Thursday
October 14
It was an exciting day, our first actual day in Oregon! As usual I was up with the sun and had the coffee brewing and almost ready when Nancy got up. We ate the rest of everything we had in the cooler for breakfast, did the dishes, took the tent down, and packed up the car. We were on our way out of the park at about 9 am. And to tell the truth, after three nights in a tent, I was ready for a TV and at least a queen size bed again.
We headed north on 101. The scenery was about the same, mountains and lots of trees, with a bridge over a river now and then. There is not much else between Arcata and the Oregon border. Oh Ya! There is one last tourist stop a few miles north! We had to stop there because there were giant statues of Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox Babe. I always thought that Bemidji, Minnesota was the official home of Paul and his Ox. My dad took me fishing in that area when I was a small child and we stopped to see them. I bet they were in Bemidji first! Anyway, The California editions were beautiful statues. They were part of the wonder at the "Trees of Mystery" which included a very nice large gift shop, rest room facilities, and a tour of the "Trees of Mystery" which was a hike among some very interesting redwoods, and which also included a short "chairlift" ride in the more steeper part of the trail. We didn't take the hike because we didn't think we had the extra time, plus as "natives" we had seen our share of redwoods. We did stop at the gift shop, strolled through their museum of indian "artifacts" and art objects for sale, bought Matt a couple of post cards, and used the rest rooms. I also asked a gal in the shop how Paul and his Ox had gotten all the way out here from Minnesota. It was apparent that she was no expert on Paul. She thought he had probably walked out to California after he cut down all the trees in Minnesota and was looking for something bigger for his axe. I thought she had a point! I love tourist traps, and the "Trees of Mystery" is one not to be missed. Next time I will take the hike!
We were again on our way and it wasn't long before we saw a sign which said "Welcome to Oregon". I noticed immediate differences as we passed the border. Hwy 101 became a two lane road and pretty much stayed that way except for passing lanes on some hills. There was a sign with a picture of a seat belt placed along Oregon's hwys which said, "Click it up or tick et up!". Price signs at gas stations indicated that gas was much less expensive. My last fill up in California had been 2.59/gal, and the first station I saw in Oregon was 2.05/gal. Wow! All due to taxes and differences in emmisions requirements. Also, it was against the law to pump your own gas in Oregon, so there was always an attendant to do it for you. Now that seemed a bit behind the times, since California has been all self serve for a long time!! The topper was that Oregon has no sales tax. It took a bit of time to get used to! When something was priced at $10, it was just $10, and not $10.75 as it would have been back in San Diego! That was cool!!
Hwy 101 turned back to the coast as we entered Oregon and the ocean was again in sight far below as the hwy wound around the bluffs along the coast. A few miles past the border we stopped at a tourist trap which had some "Seal Caves". There was a nice gift shop. Admission to the caves far below was 10-12 dollars, and there was an elevator to take you down. But the attendant said the seals were not there at the moment. We see alot of seals in San Diego, so we bought a couple of post cards and jumped back in the car.
A few miles more and there was a scenic overview that looked interesting so I whipped across the hwy to the parking area. There was a short pathway down to an overlook and a great view of a couple of large natural stone bridges over a small inlet with a blowhole which shot water up in the air 10-20 ft with each surge of the waves. The Natural Bridges was a great stop!!
We stopped for lunch at Coos Bay. It is the largest city on the southern Oregon Coast, and in the late 19th and early 20th Century was a busy port due to the lumber industry. At that time there were not any roads or railroads leading to the outside in that part of the state due to the rugged terrain. So everything came up and down rivers to Coos Bay and out to San Francisco to the South and as far as Portland and Seattle to the North. It still has some port facilities, but with roads and railroads it is not so active. It did have a quilt store however. And it still has a large lumber mill on the south end of the bay.
We walked around a bit in the old downtown, and stopped at a friendly cafe which had a number of soup and sandwich combos for lunch. The menu and the decor had an "African" theme, which I thought was very odd for a place like Coos Bay. The menu was strictly American deli, but had sandwiches with names drawn from African themes. (B'wana's favorite wild pastrami on rye?) There was African art even hanging on the walls! I talked to the waitress a bit (between her hot flashes? She had to take off her sweater!) and it turned out that the owner was from South Africa, had immigrated, and ended up in Coos Bay running a deli cafe. She was in the kitchen cooking!!(Making Water Buffulo Stew no doubt!)
After lunch, I left Nancy at the quilt shop and headed off to walk around town a bit. I found a couple antique shops to walk through. It is interesting how antiques sometimes reflect the area they are in. One of the shops was filled with nautical stuff as well as old ship building tools which probably were collected in the Coos Bay area.
