This stadium is one of the nicest around! I love how much walking room you have inside, there are…read moreself serve, checkout stations, lots of food options, lots of beer options, and the fans are loyal as can be!

Reser Stadium just recently did a renovation of the west side of the stadium. This also combined…read morewith a student welcome center and student health facility. The Student Welcome Center will serve year-round as an on-campus first stop to introduce prospective new students and their families to Oregon State University. They did an incredible job! They constructed it so you every seat has a perfect view of the field. They have plenty of vendors to pick from and the great thing is they made it on the inside of the stadium so you can still watch the game and not worry about missing that big play; where as the University of Oregon you have to go outside the stadium to get the food. Reser Stadium had a great view of the largest video scoreboard of what was the Pac-12 Conference, not sure what is going to happen there. The capacity will now hold 35,548. Go Beavers!

GETTING HERE:…read more (Traveling); located on the corner of 1st Street and Washington. It's right near Bryant Park and the Willamette River in Albany, OR. MOOD: Ready for some fun and laughter! I mean, it's a carousel! The next best thing to Disneyland. REVIEW: This is so cool! Bummed that we got there just a few moments before closing so I couldn't play tourist and shop the gift shop. :) But, we got to ride twice on the Carousel and it was fun! There's a ring toss/game of sorts but I wasn't able to figure it out. The Carousel is gorgeous! So pretty and while we were short on time and couldn't ask questions, I was able to infer that people sponsor(ed) the horses (for upkeep?) as there were gold plaques about a few of the horses. What a great opportunity to support historic Albany! Recommended! 10 stars and a must-do if in the Albany area of Oregon.

I've always loved carousel horses. I wanted a full size one for my dream living room when I was…read moreyoung. I did collected small carousel horse ornaments for my Christmas trees. So, when I realized Albany had a carousel with a museum I had to go. The place is amazing and more than horses. There is no entrance fee. I checked out the painting studio, then the carousel, with its snack bar. I saw all those animals featured on their website go round & round and up & down in three dimensional real life. I took lot of pictures and video. I joined a tour led by a volunteer. Learning about the local lady that started it all. Saw more carousel animals in basement along with the carving shop while three artists worked on future animals to be. I purchased a token to ride the carousel ($2) and nearly walked around the whole menagerie before deciding on an animal to sit upon. After debating salmon, elephant, orca, bear, zebra etc; I wound up on a horse named Calapooia. I didn't notice any xmas ornaments in the gift but I did buy a tee-shirt of Guardian the Hippocampus and a post card of Calapooia. They had post cards for all the animals on the carousel. I also got to press a penny while I still could. I had a great time. I was a kid again, all the people were happy. It was like visiting a small Disneyland. And for those happiest smiles I gladly left a donation for their future endeavors.

Corvallis Central Park is a great place located just a few blocks west of downtown Corvallis…read more Hidden on the edge of the park in what looks like a protestant church is the for sale gallery of the Corvallis Arts Council. If you love art, especially locally produced art then you have to check this place out. The statues outside in the park are great, but the real treasures are on the inside. Definitely worth a visit!

Oregon is a place for the arts- from Bruce Starker Arts Park to Eugene's Hult Center, and…read morePortland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The Corvallis Arts Center is in a converted church right off Central Park. Its landmark is a ballerina statue out front. It has a pleasant setting. They highlight local artists, with a diverse gift shop. There are plenty of treasures. The Corvallis Arts Council showcases the arts of Linn-Benton County. Beautiful little spot. A gem hiding in plain sight- truly outrageous!

What a gem! Great museum with Corvallis history, interesting items. The goat man costume with film…read morefootage was the best!!!

The Northwest Art & Air Festival is a multi-day event held each year in August at the Timber Linn…read moreMemorial Park located in Albany, Oregon. It's a mix of art, live music entertainment and the spectacle of hot air balloons. The event kicks off on Friday night with live music and the "Night Glow" event which begins at dusk. The event is weather permitting which is key to much of what happens at the annual festival. During my visits the winds were just too strong for most hot air balloons to participate. Only a few balloons were able to fully inflate, but the ones that did were pretty spectacular with the giant nylon envelopes glowing against the night sky. Even though the "Night Glow" portion didn't go off as planned, the live music on the Festival Stage was great. The band Radical Revolution performed a great selection of hits from the 80's and kept the energy level and music going strong into the night. There were a number of food trucks set-up near the stage, but with very long lines at each, plan ahead and expect a wait to order and then another wait to receive your food. If lines aren't your thing you can certainly bring your own food to the event. You should also bring your folding chairs and/or blankets and plan on arriving early enough to stake out a spot near the performance areas. On very early Saturday morning we returned before dawn to view the balloons launching. Unfortunately, as we approached the park, it was obvious that there was a problem. A steady line of vehicles were turning around and attempting to leave the area. Traffic was very congested with little to no traffic control. The launch had been cancelled due to weather conditions (wind speeds). There was no communication as to this cancellation where people were turning off the main road to get to the event. As a result, traffic became a mess. All in all, this is still a very cool event and worthy of your time. You just need to understand that The Northwest Art & Air Festival is a multi-day event held each year in August at the Timber Linn Memorial Park located in Albany, Oregon. It's a mix of art, live music entertainment and the spectacle of hot air balloons. The event kicks off on Friday night with live music and the "Night Glow" event which begins at dusk. The event is weather permitting which is key to much of what happens at the annual festival. On my visit the winds were just too strong for most hot air balloons to participate. Only a few balloons were able to fully inflate, but the ones that did were pretty spectacular with the giant nylon envelopes glowing against the night sky. Even though the "Night Glow" portion didn't go off as planned, the live music on the Festival Stage was great. The band Radical Revolution performed a great selection of hits from the 80's and kept the energy level and music going strong into the night. There were a number of food trucks set-up near the stage, but with very long lines at each, plan ahead and expect a wait to order and then another wait to receive your food. If lines aren't your thing you can certainly bring your own food to the event. You should also bring your folding chairs and/or blankets and plan on arriving early enough to stake out a spot near the performance areas. On very early Saturday morning we returned before dawn to view the balloons launching. Unfortunately, as we approached the park, it was obvious that there was a problem. A steady line of vehicles were turning around and attempting to leave the area. Traffic was very congested with little to no traffic control. The launch had been cancelled due to weather conditions (wind speeds). There was no communication as to this cancellation where people were turning off the main road to get to the event. As a result, traffic became a mess. All in all, this is still a very cool event and worthy of your time. You just need to understand that weather conditions must be perfect for the hot air balloon portions to take place. Absent this part of the event, you can still enjoy multiple concerts, arts and craft vendors, a car show and food trucks.

