(gentle music) - Today on "All Across Oregon," our journey begins here at a local diner in Springfield, Oregon.

Then the pace slows down as we step into the comfy Cat Lounge where forever homes begin.

We wrapped up the afternoon with a local mural artist, then off to some axe throwing and learn how to escape the room.

Springfield, here we come.

(upbeat funky music) "All Across Oregon" is made possible in part by Travel Southern Oregon Coast, Travel Curry County, and John Warekois, CPA.

(upbeat funky music) Welcome to Springfield, Oregon, a hardworking river town with deep roots, bold stories, and a pop culture legacy known around the world.

Long before the murals and cameras, Springfield rose along the banks of the Willamette River, built by loggers, mill workers and families who shaped one of Oregon's great timber communities.

But today, this historic town carries a second identity forever linked to "The Simpsons," created by hometown native, Matt Groening.

So this is Springfield, a town where blue collar history, creative spirit, and small town heart collide.

Now of course you know how we have to start our day, with a nice hearty breakfast at an old school diner.

This is the Busy Bee.

From the early 1900s, America's diners were born on factory floors and rail lines, creating affordable places where working communities could gather, eat, and belong.

Classic diners held onto something deeper, connection, conversation, and comfort.

Immortalized by artists like Edward Hopper, diners remain a living symbol of everyday America where history still pours with every cup of coffee.

(bright music) Good morning to you.

This is the real deal, like a cafe.

This is old school.

This reminds me of like Port Chester, New York.

You can go in at like two in the morning and grab a sandwich or a pie.

I'm looking at the pies right there, too.

- Oh yeah.

All of our fruit pies.

- You guys want some coffee real quick?

Anybody?

Coffee, coffee, coffee?

Let's do it.

- All right.

- Matter of fact, here, you take a load off.

I'll pour you a cup of coffee.

- [Meg] You'll pour me a cup of coffee?

All right.

- Yeah, there you go.

Well, here.

You do your coffee your way.

You guys, you want it black?

Is that okay?

(upbeat whimsical music) So how long you been here, Meg?

- I, myself have been the owner here for, it was three years in October, actually.

We opened three years ago with this coming April.

I'm the third owner.

So when I purchased it, we took about six months to remodel.

- Yeah.

Your people in this town said the Busy Bee.

Go see the Busy Bee.

- [Meg] I don't really know why Chuck and Rita named it the Busy Bee, to be honest.

- Okay.

Sometimes it doesn't have to mean anything.

This is just a busy bee.

- It is.

A very busy bee.

- You ready to get busy bee?

- Let's do this.

- Meg, not Bea.

(upbeat whimsical music) All right, I'm ready to cook something, or at least watch you cook.

There we go.

Perfect.

- We're gonna make a country breakfast, which is like one of our most popular dishes.

- Okay.

- Biscuit, sausage patty, scrambled eggs, hash browns with peppers and onions, and then gravy on everything.

- That's perfect after that drive.

- And then we make some pancakes.

I got us a little lunch snack.

We need that.

- Oh yeah.

Oh no, we- - A little bit everything.

We need it all.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- And pancakes.

Say no more.

(upbeat whimsical music) - Well, we're gonna let these cook a bit.

- Okay.

- We'll do some scrambled eggs to go on our country breakfast.

- All right.

Okay.

You want me to start the fire for you?

- Sure.

And if you wanna put a scoop of egg.

- Okay.

- Because we're gonna make like a little egg pancake.

- All right.

Do your thing.

(upbeat whimsical music) - You wanna give it a little flippy?

- Sure.

Oh, that was a fail.

- That's okay.

You're gonna fold it up and smother it and gravy.

- Okay.

- So we'll go get our biscuit out of the back.

- You didn't see that.

It was a perfect flip.

- So we're gonna split our biscuit in half.

- All right.

- If you wanna stick the sausage patties right on the biscuit there, these guys.

- Both of 'em?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

One, two.

- Good job.

We're gonna give us one of these big old hash browns here.

All right.

And of course, you gotta get our peppers and onions.

I saw that.

- It was falling off the plate.

All right?

- Gotta reach over here for this beautiful egg.

- Yep.

- We're gonna stick him right there.

And then most importantly, all the gravy.

- Okay.

You ready, guys?

Oh my goodness.

What is this one called?

- A country breakfast.

- A country breakfast.

- Yeah.

There we go.

- That is a work of art.

Man, and it's like ten pounds.

- Yeah.

- It's really nice.

- You'll be full after that.

We are gonna stack our beautiful pancakes up here.

- Oh, look at this.

