Newberg, Oregon

From the looks of the main street, Newberg is rightly proud of the local University. We hadn't paid any attention when we arranged to stay in a driveway near campus.

Turns out, the week we were there was finals week, culminating with graduation the afternoon before we left town. If anything, traffic was a bit more intense than usual, especially in the neighborhoods near the campus.

If you dig enough, you discover that Herbert Hoover spent a good chunk of his youth in Newberg. His grandfather was the President of the predecessor institution to George Fox University, and he was a student there.

Downtown is vibrant. One now empty lot is used as pocket park, complete with an interesting waterfall art installation. The other side of the wall houses the local bakery which does a booming business. We found the combination when out walking with the dog to be highly advantageous.

It's not every town that has a waterbirth center in one of the downtown store fronts.

I didn't know what to make of the name of the small grocery store nearby, or the parking note for the Newberg Wine Lockers. Newberg is now located in the center of a robust grape & wine area with lots of tasting rooms.

We seem to have timed our visit with the arrival of the flowers. Everything seemed to be in bloom. Some I recognized from my youth on the wet side of Washington, but very few had a name that came to mind except for the Iris and the rose.

Rhododendrons were in bloom everywhere we went. Red is the most common color, but we saw several other colors as well.

Lots of reasons to like the Newberg area. We'll be back!

I goofed and didn't get a picture of the Vintages RV Park where they have a row of restored vintage trailers that they use as nightly rentals.