Well, the 64th annual La Grande Crazy Days is now in the books, registering as a success and a great time had by all! In my tenure at LGMSD, just determining how long Crazy Days had been in existence had been a monumental yet rather amusing task. Institutional memory wasn’t much help. My friend, Susy, grew up in La Grande and was in high school in the mid-1960s, but then it was totally uncool for a high school kid to go to Crazy Days, so she did not pay a whole lot of attention. Last year, Carol Summers of our Board added some clues and Virginia Mammen found a newspaper clipping with an ad from 1960, so that was determined to be the beginning, as newspaper archives for 1930 to 1960 had gone into the gulp.
So, this was the date and paying homage to the 1960s was this year’s theme. Selected shop windows were appropriately psychedelic, as were some designs submitted to our tee shirt contest. Some folks came out in their 1960s threads and the era was well represented by the Timber Cruisers Car Show. It was rather jarring to see the cars I learned how to drive in now represented as “antique,” but oh well, time is fleeting and all that.
My first stop was, with no apologies, at Merlyn’s Over-the-Top Breakfast. He definitely has elevated “fair food” offerings to a much higher level and I decided to start my day with the legal-on-the-Whole-30 omelet, which was perfection. But the pancakes beckoned. I haven’t eaten a pancake in over four years, and they looked like they were the peak of pancake creation. So, WTHN, one pancake, with real butter and real maple syrup, so simple, so sublime. And now, adequately fueled with protein, carbs, and sugar, I ventured out to sample the many vendors and brick-and-mortars with a cornucopia of things to tempt my wallet, as well as visit some of the fun attractions and informational booths and visit some of my favorite automobiles on display up and down Adams, organized by the Timber Cruisers Car Club.
The Timber Cruisers Car Club show—what can I say?! It was an open-air car, truck, and motorcycle museum running down Adams for at least three blocks. Mary Ann and Arlan really put on a show for their last Timber Cruisers Crazy Days event. Check out all of the marvelous photos of some of my favorites. I just love cars with odd pedigrees, so my favorite was the Willys Overland Whippet (yes, named after the dog). There was an Austin Healy, another throwback to my young adulthood. Off on a side street from the car show was one of my LGMSD event favorites—Buster from Mid-Columbia Bus Company—the most adorable bus in the entire universe!
It was starting to warm up (97 degrees according to my phone), so I thought I would take violating the Whole 30 to an entirely new level. So, it was off to look for ice cream (or something just like it)! Luckily, I discovered Float and Churn, where I found what they advertised as a strawberry/peach shortcake. This turned out to be amazing homemade vanilla ice cream with peaches in juice with the most divine sour cream almond soft cookie instead of shortcake. Delightful!
I was going to lunch at Becky’s Burger Wagon, but I was just too satiated from the generously portioned shortcake, so I walked it off appreciating the many creative and talented makers offering everything from baskets to jewelry. I stopped by Fit Fuel LG where Sarah treated me to a cooling lavender smoothie and I continued to wander. I discovered that the La Grande Fire Department had set up the shower tower and there were any number of small beings gamboling about in the refreshing cascade of cooling water. I thought better about participating, as you do reach an age where rambling about in sodden clothes loses its appeal. Community Kindness had mist sprayers out and cooling-off pools for both people and pets—and that was more my style.
Feeling a bit peckish after my wanderings, I headed over to Raul’s—because if you’re going to cheat on the Whole 30, cheat big—and chowed down on my favorite food in all of La Grande, the Oregon burrito. After that repast, I did another cruise of all of our incredible vendors and participating brick-and-mortar businesses. A special shout-out to Savage Serpents for sharing their amazing ambassador animals. Monkeys on the Run provided loads of fun with their Monkey Cam. Ohana’s Sweet Stop was just what was needed for the heat and there were lines down the block. I stopped by to say “hi” to Doug of Yuri Books and then figured I’d better head home before I had a major cat uprising on my hands for lack of wet food in a timely manner.
Though it was just a tad odd to have my youth and young adulthood be the subject of nostalgia, overall, it was loads of fun and tastefully executed with everyone--young, old, and in between--having a marvelous time!
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