Fairly small car show run in conjunction with the Albany Art & Air Show. Takes place on the Sunday…read moreof the event weekend. Features cars of all ages and types, plus some unique stuff. As the host club is made up of Studebakers, you will see quite a few of those. Of course, you will also see early Fords, fifties Chevies, and other street rods, classics and cars of interest. Event is held in the park, so plan on walking, but there is shade to relax in. Admission is free to spectators. Car entrants are charged (higher amount than is shown in publicity this year), but still not too bad. Don't count on any kind of goodie bag or benefits to car owner/entrants...pretty lacking in that regard. Dash plaques are provided, however. Relatively small show, with very relaxed atmosphere.

This is a stunning new place in Corvallis to play in different tournament poker games, and it's…read moreopen to 18-and over. It's very clean and professionally run. Everyone is super-friendly. Just $10 gets you access to everything. If you're not in to poker, there's also pool, darts, table tennis, foosball, and other popular games. I heard they're also planning to host non-betting card games. The place was packed with great poker players, and everyone was having a great time, even when they weren't on a winning streak. They have a great selection of non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, and their free coffee was excellent.

This place is super friendly! If you don't know how to play, they can teach you. There are lots of…read moretables, free Wi-Fi, snacks and drinks available for purchase at fair prices and you are always in good company. Not into poker? They've got several sports games on multiple television throughout the place. There's a pool table, table tennis and darts upstairs. The owners have said they will get more games upstairs as they become available. You can call and make a reservation or just drop in. All levels of experience are welcome. The hours are good for the early evening player to the late night player. Just a great place to hang out!

Go Beavs! Make sure to look at where your seats are and how sunny it is because you WILL need a…read morehat, glasses, and sunscreen. If it's an early game then you're going to be in pure sunshine the whole game if you're on the 3rd baseline. Bench seating, basic food, nothing special.

My wife visited Goss Stadium for the first time for the NCAA Regional Tourney and it was great to…read moresee OSU win 4 consecutive games to gain a nod to the Super Regional. My issue was with the amenities for us bleacher fans. The sound system is horrible. I could not hear anything, as the speakers have not been updated. The concessions are a joke. We are not allowed to use the concessions in the reserved seat area. We are relegated to hot dogs, peanuts, terrible nachos and a few options for candy. Of course the beer choices were there, but the line for food was ridiculously long. You can not see any of the scoreboard from these seats. Close the gaps in the seat area as we dropped items twice and were told we couldn't retrieve them until the Manager did it. C'mon!! And there is no water refill station in the bleacher area. Why? It's hot, we need to drink water. It is time to also enlarge the stadium. I heard this often by other people in the seats. Record crowds were prevalent the entire four days, yet when I was home later in the evening, I saw LSU play in an updated stadium that was huge. OSU has had considerable success for many years, and it is time for the university to step up and do something to allow more people to watch the games within a more updated scenario. At least the games were phenomenal. Go Beavs.

This fine establishment is a welcome surprise for the town of Stayton. It has a certain charm that…read morekeeps bringing me back. The owners, Kyla and Mac, have left no stone unturned when it came to detail. The tap lines are clean and insulated, the layout is cool (with an upstairs for console games), and the overall game selection is very good, especially for vintage games. There's even a room devoted to pinball and an outside area, both covered and open. The Big Buck Hunter shooting game is one of my addictions. I have the high score at Game On for Elk Adventure (as of this writing). Mac has the guns calibrated regularly for accuracy. And in a shooting game, that is paramount to a fun time and a reason for my success. It's also rare for a bar to take the time to do maintain properly-calibrated equipment for this particular game. Game On has beer and cider on tap, wine, and a nice selection of liquor and some great cocktails. In fact, the Huckleberry Margarita (Kyla's personal recipe) is stellar (although I must confess that me and tequila don't play well together, so I substitute vodka). I'll be returning there soon to see if I can get a new high score on Big Buck Hunter; there is an impending upgrade, which includes Caribou that I have to try. Plus, those Huckleberry Margarita's are calling my name.

Arrived at 10:00 pm, lights were on, door was locked. We went around back all of a sudden lights…read moreturned off and people went to hide. Boo.