I saw you put that little one on the bottom.

- I know, I- - It pumps up the middle.

- Yeah, it's a lot of pancakes, so- - That's a lot of pancakes.

- Yeah.

- So you and I have that in common.

We are pancake people.

- Yes.

And I want lots of butter and like medium amount of syrup.

- This is Meg's special.

Bam.

And now we're looking at this.

Here, you hold this.

- Okay.

- You hold it.

Look at this.

Growing up in New York and at all the delis and the breakfast places, whatever, just so you know, it's funny you made me this.

- Yeah.

- Every time my father, my mother take me out to the place- - Yeah.

- I order the club sandwich.

- It's- - This was my favorite.

- It is my favorite sandwich.

I mean, I do have a sandwich named after me on the menu, but as far as like- - Yeah.

- Being able to serve something to people that I know they'll like every single time, it's always a club sandwich.

- No, this is actually for me, special.

So bam.

Club sandwich.

(mellow jazzy music) Would you like any of mine?

- I honestly- - This is the one I made.

(Meg chuckles) And then we just sit here and eat and they have to wait for a second.

You're going right to the pancakes, huh?

- Yeah, yeah.

I'm a pancake girly.

- Oh yeah.

Coming back to Springfield for this.

And then the famous club sandwich.

Thank you for taking me back to my childhood back in New York.

Thank you so much.

- Happily.

- Man, it's been a minute.

It's been a minute since I had one of these.

Look at all this food.

Who's eating all this food?

I am.

(mellow jazzy music) Thank you so much.

- Yeah, this is fun.

- Thank you for coming in on your day off again.

Thank you.

- Of course.

This is super fun.

- Appreciate it.

- I like sharing my food with people, so.

- I like eating your food.

Man, that was some tasty food and wonderful people.

I can't wait to come back.

Now come with me because we're gonna head over to what's called the Cat Lounge.

Now, the idea of a place where people could relax with cats started far from Oregon in Taipei, Taiwan back in 1998 with the opening of Cat Flower Gardens, the world's first cat cafe.

The concept quickly spread to Japan in the early 2000s where apartment living often meant no pets were allowed, and cat cafes became beloved havens of calm and companionship.

By the mid 2010s, the trend crossed the Pacific and blossomed in the United States.

Adoption-focused lounges teamed up with local shelters and rescue groups, transforming cafes with cats into meaningful adoption centers where people could meet adoptable cats in relaxed, home-like settings, helping many felines transition into loving families.

From a single cafe in Asia to a nationwide movement, cat lounges have become more than a trend.

They're a beacon of hope for cats waiting for their perfect match.

Hey.

- [Michelle] Hey there, Vinny.

How are you?

- Good to see you.

- Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

- Come on in.

This is the Cat Lounge.

Welcome.

- It's adorable.

It's just like what I saw on the website.

(upbeat rock music) - [Michelle] This is the front store.

I like to keep it stocked with 100% cat merchandise.

- Light this, drink wine and pet the cat.

I love it.

I'm distracted, Michelle, sorry.

I keep getting distracted because that is so true.

- [Michelle] I have that one on my fridge at home.

- Did you really?

So this is very interesting.

I want people to know what you're doing here is you're helping all these kitties find a home and you work with a local shelter- - A rescue.

- Rescue.

We work with Twitchy Tails Rescue and they own all the cats.

We have 12 today in the lounge, and we've had 193 adoptions to date.

We'll be open two years end of next January.

Wait and see- - Look at him.

- Look at Vincent, looking through the window right behind it.

- Who's that?

- Vincent.

- No way.

- Right?

Yes.

- That is Vincent?

Okay, well that is my name.

Let's just go see the cats and have- - So come on in.

So after you- - Let's have coffee and cats.

- After you check in- - Yeah?

- Or offered a drink or a snack if you'd like something, you can shop around or you can come on in and see the cats.

- I got a coffee.

I had to promise myself that I will not get another cat today or commit to one, I should say.

- The adoption process does take a couple days.

You have to apply through the rescue themself.

We are just a foster for the cats and this is their home until they get adopted.

So Vincent is one of the last, he's our last adoption.

He's leaving on Friday.

- Vince, this one?

- Yes.

With new brother, Waldo, who's not his actual brother.

Hi, Waldo.

You wanna say hi to the other Vinny?

- [Vinny] Oh, is there one up there?

I didn't- - So Waldo and Vincent are gonna be brothers.

Look at his cute face.

(upbeat rock music) - Hey guys, whatever you do- - Vincent will crawl right on your lap.

