A-Z Challenge, Day #5 - The Letter "E" is for Eugene, Oregon

Click here to go to the A-Z Blogging Challenge Website.

Welcome!  From February 28 - March 16, my best friend husband Cary and I went on a trip.  From Eugene, we traveled to parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.  I haven't blogged about it yet, and thought that highlighting our vacation would be the perfect way to participate in this year's Blogging from A-Z Challenge.  My blog isn't always about travel, but for the next month it will mainly feature travel photos and memories of our experience.

This is my fourth time participating in A-Z.  For those of you unfamiliar with the challenge, participants post daily during the month of April, except for on Sundays.  That gives us 26 posts for the month.  It is a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. We visit the blogs of others who are taking the challenge, connecting with old friends and making new friends.

So, here we go on Day #5 with the Letter "E", which in this case stands for The 5th Street Market in Eugene, Oregon.  This is actually a post that I did in December 2011, but as I was looking through my Eugene stuff, I realized that the market really reminds me of New Orleans.

Trip Update:

We flew out of Eugene at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, March 1st.  That meant that we had to get up at 3:00 a.m. and be at the airport by 3:30 a.m.  It wasn't really even open yet, but we followed the rules.  We flew from Eugene to Denver and then from Denver to Tulsa.  The weather on the east coast was horrible and over 1000 flights were cancelled that day, so Denver was pretty busy trying to reroute everybody.  Our schedule remained the same though.

The night before, I called a meeting with my tribe and we all met for dinner at Papa's Pizza on W. 11th in Eugene.  My kids, my sister Julie, my Mom, our grandson Casey, and my nieces and nephews were all able to come, along with one of my daughter Kari's friends.  I can't believe that nobody took a picture, but that is okay too.  We were living in the moment, and had a fun time.

So, here we go on Day #5 of A-Z, with the Letter "E", which in this case stands for The 5th Street Market in Eugene, Oregon.  This is actually a post that I did in December 2011, but as I was looking through my Eugene stuff, I realized that the market really reminds me of New Orleans, and to be honest, it was hard to find something in my trip photos that began with the letter "E".

I grew up in Eugene.  I loved growing up in Eugene.  And, I love going back to visit.  I think that I'll start a new series about it called "I Dream of Eugene".  This is the very first installment; thanks so much for joining me.

On our most recent visit, we stopped by the 5th Street Market.  Of course, I had to take a bunch of pictures, because everything was so pretty.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

5th Street Market has been around since1976, when local vendors rented space for $2.00 per day to sell their wares.  It has since grown into a beautiful and unique courtyard shopping center, filled with art, shops and great food.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Cary was the king of the food court on Saturday. 

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

We ordered breakfast from the El Pato Cafe, along with good coffees.  The market hosts 5 cafes and two restaurants.

There are 15 specialty stores, ranging from imports and sewing notions to an area old-time favorite florist, Rhythm and Blooms:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Thanks so much for your visit!

Please click here to check out others posting in  A-Z Blogging Challenge Participant List.  I do have comment moderation on, so if your comment doesn't show up right away, don't worry. If a word verification shows up, just ignore it. I didn't put it on, Google did, and your comment will still go through even if you don't fill it out.

Have a super day!

 ~ Kathy M. 

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.