I went back to pick Nancy up, but she was not at the shop. I walked through and knew why. It was a walk in and walk out! Nothing interesting there for her! So I sat on a bench on the corner and 15 minutes later she turned up. She had found a nice crafts and art gallery and had spent some time talking with the owner--and of course had bought a little something as well.
We headed north towards Bandon. Most of the area was rural, and it was interesting to note that there were shops here and there along the road selling things carved and made out off Myrtle wood, which seemed to be the local "special" tourist staple, and that the area's main agricultural product were cranberry's grown in bogs somewhere out there off the hwy!
We were soon in Bandon and drove through the business district until we reached the "Olde" touristy part of town, which was by the marina. It had many renovated buildings with cafes, galleries, and gift shops catering to "people like us"(tourists)! Nancy's guide book provided some direction regarding places to stay, and as we drove the waterfront we espied the Sea Star Inn, which her guide book described as part "hostel" and part "hotel". It looked like our kind of place--and we got a room overlooking the marina that had a queen size bed with cable TV, and a bathroom with a shower. Perfect!
We settled in and went for a walk. The weather had changed and had become more "brisk". It was Oregon weather and just to Nancy's liking.
We went exploring and here was a quilt store a block away! Nancy walked in and out of this one too! We walked into a boutique and I struck up a conversation with the slightly elderly shopkeeper. She had lived in encinitas years ago and had owned a shop in Luecadia which her son now had as his business. Nancy knew the shop and thought she knew her son!! Small world! I told her we would say hello to him when we got home. I wonder if we will remember. We checked out the two or three resturants in the area and decided to make reservations at a small French oriented cafe where they brewed their own beer and ale. Down the street just behind our inn we found the best coffee place in town. They opened at 6 am and ground their own beans daily! So we were set for the morning. We bought a cheap bottle of wine and went back to the room to have "cocktails" while we dressed for dinner. The dinner was pretty good and the beer was fair, but then it was hard to compete with Nancy's gourmet camp dinners.
The bed was real comfortable compared to my air mattress! As usual, I fell asleep while Nancy was still watching TV.
October 14
It was an exciting day, our first actual day in Oregon! As usual I was up with the sun and had the coffee brewing and almost ready when Nancy got up. We ate the rest of everything we had in the cooler for breakfast, did the dishes, took the tent down, and packed up the car. We were on our way out of the park at about 9 am. And to tell the truth, after three nights in a tent, I was ready for a TV and at least a queen size bed again.
We headed north on 101. The scenery was about the same, mountains and lots of trees, with a bridge over a river now and then. There is not much else between Arcata and the Oregon border. Oh Ya! There is one last tourist stop a few miles north! We had to stop there because there were giant statues of Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox Babe. I always thought that Bemidji, Minnesota was the official home of Paul and his Ox. My dad took me fishing in that area when I was a small child and we stopped to see them. I bet they were in Bemidji first! Anyway, The California editions were beautiful statues. They were part of the wonder at the "Trees of Mystery" which included a very nice large gift shop, rest room facilities, and a tour of the "Trees of Mystery" which was a hike among some very interesting redwoods, and which also included a short "chairlift" ride in the more steeper part of the trail. We didn't take the hike because we didn't think we had the extra time, plus as "natives" we had seen our share of redwoods. We did stop at the gift shop, strolled through their museum of indian "artifacts" and art objects for sale, bought Matt a couple of post cards, and used the rest rooms. I also asked a gal in the shop how Paul and his Ox had gotten all the way out here from Minnesota. It was apparent that she was no expert on Paul. She thought he had probably walked out to California after he cut down all the trees in Minnesota and was looking for something bigger for his axe. I thought she had a point! I love tourist traps, and the "Trees of Mystery" is one not to be missed. Next time I will take the hike!
We were again on our way and it wasn't long before we saw a sign which said "Welcome to Oregon". I noticed immediate differences as we passed the border. Hwy 101 became a two lane road and pretty much stayed that way except for passing lanes on some hills. There was a sign with a picture of a seat belt placed along Oregon's hwys which said, "Click it up or tick et up!". Price signs at gas stations indicated that gas was much less expensive. My last fill up in California had been 2.59/gal, and the first station I saw in Oregon was 2.05/gal. Wow! All due to taxes and differences in emmisions requirements. Also, it was against the law to pump your own gas in Oregon, so there was always an attendant to do it for you. Now that seemed a bit behind the times, since California has been all self serve for a long time!! The topper was that Oregon has no sales tax. It took a bit of time to get used to! When something was priced at $10, it was just $10, and not $10.75 as it would have been back in San Diego! That was cool!!