- Whatever you do, oh, you are.

You like these?

- He knows his namesake.

Come on in.

- Here you go.

Here you go.

Charles.

- Charles is such a good boy.

I don't know why he hasn't been adopted yet.

Still waiting for the right person.

Abbott and Prince, the other two tuxes, are brand new.

They've just been here a week.

- Hey, like he's hungry.

You are like a lion.

Oh my goodness.

- But this is a great place for students to come who miss their cats from home.

- Yeah.

- Since we are a college town.

- Yeah.

- It's also a place for people who are retired or travel, or don't wanna have the responsibility of a cat in their home, or the expense of veterinary bills.

They can just come and visit.

We have monthly subscriptions and frequent visitor passes.

And then I retired four years ago because it was time for a change after 30 years of internal medicine.

So I had visited a few cat cafes in Seattle and San Francisco and San Diego, and didn't know really how many there were.

When I started the idea two years ago, I thought we had 120, but now I know that there's over 280 in the US.

So the cats belong to the rescue.

We don't take in cats from people.

We don't take in strays.

These cats are all here ready for adoption.

That means they've been spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, defleaed, dewormed, and they're ready to go.

- And so you provide the middle ground.

You provide the- - They need some socialization sometimes.

- Yep.

- Especially if they were outdoor cats or were community cats that nobody owned and they weren't doing well out there, or- - [Vinny] What a big heart you have.

- [Michelle] Thank you.

- [Vinny] What a nice thing you're doing.

(upbeat rock music) Vincent, I think you can't have too many.

Here.

- [Michelle] Well, on the days we're closed, they don't get any.

(upbeat rock music) - Oh, that's right, huh?

- We ration out how many they can have in a day, but- - He is going- - We're closed today.

- He's loving it.

Vincent, you fit your name.

You're a good boy.

He does.

He just eats.

He wants to eat.

You're right.

He takes after me.

Well, thank you so much.

- Thanks for coming.

- For all this beautiful work you do.

- My pleasure.

I love pets.

- I want everybody to know my friend, Michelle, now.

All right, Vincent.

That's it today.

Bye, everybody.

Bye.

(upbeat rock music) All right, now is time to meet my new friend, the artist behind all those Simpson murals.

This is Bayne Gardner, celebrating the hometown connection to the world famous Simpsons and the creativity that now colors these city walls.

It all began in 1987 when a little known cartoon family appeared in short sketches on "The Tracey Ullman Show," created by Matt Groening.

"The Simpsons" were an instant hit, blending sharp satire, outrageous humor, and the everyday chaos of family life.

It's more than a cartoon.

It's a cultural phenomenon that continues to entertain, inspire, and reflect the world one yellow-skinned adventure at a time.

- It's organized chaos really.

It's a grid, gridding technique.

So I just put a bunch of random marks.

Sometimes I have fun with it, you know.

- Oh, by the way, this is Bayne.

We just started talking.

This guy is so interesting, I can't even, I forgot to put a microphone on him.

So it's a grid?

- Oh, it's a, yeah, the gridding technique.

You just put a bunch of random, it's called a- - Show me.

- Some of the names, the name for it is a doodle grid.

So yeah, on this, I use charcoal.

I just, you know- - Okay.

- It cleans off, but I- - Yeah.

- Put a bunch of random marks for writing or, you know, have some fun with it.

And then I take a picture of this, overlay whatever image I'm gonna put on the wall, the mural reference or mock up.

And from there, you know, I can see the grid underneath the artwork, and it's like, connect the dots.

I take a picture of the wall.

Let's see all the gridding.

This is the image.

And then I just like, okay, where's his mouth is gonna be, but, so this is like, maybe, you know, backward D shape, and that's where his lower lip is gonna be.

But yeah, so I just find his lips and his mouth and connect the dots up to the smiley.

There's his mouth and his, you know, his lips.

So yeah, it's an easy way to enlarge your image.

- Your brain works a lot different than us average guy's brain then.

- Some might say- - This.

- Yes.

- I would say yes.

I think you're definitely elevated.

Elevated.

- Yeah.

It's chaos.

It's organized.

- It's organized chaos?

- I try to organize it.

- Yeah.

Well, you do a great job.

I love your work.

- Thank you.

- [Vinny] We're getting to see it all around town.

- [Bayne] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's- - [Vinny] How long you been doing it?

- In Springfield, I think the first piece was 2013.

I started to want to do a lot more, be a working artist and learned that painting murals, there was an appetite for it, I guess.

- Yeah.

- And so Springfield had a lot of nice walls, a lot of smaller businesses, and they were kind of developing their downtown area.

