Monday 6/24 Bend, OR
Cool night, but nice sunny day in the low 70’s. We went south of town to the Lava Lands Visitors Center to find out about the Large Obsidian Flow. Then another 12 miles south and 15 mile east to the LOF. Walked up the path, climbed the stairs and then climbed the path almost to the top. Did not take the 1 miles loop around. Part of the climb was pretty rough going. We had our trekking poles with us and were glad we had them! Quite an impressive sight with large boulders of obsidian all over the place.
Back into bend we stopped at the Village Baker for lunch. Nancy had seen their ad in one of the tourist mags and wanted the soup they featured in the ad, which they did not have! Good sandwiches though.
Stopped to gas up the car and got a good car wash, it was grungy! Back home we walked over to the nearby bagel shop and the shelves were bare, need to stop in the morning. Nearby doughnut shop had doughnuts though! Nancy did some laundry and I vacuumed.
We went into downtown for dinner at Deschutes Brewery Bend Public House, then stopped at Bonta Natural Artesian Gelato which was outstanding!
Tuesday 6/25 Bend, OR
Nice cool nights here in the upper 40’s, very quiet park despite the in town location and closeness to US 97. Mid-morning we drove north to Sister’s, OR. Nice little town with lots of shops and eateries. Nancy found a pair of shoes, we bought a couple of books in Paulina Springs Books a nice independent bookstore with a good selection (and display) of interesting books. Had lunch at The Gallery where Nancy found some excellent Jalapino Potato Soup! Made up for yesterday’s disappointment.
On the way back we stopped at Tumalo Lavender where Nancy found a few good things. Then a stop at Trader Joe’s on the north side of town. Heavy downpour while Nancy was in the store and wet roads on the way home got our freshly washed car dirty again.
For dinner we went just down the street to Cibelli’s NY Pizza. Tiny mostly take-out place with just 10 tables and excellent pizza! A stop for groceries and then back home
Wednesday 6/26 Bend, OR
Last day in Bend, headed for an extended stay on the coast in Charleston tomorrow. Headed over to the Old Mill District which turned out to be an upscale shopping, eating, entertainment district tucked under a bluff by an old sawmill. You could drive by above it without ever realizing it was there.
Just like all the rest of this city the traffic was just a slow crawl through the area. We parked as soon as we turned in. Walked through to the REI store - actually in the old sawmill building. Nancy found a nice pair of zip-off leg khakis with pockets I like - hard to find!
Walked back along the river to Anthony’s where we had lunch. While we were there it rained quite hard along with some small hail - third hailstorm this trip! Rain let up just about the time we finished. Walked back to car and headed into downtown.
As soon as we turned onto Bond street in the old part of town the traffic slowed to a walking speed crawl all the into the center of town. The traffic in this town is terrible, comparable to the worst areas of Denver, but throughout the town!
Pulled into the public parking lot by the Bend Farmers Market and lo & behold! A parking space marked “compact”! Well … we anything if not compact!
We were there an hour before the market opened, so we walked around the block and found a nice candy store, Goody’s Chocolates, where we picked up some chocolate truffles and cashew clusters.
Nancy found some berries and eggs at the market and then we headed home. Another heavy rain just after we returned, with a bit of small hail - of course!
After the rain stopped I dumped the tanks and loaded the car, ready to head out in the morning.
Dinner at home and watched the first night of the Democratic debates.
Thursday 6/27 Charleston, OR
On the road just after 9 AM this morning, for some reason we both woke up ridiculously early this morning. Fairly easy drive across the Cascades, although in and out of rain showers most of the way, coming down the west side of the Cascades on wet roads definitely focuses one’s attention. Arrived at Charleston Marina RV Park about 1:30 after a couple of short construction delays on OR 126 East of Reedsport. Charleston is a working fishing harbor on the ocean, west of the City of Coos Bay.
Park is quite a bit more crowded than it was last year. Nice big pull-thru space with room to unload the smart and park the truck. Watching the second night of the debates.
Friday 6/28 Charleston, OR
After breakfast we drove out Cape Argo Highway to Cape Argo to watch the surf. Even though it was just coming up to high tide the surf was not as spectacular as we have seen in the past, no onshore breeze this morning. A beautiful sunny morning, shirtsleeve weather even though the temps were in the low 50’s. Very few people around and wonderfully quiet and relaxing in the woods around the cape. Heading back we stopped at the Simpson Reef over look and watched the seals and sea lions basking in the sun and roughhousing in the surf.
