Destination: Charlestown Marina and RV Park, Coos Bay, Oregon We departed Elk Creek Campground after a solid night's sleep - Van with 8.5 and me with 11 (darkness sets in alot earlier nestled beneath the CA Redwoods without internet or cell service).
We planned to finally leave CA after 18 adventure filled days. We passed some beautiful beaches and came upon Crescent Beach and a big fishing harbor and marina. Of course, we had to explore.
We walked a bit and thought I could hear the bark of sea lions. It was sunny blue skies and 63 deg, a warm feeling after camping in a damp, dark place among the Redwoods. We drove to another side of the bay and I hopped out to take pic of a beautiful lighthouse perched on a hill in the harbor. Van was calling from TCB, but I couldn't discern his words. Suddenly I looked toward his pointed finger and saw three sea lions enjoying sunshine a few hundred yards off the rocky shore. They disappeared and I waited from them to emerge again. I think they were on to me. I did get a pic though. We passed Lucky 7 Casino in Crescent City and Van was disappointed to find that we missed ladies' night last night. Oh well.
Van was excited when we passed into Oregon. I commented that the forested coastline intermingled between sand dunes seemed different once we entered Oregon. Van didn't have the same impression. Perhaps I was just happy to be in a new state, after so many days spent in California.
We passed Brookings Harbor, a charming seaside town looking more like a northeast seaside town. Another observation when crossing the state line into Oregon - it seemed there were less homes that were shanty-type RVs covered in tarps, perhaps an indication of the high cost of everything in CA.
With our light breakfast, it was approaching late lunchtime. After sleuthing again on Yelp and Google, I found The Crazy Norwegian, a local seaside cafe in Port Orford, OR.
As Van hopped out of TCB, a short haired, a friendly woman commented, " Wow you have travelled a long way to get here!" She was the owner, or the Crazy Norwegian, who did not seem crazy at all. She spoke of retiring in two years and hoping to make it to the Northeast coast. I said,"Come visit us!" After a bit more chit-chat, she recommended a beautiful hike a mile down the road where we could walk Quinnbo, and burn off some calories after lunch.
Sure enough, she was right. We did need the hike, after enjoying the most scrumptious plate of fried cod and plump oysters. For dessert, I could not pass up the marionberry pie, a deep fuchsia colored berry similar to our eastern wild blackberries.
We found the trail that meandered around a big hill perched on the coast. It brought us to a beautiful vista of the rocky Oregon Coast. Quinnbo was happy to walk, as always.
We resumed travel in TCB as the afternoon turned into darkness, just in time to arrive at our destination for the night. The RV park was sparsely populated, which has been a theme on this trip, as we are more into the offseason as we travel farther north. We called the security person, as instructed, for late registration, even though I had made a phone reservation the previous day. The site was $35 per night, which included 30A electrical hookup and dumping, along with restrooms, showers, laundry and even a fish cleaning station. We would have to visit all these amenities in the daylight.
After Van leveled TCB with his handy-dandy large Lego type leveling blocks, we settled in for an evening of cell service and WIFI. Our appetites were satisfied after The Crazy Norwegian's late lunch, so a glass of wine and pjs was all I needed. Another successful day. Thank you TCB.
