I jetted off to spend a summer weekend in Eugene, Oregon this past week. The reason: my little sister's graduation. With her as my guide this time, we got to see the town from a local's perspective. Eugene, Oregon is better known as the college town locale of University of Oregon as well as the birthplace to Nike. Its a place that values hiking and the outdoors as well as craft coffee and beer. The term yuppie has been bred out of the community that is Eugene.

WHERE TO STAY!

Polk St House In true tradition of my mother, we used Airbnb to book our lodgings. With tons of family & friends flying in to watch my little sister graduate from University of Oregon (go Ducks!), we needed a spacious and homey play to stay for all of the activities.We found the quaint house off of Polk St, in a family neighborhood to meet all of our needs.

GET ENERGIZED!

Coffee Plant Roaster imports coffee beans from all around the world and freshly roasts them for a unique and wide range of flavor. They serves everything from Specialty espresso drinks, to cold brew, to loose leaf tea, to Kombucha. Their mission is to serve great coffee as well as have great baked goods and little bites so that anyone can come in for a couple hours and enjoy their time. The atmosphere is spacious and cozy with pillow lined booths along the walls and large tables, perfect for the college town of Eugene.

GET BRUNCH!

After our spa day, we headed to Noisette for a quick coffee/snack break. Noisette is essentially the byproduct of mixing industrial-rustic with French Bakery. We sat down at a tea-table inside and ordered lattes and the Vegetable Savory Tart. The tart was so delicious that we ordered a whole pie for her graduation party we hosted back at the house. As for the lattes, My mother and I were surprised to find that the milk tasted…well different. My little went onto explain: Eugene is known for their huge farm-to-table, organic, non-gmo culture. A lot of business’ use Raw, straight from the source milk. That means, that milk comes from pasture-fed cows and have little-to-no pasteurizing or processing. I am a full supporter of this lifestyle, however, I do have to admit it took half the latte to get used to the organic milk flavor.

GET EXPLORING!

WILLAMETTE RIVER NEAR AUTZEN STADIUM FOOTBRIDGE My absolute favorite thing to do in Eugene was playing in the Willamette River. There is a spot on the Western Bank of the Willammette near Autzen Stadium footbridge where you can sunbathe, picnic, and jump/swim in the river. There are small but strong rapids and riding them down tapped into my thrill seeking. Hiking may be the State-wide past time for Oregonites, but I say playing in the river is the must-do summer activity.The Saturday market is the place to go to on Saturday Morning. From Fresh fruits to curated flower bunches to high quality oils and vinegars, Everyone descends on downtown to stock up on all their local produce. According to my sister, The Downtown scene in Eugene used to be pretty shady attracting the majority of Eugene’s homeless population. With help from some new local business’ and the Saturday Market, its culture is starting to redevelop and is becoming a new hot spot in Eugene.The Fifth street Public Market is a cool place to visit. Several shops surround a small outdoor terrace for a nice peaceful place to visit, shot, and eat. We stopped into the Marché Provisions which doubles as a high-end provisions store as well as a cafe.Skinner Butte Park is in the top 3 hiking/vista points in Eugene. Because of the limited time we had, we did not hike up, but instead drove up to the vista to get a great view of the whole city.

GET EATING!

I now absolutely know how my sister managed to survive 4 years in Oregon being away from California Tacos and Mexican food in general. Tacovore does artisan tacos right. Whether you want simple beef/chicken tacos or if you’re a vegetarian like me a dressed up explosion of flavor beet/tofu tacos, you are sure to find whatever fits your desire. They also have about 8 different salsa’s, which are all amazing and some very spicy.McMenamins North Bank is a Eugene Staple. McMenamins is a business I have written about in a previous blog post here about their business in Portland. They are known for their Cajun Tater tots, which are mind blowingly amazing (even though, they are mostly likely flash-frozen hush puppies), but serve quality healthy dishes such as the kale Cesar salad i ordered. Their restaurant/bar sits right on the Willamette with gorgeous views of the river.

GET DRINKING!

The Barn Light is the hotspot in Downtown. Two friends opened it up to double as a coffee shop/bar similar to the one they both met and worked at in Kansas. It has quickly become the hotspot it is today and one of the spots that has helped bring more and more people downtown.