And I did kinda look into, I've seen in other areas around the world even in the country where they've taken murals as a fast, easy way to create tourism or interest in a space.

- And look, hey, @allacrossoregon.

You guys see that?

- I send it, yeah.

- Look at that.

- Oh yeah.

I'm gonna write it in for you a little.

Let's just- - Oh man.

- Well, here, why don't you hit the wall?

- Oh, I don't know about that.

- Just, yeah, hit your tag.

- Whatever we do?

- Tag it up.

Whatever you, you know, you're Vinny then- - Well, I'm gonna mess up the thing, right?

Like, there's a face right there.

I can see it.

- No, that actually adds, I'll just use your tag as the grid.

I don't, you know- - Right here somewhere?

- Anywhere.

Just go big.

Go big or go home.

- I get to tag a building?

- Hit it.

- I gotta go closer.

I gotta chill out.

- [Bayne] Sorry to put you on the spot.

- Yeah, you did.

(upbeat music) Okay, so now it's time to head over to the axe throwing place and the escape room.

Last time we did axe throwing, it was a total failure.

But this time, now think about this.

Axe throwing didn't begin as a sport, but as a skill of survival forged in lumber camps and logging towns where accuracy with the blade once meant the difference between work and hardship.

Today, axe throwing is about far more than hitting the bullseye.

It's about community, competition, stress relief, and shared adrenaline.

A modern escape that reconnects people with a bold, hands-on tradition one throw at a time.

Let's do it.

Let's go throw some axes.

- [Timothy] That one.

- You got anything lighter?

- No.

- I'm playing, dude.

- Come back here.

- Okay.

- Right-handed, left-handed?

- Right-handed.

- Right-handed.

Super easy.

All the way to the bottom of the axe.

Thumb straight up.

Perfect.

Take your other hand, wrap it around like this.

- [Vinny] I'm gonna do two hands?

- We're gonna do two hands, yeah.

Straight back over head, right to the center of your spine, right between your shoulder blades.

Perfect.

Take a little baby step.

Plant your foot on the ground.

Once your foot touches the ground, whip your body forward.

Break your wrist as you go.

Pull with your thumbs and let go.

Don't let go like this.

It won't rotate enough to hit the handle.

Don't flick your wrist or it'll over rotate.

It's gonna hit the head.

Just step, throw.

- Just step and throw.

(axe clatters) - They got one.

So do it again, but really different.

- Let it spin by itself.

- Almost.

- Oh buddy.

- Don't worry.

It came back.

Perfect.

Now hit the target.

- Now I broke it.

- That costs extra.

You are what we call a wicked flicker.

- A what?

- A wicked flicker.

You can't stop and flick your wrist.

- Well, I played ball my whole life.

And the whole thing is your chuh.

- Every sport, you flick your wrist except for axe throwing.

So do this now.

See how I got my fingers up the spine?

- Yeah.

- Do that.

- Ooh.

Oh.

- It's gonna feel really weird, but trust it.

- [Vinny] Oh.

- Boom.

Just like that.

- [Jenny] Woo.

Thank God, you did it.

- Yes.

You showed me how to do it.

- Easy peasy.

Everybody's gonna throw differently.

- Okay.

- We can make sure literally anyone can stick it.

- Come here.

Let's do this.

- Because we teach to you.

Let's cross our axes.

- Whoa.

- Yeah, 'cause we're men and we throw axes.

- Arr.

- Arr.

Arr.

Arr.

Leave off on me actually doing it.

- Boom.

Now you're a pro.

You can do it one-handed or two-handed.

- [Vinny] I got it.

- We always tell people there's no bad axe throwers.

There's only bad axe coaches.

- You did good.

You did good.

Man, that was so much fun.

Now I got it.

I know how to do it.

Thank you, my friend.

Now we're gonna go upstairs and see what this escape room thing is all about.

So, okay, so I talked to some people here locally and they said there was this place called the Escape Room, right?

- Yes.

- Okay, so he's heard of escape rooms.

He's heard of escape rooms.

I have not.

- Really?

You've never played one.

- I don't even know they exist, so I didn't know.

- Wow.

- So maybe you can- - Okay.

- Give us a little tour of like, how does it work when, if someone came up to Springfield- - Yes.

- And wanted to do this escape room, how it works.

- Yes, absolutely.

- That's cool?

- We have Escape the Room Oregon, just right upstairs from Oregon Axe.

Let's go.

We opened Escape the Room Oregon in 2016.

We're actually celebrating our ninth year anniversary this week.

