland to see one of her old punk rock heroes, John Lydon, formerly known as Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the Sex Pistols, perform in concert at a small venue on Sunday night. She reports that it was, "More than brilliant!"

We met at the natural history museum on the university campus, which is well done with knowledgeable docents on hand. From there, we checked in at the hostel in the Whiteaker district, which is home to starving artists, and in the process of trying to become a destination for restaurants and breweries.  It is still pretty rough around the edges, however.

 Whiteaker International Hostel

 "The Whit" is known for its mature street trees, side-walk damage be damned.

Friday evening, we had tickets for Dracula at The Very Little Theater. It was a surprisingly polished performance - nice theater, great set, and classy performances.

 Saturday, we did a walk along the Willamette River, passing through the Owen Rose Garden.

 In the garden is this Black Tartarian Cherry Tree that is approximately 170 years old.  In 1977, it measured 15 ft. 10 in. in circumference, 60 feet tall, and 80 feet wide.

The farmers market is about the best I've ever seen - great produce at great prices.

After the farmers market, it was onto the the first annual casket race.  Some of the entries got a little squirrelly coming down the hill. 

 There were 40 entries, with some of the casket chassis offered as kits, like these two racers.

Just as this casket passed us, it collapsed a wheel, and it veered sharply into a hay bale. Unfortunately, some kids were standing on the wrong side of the bale and a little girl was hit. She was wheeled off for medical attention.  We do think the event needs to tighten up its safety protocols.

 We toured the pit area. Some of these casket cars had some engineering going on.

 This ship casket had automotive type suspension and steering.

 This iron and steel beast was really fast by the time it got down to the bottom of the hill.  With all its weight, however, we thought it could be lethal if it got off track.

 A real art piece, this one.

After watching for awhile, we headed up the road to see the venue of the evening's performance we'd be attending.

 The Shelton McMurphey Johnson House is now a museum of sorts.

There were displays of unusual caskets, funerary items like ice boards for keeping a body cold, and books of photos of families posing with their dead members posed and dressed to look alive, apparently a fad in the 1800's.

 Then it was back to the festivities at the casket races.  The races were over, but there was live music, pumpkin carving, and getting cider or beer at nearby WildCraft Cider Works.

We started noticing that a lot of the costumes were zombies, and they were coming out of nowhere. Suddenly, Michael Jackson's Thriller started playing as a flash mob of dancers gelled and started the famous dance of the Thriller video.

Gail was particularly elated, as she had been a performer in a similar event in Southern California about 8 years ago, and knew all the moves.

A portion of Thriller in Eugene

Squatting on a stool as if riding the old horse and being chased by The Headless Horseman.

Saturday night, we went back to the SMJ House for an incredible unabridged dramatic recitation of Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Oregon actor Alastair Morley Jacques.  This was about 90 minutes of rapid recitation totally from memory. Shoot, I have trouble remembering my own license plate.  It was quite a private performance, with only about 15 of us in the little foyer of the Victorian house.