Hwy 101 turned back to the coast as we entered Oregon and the ocean was again in sight far below as the hwy wound around the bluffs along the coast. A few miles past the border we stopped at a tourist trap which had some "Seal Caves". There was a nice gift shop. Admission to the caves far below was 10-12 dollars, and there was an elevator to take you down. But the attendant said the seals were not there at the moment. We see alot of seals in San Diego, so we bought a couple of post cards and jumped back in the car.
A few miles more and there was a scenic overview that looked interesting so I whipped across the hwy to the parking area. There was a short pathway down to an overlook and a great view of a couple of large natural stone bridges over a small inlet with a blowhole which shot water up in the air 10-20 ft with each surge of the waves. The Natural Bridges was a great stop!!
We stopped for lunch at Coos Bay. It is the largest city on the southern Oregon Coast, and in the late 19th and early 20th Century was a busy port due to the lumber industry. At that time there were not any roads or railroads leading to the outside in that part of the state due to the rugged terrain. So everything came up and down rivers to Coos Bay and out to San Francisco to the South and as far as Portland and Seattle to the North. It still has some port facilities, but with roads and railroads it is not so active. It did have a quilt store however. And it still has a large lumber mill on the south end of the bay.
We walked around a bit in the old downtown, and stopped at a friendly cafe which had a number of soup and sandwich combos for lunch. The menu and the decor had an "African" theme, which I thought was very odd for a place like Coos Bay. The menu was strictly American deli, but had sandwiches with names drawn from African themes. (B'wana's favorite wild pastrami on rye?) There was African art even hanging on the walls! I talked to the waitress a bit (between her hot flashes? She had to take off her sweater!) and it turned out that the owner was from South Africa, had immigrated, and ended up in Coos Bay running a deli cafe. She was in the kitchen cooking!!(Making Water Buffulo Stew no doubt!)
After lunch, I left Nancy at the quilt shop and headed off to walk around town a bit. I found a couple antique shops to walk through. It is interesting how antiques sometimes reflect the area they are in. One of the shops was filled with nautical stuff as well as old ship building tools which probably were collected in the Coos Bay area.
I went back to pick Nancy up, but she was not at the shop. I walked through and knew why. It was a walk in and walk out! Nothing interesting there for her! So I sat on a bench on the corner and 15 minutes later she turned up. She had found a nice crafts and art gallery and had spent some time talking with the owner--and of course had bought a little something as well.
We headed north towards Bandon. Most of the area was rural, and it was interesting to note that there were shops here and there along the road selling things carved and made out off Myrtle wood, which seemed to be the local "special" tourist staple, and that the area's main agricultural product were cranberry's grown in bogs somewhere out there off the hwy!
We were soon in Bandon and drove through the business district until we reached the "Olde" touristy part of town, which was by the marina. It had many renovated buildings with cafes, galleries, and gift shops catering to "people like us"(tourists)! Nancy's guide book provided some direction regarding places to stay, and as we drove the waterfront we espied the Sea Star Inn, which her guide book described as part "hostel" and part "hotel". It looked like our kind of place--and we got a room overlooking the marina that had a queen size bed with cable TV, and a bathroom with a shower. Perfect!
We settled in and went for a walk. The weather had changed and had become more "brisk". It was Oregon weather and just to Nancy's liking.
We went exploring and here was a quilt store a block away! Nancy walked in and out of this one too! We walked into a boutique and I struck up a conversation with the slightly elderly shopkeeper. She had lived in encinitas years ago and had owned a shop in Luecadia which her son now had as his business. Nancy knew the shop and thought she knew her son!! Small world! I told her we would say hello to him when we got home. I wonder if we will remember. We checked out the two or three resturants in the area and decided to make reservations at a small French oriented cafe where they brewed their own beer and ale. Down the street just behind our inn we found the best coffee place in town. They opened at 6 am and ground their own beans daily! So we were set for the morning. We bought a cheap bottle of wine and went back to the room to have "cocktails" while we dressed for dinner. The dinner was pretty good and the beer was fair, but then it was hard to compete with Nancy's gourmet camp dinners.
The bed was real comfortable compared to my air mattress! As usual, I fell asleep while Nancy was still watching TV.
1 comment:
hey dad! Just for the record.....I am thouroughly enjoying your recounts of San francisco and oregon. I spend many a moment at work wasting my time away reading your funny and informational stories!
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