The road out to Cape Argo, is through Sunset Bay State Park and since last year they have added a series of six very sharp speed bumps along the road! A bit of a PIA.
Head home we stopped at Crabby Cakes Bakery to check on the cinnamon rolls. Fresh ones due out in an hour! Cool! So we took a nice stroll around the harbor, walked out along one of the working boat piers where a couple of people were watching their crab pots. One group had just pulled a pot with a good number of crabs, but only a couple large ones, which were not quite large enough to be legal.
Sat by the harbor for a while then back to Crabby Cakes for fresh cinnamon rolls - YUM! Had those for lunch along with a couple of toasted bagels. It’s nice to indulge once in a while!
Relaxing afternoon at home. Got Dish Network channels changed to Portland locals, which should cover us for the next three to four weeks. I measured the damaged umbilical cord on the trailer and found an RV supply house with one in stock. So we drove into the edge of Coos Bay to Gibbs RV, nice RV store, picked up the umbilical cord, stopped for groceries, and washed the smart in a quarter car wash. On the way home the marine layer was moving in.
Nice dinner at High Tide Cafe right down the street. Marine layer moving in and out over the last few hours.
Saturday 6/29 Charleston, OR
Early morning walk around the harbor, a bit foggy this morning all along the coast. About 10 AM we headed north up to Heceta Head lighthouse. Climbed up the hill to the gift shop. We debated about going all the way up to the lighthouse (we were there last year) but the lady in the gift shop said people had been seeing a whale, so we went on up. Sure enough, we did see a whale not too far off shore, Nancy spotted it first when it was blowing.
Back south to Florence where we stopped at Little Brown Hen Cafe for an excellent lunch. Open 7 AM to 2 PM, 7 days a week and breakfast all day! What could be bad?
Stopped in Winchester Bay to visit Umpqua River Lighthouse, then on into Coos Bay. Stopped and picked up some CBD and then to Coos Bay Liquor Store which turned out to have a rather amazing stock of whisky, Irish Whiskey, and Scotch.
Back home about five.
Sunday 6/30 Charleston, OR
Morning walk around the harbor, stopped for a donut but Crabby Cakes Bakery was not open yet, sign said “8ish” it was 7:45. Watched the F1 race, which was probably the best of the season. Then Nancy did some laundry while I changed out the trailer umbilical cord. Turned out to be a pretty straight forward job.
Then we relaxed.
Monday 7/1 Charleston, OR
Long walk around the harbor this morning, including out along the jetty North of the harbor. At the west end of the jetty, above the road there are two dead trees that are chock full of nesting birds. They appear to be full of chicks as the noise is noticeable from 25 yards away. Not sure what the birds are, long necked black seabirds that dry their wings in the sun like ones in Florida.
After breakfast we washed off the side of the trailer that had become covered with tree sap in Rigby. When we parked there, with the bad clutch, it was all I could do to get onto the pad, let alone position it properly. So we ended up right against a tree that turned out to be oozing sap!
Unlike most RV parks it is OK to wash here since people are constantly washing off boats. Probably half of the RVs here have a boat trailer parked next to them. It is a fishing harbor after all.
We walked over to the harbor and tried The Sea Basket, a little place on the pier. Not too bad, Nancy had the special, a shrimp melt and I had pancakes.
After lunch I called Gold Coast Truck Repair to see about getting the truck lubricated. Ted said if I came in now they could do it right away so off I went. One more maintenance item off the check list.
Tuesday 7/2 Charleston, OR
Overcast, but warm this morning, low 60’s. It was cloudy most of the day yesterday, but the sun broke through this afternoon. So far we have had delightful weather on the coast.
Headed into town for such at 7 Devils Brewery, turns out they are closed on Tuesday. Guy working on their entryway recommended The Coney Station on Broadway. Nancy had homemade soup and I had a pretty good burger, along with draft beer. We also were able to watch the second half of the World Cup Soccer game. Stop at Mr. Nice Guy hemp store, still looking for CBD lotion. They were sold out, but another customer said McKay’s Market had a nice CBD lotion, so we stopped there for some groceries and picked up a jar of cream, not lotion, to try.
Back home and relaxed.
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