Spring break at home? You bet

Sunshine, beaches, swimsuits, tropical drinks and no responsibilities.

The three spring break travelers, Amanda Bolsinger, Jessica Jenness, and Haley Moskovitz, from the University of Oregon, at an Ashland restaurant. Submitted

That's the prototype for the typical college student's spring break crammed into the oh-so-short week that breaks the monotony of winter and spring term. This break is scheduled from the minute the last final ends until the last flight back to school Sunday night. One week has to make up for 10 weeks of cold grey mist, icy mornings and dark afternoons.

Of course, I dreamed of this sort of spring break right up until my bank account and work schedule crashed the party sending me back to reality. If I wanted out of Eugene it was going to be on a shoestring budget and just under two full days off work.

Two close friends, Haley Moskovitz and Jassica Jemess, and I bemoaned how badly we needed to escape from Eugene. Our options had to be within a tank of gas, a cheap hotel room and affordable entertainment. We considered Portland, Seattle, Bend and the Oregon Coast. Each had its own flaws, mainly higher costs than our bank accounts justified. Frustrated, I racked my brain for ideas finding one in the most unlikely of places.

I could go home for Spring Break.

Amanda Bolsinger at Mori Ink.

While not the typical vacation, Ashland offered most everything we were looking for. Ashland is less than a three-hour drive from Eugene, we could stay at my parents' house, the town offers countless activities and we wouldn't feel pressured to constantly be on the go.

Considering that I cried very real, painful tears the first time I saw Ashland as my new home, I laughed at the irony of taking two of my closest friends there for a vacation. A girls' trip like the one we were embarking on is the same sort of trip that caused my stepmom to fall in love with Ashland and move us here before my senior year in high school.

How ironic that I now wanted to show my friends all the reasons I love Ashland — show them where the locals go, as well as letting them be tourists. I also wanted to hit every single one of my favorite restaurants that I have been missing all year.

Wednesday morning we packed the car, bought snacks, a tank of gas and made three mixed CD's for the drive. By 2 p.m. we headed into Ashland for our first stop of the trip, the Great American Pizza Co. where I introduced Haley and Jessica to what I consider world-class cuisine: doughknots. After that first garlicky bite, I was back home.

No visit to Ashland would be complete without seeing a show at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Haley's only request, seeing that is was in fact Spring Break was "no Shakespeare." We saw the non-Shakespeare "On the Razzle," an ideal pick for its witty comedy and easy-to-follow dialogue. Entertaining without being the least bit educational.

We dressed up, enjoyed a great Mexican dinner on the Plaza at another of my local favorites, and I was really on vacation.

Haley Moskovitz at Mori Ink gets her ear pierced.

Thursday I showed my friends the two sides of Ashland, the places that made the city my home and the hot spots that make it so attractive to tourists.

We started with lunch at the Greenleaf on the Plaza. The peer pressure began shortly after we ordered. Jessica wanted a piercing and had decided that a spring break vacation was the excuse she had been looking for. I was in complete support until I realized that her plan included another hole in my ear as well as her own. It would be a bonding moment, she told me. All I knew for sure is it would be a painful moment.

Over chicken strips and fries with a view of the creek, my step-mom and friends convinced me that I would indeed be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime if I didn't have a hollow needle drill a hole in the thick cartilage of my tragus, the thick part of the ear nearest my head.

Pinch it, its thick.

Reluctantly, I agreed to think about it as we ventured onto the Plaza.

As we wandered through the many shops and boutiques, my friends began to see the small town beauty of Ashland.

Jessica Jennes at the Dragonfly restaurant in Ashland.

Then the inevitable happened. My straight-laced, well-behaved friends were panhandled by three people and a dog seeking "money for Marijuana."

Haley's jaw nearly hit the side walk, "what?"

"Money for ganja" they reiterated. I laughed and kept walking as Jessica asked me if she looked like a hippie or someone that used pot. I tried to explain that it could have been a grandma in a wheelchair, they would have still asked for the same thing. It is just part of Ashland's eclectic charm. I had lived her less than a week before being invited to smoke on the Plaza. You simply get used to it.

I could not have asked for a more picture perfect day with clear, bright blue skies and lots of sunshine as I led them into Lithia Park. During the summers I spend nearly every afternoon reading and napping in the quiet sanctuaries of Lithia Park, a section used by the tourists, but sacred to locals. Tourists may wander through and appreciate the beauty of our majestic park, but locals have favorite places, know where the best spots are and have memories throughout the park. I took them to "my spot" for some quiet time in the sunshine. Showing them my spot in the park was like letting them read my journal. It's my safe spot, my hiding spot and my happy place. Nothing makes me feel more at home then my spot in the park and I was willing to share. "

You know, I feel like I'm really on vacation," Haley told me. That made it worth sharing.

After an hour in the park we were ready for a snack. At Zoey's Café over smoothies and ice cream, I placed a call to Mori Ink to schedule two, maybe three, ear piercings.

When we arrived I began to ask Mori the tough questions.

"Is it going to hurt really bad?"

She laughed at me, asked for my ID and told me that I had to go first. I would love to say that I was brave, but I was without a doubt one of her more difficult customers. I got sweaty and scared, she made me lay back. While cleaning my ear I grabbed her hand and accused her of trying to trick me. With friends holding my hands and tears glistening in my eyes, she did it. And it didn't really hurt. Or as I said "it didn't feel good."

Mori merely shook her head, laughed at me, and sterilized the chair for Haley and Jessica. Mori was the most memorable part of our mini spring vacation and we have matching piercings to prove it. What sort of spring break would it be without at least one stupid decision influenced entirely by peer pressure?

Friday morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on Dragonfly's patio, soaked up the last bits of sun we could get and ate until exhaustion. After all, I only had two days to eat all of my favorite foods that I can only get at home. After paying the check, we loaded up and headed back to Eugene.

While going home for spring break doesn't earn me any cool points, it was one of the best vacations I have had. While showing my friends the best parts of Ashland I fell in love with it again. I am lucky enough to live every day at home the same way other people vacation. The locals who get to call Ashland home should remember to spend a day vacationing in their home town. We often avoid the tourist's spots, but occasionally, it can be breathtaking to see your home the way outsiders do.

Jessica Jenness, right, and Amanda Bolsinger at Lithia Park.