- [Vinny] And how do you come up with the idea?

- Well, you know, my husband and I at the time, our boys were really young and we wanted to do fun family activity.

But you know, when your kids are younger, it's like going to the park or Chuck E. Cheese.

And we as parents were kind of bored, quite frankly.

- Yeah.

- And so we wanted to do something that would bring everyone together.

We played an escape room, loved it.

The kids loved it.

You know, you're not connected to technology.

You're just connecting- - Thank you.

- In a whole different level.

And so we decided to open Escape the Room Oregon.

(playful music) They are puzzles.

So essentially for an escape room, you're searching around to find clues.

Those clues, you're gonna put together to solve puzzles.

And then every room has an objective.

So we have some rooms that is a true escape.

You're gonna die if you don't get out.

Not really, but- - Got it.

- Kind of in the storyline, you are.

They're very immersive.

And then other ones, like, we have a medieval themed room that's King Arthur, Knight of the Round Tables where you're looking for the Holy Grail.

That's the goal.

- Okay.

- Is to find the object.

- Okay.

- So it just kind of depends on which game you're playing.

But I'll show you around.

Come on.

- All right.

Yeah, please.

- This is our cabin.

It's one of our cult family favorites.

Everyone loves this game.

It's a creepy cabin in the woods.

Think about a prepper's cabin.

- Okay.

- But you ran outta gas in the woods, so you're gonna die if you don't go get help.

So of course, we're gonna (hand knocks on door) break into the cabin.

- Okay.

(door creaks) - [Jenny] And so you can kind of see in here, it's a dark, dusty old cabin, but you'll notice that there are some symbols on the walls that mean something.

You've gotta figure that out.

- [Vinny] Okay.

This a tight quarters.

- [Jenny] Yes.

It's very tight quarters.

- And groups get together to try to figure it out how to get out.

- Yes.

And I will tell you that this is not the only room in this cabin.

There are two other rooms in this cabin, but I can't show you how to get them.

- Okay.

- Because that's a surprise.

We have Bio Lab, which is a really fun game.

I'll bring you over to this one.

The thing that's awesome with Bio Lab, is it's actually two escape rooms in one.

- Okay.

- So your group gets divided in half, but you have to figure out how to work together when you can't be together.

So you can see in here, it's 2055.

So we're in the future.

It's an apocalyptic themed room.

You can kind of see things- - This is so great.

- Have taken over.

- Okay.

- So, it's a fun game.

And the awesome thing with this one, like I said, you can play it two different ways.

So co-op is when you're having to work together, or you can play it head to head where you're competing with your other people on the other team.

So someone's gonna die.

Someone's gonna live.

We'll see who's smartest.

- Oh my goodness.

Oh my goodness.

(playful music) Dick Tracy.

- Dick Tracy.

So Dick Tracy, the very first FBI detective- - Oh, look at this.

Look at this.

- So this game is one of my favorites because it's a who done it.

You've gotta figure out who did the crime, what was the murder weapon and how they escaped.

So you've got multiple things that you have to do.

- And is that for people to put on?

- Oh, we have costumes in every single one of our rooms.

- Do you really?

- Yeah.

Kids love it.

- And they put, yeah.

- Kids love it.

- Yeah.

- I mean, adults love it, too.

I mean, look at now, Vinny can't- help himself.

- I mean, I can't even- - He's just a big kid.

- I can't even help it.

I don't think that would fit.

- [Jenny] Try it.

It might.

(playful music) - Big guy, little coat.

- Little coat.

You did it.

Now, Vinny, so you're like, I don't even know what to do.

Yeah, well there's pockets in here.

And the pockets, there's a key.

So there you go.

See?

- Okay.

That key- - It's just that easy.

- And we work from there.

- Yeah.

It's just, you start one thing at a time.

Hey, and be with people that you care about to be able to communicate and troubleshoot and solve things together.

- Tell the kids to put the phone down.

Stop doom scrolling.

- Yes.

You can see how smart your kids actually are, which is always really fun.

(playful music) - What an unforgettable day in Springfield, starting with breakfast at a classic local diner, then meeting our new furry friends at a cozy cat lounge.

We wrapped up the afternoon with a local mural artist and finished the night with flying axes and the rising excitement of Springfield's popular escape room.

We'll see you next time as we go all across Oregon.

(upbeat funky music) "All Across Oregon" is made possible in part by Travel Southern Oregon Coast, Travel Curry County, and John Warekois, CPA.

(upbeat funky music) (gentle music) (keyboard clicks) (gentle music) (camera whirs)