eugene, oregon — hey it's maya

this weekend, i took a plane to eugene, oregon with my family to tour university of oregon (go ducks)! it was only a two day trip but it felt like a really long time. i guess it’s because we did so much.

i had never been to oregon before, so i was really excited to see it. upon arriving in eugene, it felt very different than california. first of all, it was a lot greener. there were hills covered with green trees instead of the yellow grassy hills that we see here in california. also, there was a lot of rain! it rained both days that we were there, and we only saw the sun for a teeney bit. i definitely wasn’t used to either the rain or the overcast skies. talking to locals, they said that it’s usually cloudy and rainy for most of fall and winter. the sun starts to come back out in march.

it was really nice to see all of the trees changing colors. it felt like fall! the town itself is a cozy one, and it feels pretty secluded. there are lots of hiking and bike trails all around the area, and there’s a river that runs right through the town as well. it holds the name of being “tracktown usa,” and for good reason. there are 250 miles of running trails in eugene, alone!

on our second night, my family and i went to dinner at a place called grit. from the sound of it, i was picturing a bar and grill like restaurant, but i was surprised to see a small, warmly lit restaurant that was actually located in a historic house. when we walked inside, we were cheerfully greeted and taken to counter seats which gave us a great view of the kitchen. there were pumpkins and vegetables lined on the tables and counters. i felt like i had entered a small, cozy cabin in the woods.

after a bit of contemplation, we decided to order buñuelos and an heirloom tomato and fresh mozzarella salad for starters. for a main, my mom and i ordered the lobster mushroom spaghetti to share. the food was so delicious and comforting. something about the rain falling outside and it being warm and toasty inside made our dinner much better.

when we got back to the hotel, my family and i challenged each other to a game of jenga. i bet that my dad was going to be the one who tipped the whole thing over…and sure enough, that was just what happened. but to give him some credit, we reached that point where it’s kind of impossible to take a piece out without it falling. my parents and i also played a few rounds of ping pong. i beat my dad two rounds to zero (not bragging or anything, haha).

another place that we had to check out while we were in eugene was voodoo doughnut. this portland based doughnut shop sells some of the most fun, unique looking doughnuts i’ve seen. the one that immediately caught my eye was the “the loop” doughnut which is a raised yeast doughnut dipped in vanilla frosting and coated with fruit loops. another fun one is their signature “voodoo doll” doughnut (so creative), and i also liked “the homer” doughnut which is dipped in pink strawberry flavored frosting and decorated with rainbow sprinkles.

i ended up trying their “chuckles doughnut” which had the perfect bite of fluffy, chewy dough drizzled with rich chocolate and topped with crunchy peanuts. i gobbled it up pretty quickly. i also had the “sprinkle cake” doughnut which was very instagram worthy, as well as the “tangfastic” doughnut which looked a little like a s’more in doughnut form.

i loved how each doughnut had its own personality and unique twist. something i found pretty amazing was that you could purchase a whole bucket of day old doughnuts for only $10 (and there must have been around twenty in there)!

i loved my time in eugene. it was nice to get away for a bit with my family and do some fun, relaxing things together. i’m also really glad i got a chance to tour the university of oregon. i can see why so many people love this school and this college town.