Grants Pass, OR

Best Seafood - Grants Pass, Oregon

 When it comes to the Best Seafood, The Laughing Clam on "G" Street in old-town Grants Pass is a nice surprise!

This old building has been here since the 1800's.  It was originally a cigar factory.

 You can see the cigar molds hanging on the wall.

Then, in the early 1900's it became a saloon.

The custom back bar is still here, being brought around Cape Horn all the way to its' new home.  What an undertaking that must have been.

At one point the building was made into an ice cream parlor and then it became a bar again.

In 1996, it became The Laughing Clam.

The lady who named it, took the name from her favorite restaurant from her childhood on the Oregon coast.  When it closed, she took the name so the fortune of good memories would transport to its' new home in Grants Pass.

Oh, I almost forgot, the atmosphere makes one forget about what you're there for.  The food is great and they have the Best Seafood in Grants Pass!  The Laughing Clam has a varied menu of seafood, burgers and sandwiches.  They also offer a wide selection of salads, sides and "specials."

They have a full-service bar that also offers hand-crafted beer, and on weekend evenings, you'll be treated to live music.

Try the Halibut Fish and Chips, and lounge against the full length brick wall across from the magnificent bar that rivals any in the West!

Stop in at The Laughing Clam for the Best Seafood we've found in Grants Pass.

MLS Photographs - Grants Pass, Oregon

I wrote a criticism on Realtor photos and have had additional thoughts to improve our client representation.

When listing homes, I suggest checking for proper grammar and spelling. We need to show professionalism! Poorly constructed descriptions and misspelled words reflect poorly on all of us.

A listing agreement is a very important contract, and yet I see such disregard to the merchandising obligation that we assume when we contract to sell someones' property.

Also, in addition to well done photos, let's make sure of what we are printing. Stay away from taking your photo in the mirror, toilet seats up, messy houses and the like.

If the house isn't properly staged, or if the clients have cleanup to do, then take what photos you can and go back for more when cleanup is done.

What do you think when you see five photos and all are taken outside? I think the inside must be junk! Don't you?

If your MLS gives you a limit on the number of photos allowed, then take the time to use the limit. You owe it to your client!

When I'm representing a buyer, and I'm looking at poorly done photos, I sometimes am reluctant to show the house. Reason being, I oftentimes have the impression that the listing Realtor doesn't feel that the home is priced right and that's why the poorly done job on photos and description.

If the listing is worth taking, it needs to be worth giving it your best effort! Nothing less should be acceptable.

I know owners can be unreasonable when you ask them to clean the place up and sometimes you may just need a second face to come in and be the "bad guy." If so, by all means bring another party to walk through the house and get the sellers on the program!

An Unlikely Hero

EDDIE ALBERT aka EDWARD ALBERT HEIMBERGER 1906 - 2005.

As I was doing some homework on the University of Minnesota (my home state), I discovered Eddie Albert had attended there, and I was surprised to find out that he was a war hero! I don't know why I should be surprised, but I was. I just didn't ever think of him as the hero type.

It turns out, as I started looking into his past, Eddie was an avid sailor and sailing his ketch off Southern California before the outbreak of World War II, he saw some Japanese posing as fishermen surveying the water depths and channels on the coastline near Baja. Having reported these suspicious activities to the authorities, he was enlisted by our government as a spy. He worked for a Mexican circus and at the same time reported to U.S. Intelligence on Nazi activities in the coastal regions of California and Mexico.

Enlisting in the U.S. Navy when war broke out, he was on the U.S.S. Sheridan as a Naval Lieutenant JG. He was in the battle of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands from November 20th through November 23rd 1943. Eddie's job was Salvage Officer, and his duty was to check abandoned equipment on the beach to see if it could be saved.

During the second wave of our attack on Tarawa, as he went ashore to check the equipment left behind he found instead wounded G.I.s' that were left on the beaches and in the water during the assault.

Using a small launch, our Unlikely Hero started picking up the wounded. He would do this by swinging one leg over the launch and hauling the men on-board one at a time. When he had six or seven on the boat, he would return to the Sheridan and drop off the wounded Marines and return to the beach for more. Witnesses reported seeing this man making one trip after another, and many commented that he was "either the bravest S.O.B. that ever lived, or the luckiest man alive."

Eddie Albert, our Unlikely Hero, single-handedly saved over 70 Marines that day. He was awarded out country's Bronze Star with "V" for "Valor in Combat."

Mr. Albert died in 2005. I just wish I had known of his heroism while he was still with us. I now view him with respect, not only for his contribution as an entertainer, but as a genuine American hero.

Eddie Albert, an Unlikely Hero.

Lest we forget!

LEST WE FORGET

NAVY JACK 1775 - One of our first colonial flags with 13 stripes.

GRAND UNION FLAG 1775 - The first flag of rebellion, used by John Paul Jones.

BENNINGTON FLAG 1777 - Carried in the battle of Bennington.

FIRST NATIONAL FLAG 1777 - Adopted by Congress as our first official flag.

OUR SECOND FLAG 1795 - Had 15 stars and 15 stripes, one for each state.

50 STAR FLAG July 4, 1960 - Adding Alaska and Hawaii.

REMEMBER VETERANS DAY - NOVEMBER 11TH, 2009

LEST WE FORGET

The Friendliest City - Grants Pass, Oregon

 The Friendliest City I know, and the The Friendliest City you'll ever find.  Finally realizing my goal to settle in Grants Pass was the culmination of a forty year journey.

Not having any knowledge of the area other than the climate and the scenery that had drawn us here, my wife and I were in for a very pleasant surprise.

We received a bonus!  The bonus was people!  The people who live here make it the The Friendliest City I've ever seen.

When we first moved to Grants Pass last year, we experienced such friendliness.  Not just the merchants, but the residents.  You can be standing in a store discussing a purchase, then suddenly a total stranger comes over and starts giving you very welcome information based on their experience with the item you're looking at.  It hasn't mattered where we are, people just come up and start a conversation.  At first I was a little taken aback and mentioned to my wife that people sure seem to be nosy here, but she said "no, the people here are just being natural."

Several times on our trips around the area we have pulled to the side of the road to look at a map, only to have someone stop alongside and ask if we needed help. 

Turning into traffic from a parking lot there is always someone gesturing to let you pull in front of them.  People go out of there way to offer help on everything, even the teenagers are very respectful!

I began asking my wife last year if, "I just looked feeble, and my age was catching up with me (she's a lot younger than I am)," but she said "No, these people are like this with everyone."

Having lived in major cities for most all of our lives, we were not used to people even acknowledging one another.  Like a client of mine recently said, "Where I came from, you didn't make any eye contact with anyone at all, because it was considered offensive, even in traffic."

Now I'm finding myself being more courteous and helpful to others in The Friendliest City I know.

When you move here, you may as well take the chip off your shoulder and throw it away.  The Friendliest City grows on you and there's nothing you can do but go along with it.

Again today, we saw example of people just being nice and discussed it again, and decided that maybe it's just because the people living here are just happier.  No one moves here because they have to, but rather because they want to.  Maybe "it's the climate" that makes it the The Friendliest City you could ever hope for.