September 15, 2012

RV Corral, Eugene, OR

We had our usual wakeup call via the intercom as someone was being paged to the sales office.  After a breakfast of bacon and eggs, I packed us a picnic lunch and we set off.  At first we thought we might like to go to Portland so we headed north on route 5.  I started leafing through some literature we had gotten at the visitor center and I saw some beautiful pictures of the Oregon Coast.  Change of plans.  We took the road towards Newport.  It was a very pleasant drive as we passed small towns and tree-covered roads.  At some points along the road the trees actually appeared to be reaching for each other as they meet overhead forming a canopy.  We turned right when we reached the Pacific Coast Highway and drove nine miles to Otter Rock scenic viewpoint. 

 It was quite breathtaking.  And then we had a very special treat when not one but four whales surfaced.  We watched them for at least a half hour and could have stayed for much longer if I didn’t have to find a restroom.  I dragged Monte away, who wished he had brought his Pentax camera with its zoom lens with him instead of his little Olympus. 

We started heading south and stopped at another scenic lookout because there was a gift shop there and I hoped there was a public bathroom inside.  NO DICE.  There was a sign on the door that read, “No Public Restrooms.”  As we started to back out of our parking spot, a tour bus pulled up blocking us off.  The door opened and we had to wait as all the passengers disembarked. 

By the time we were finally able to pull out of the parking spot and continue on our quest for a restroom I was in a state of emergency.  We saw a sign for Devil’s Punchbowl State Park.  Yes, a bathroom!

Once that emergency passed I was able to really appreciate the beauty of the Oregon Coast.  Across the road from the parking lot at Devil’s Punchbowl was a staircase that led to the beach below. 

Half way down there was a park bench where we sat and ate our picnic lunch as we watched little kids at the water’s edge run back and forth to avoid the incoming waves.  There were several dogs running around and quite a few surfers taking advantage of the waves.  It was a little breezy but quite comfortable where we were sitting.  After lunch we continued down the stairs and walked along the beach. 

 

As we continued going south we saw a sign for the Yaquina Head Lighthouse which is managed by the U.S. Department of Interior.

  It is located on a narrow point of land jutting due west into the Pacific Ocean.  We saved the $7.00 per car entrance fee by using our America the Beautiful pass.  Inside the Visitor’s Center, I stamped my National Parks passport and then watched a film describing the ecosystem surrounding the lighthouse.


  We departed the center when they made an announcement that they were closing.  We drove to the tidal pool area but didn’t stay long because it was very cold. 

We hadn’t dressed properly as we were wearing shorts.  But we had at least we had brought warm jackets having learned our lesson from the night we went to Florence.

Continuing on our journey, we spotted a Walmart and I asked Monte to stop so I could return the movie we had rented to the Redbox.  They only had one box and the gentleman who was ahead of me took at least 10 minutes deciding which movies he wanted to rent.  When it was my turn at the machine it only took me 30 seconds to complete the return.

Our last stop of the day was in the town of Newport which was established in 1882.  It was chilly and we were sorry we hadn’t thought to purchase cheap sweat pants while we were at Walmart.  I had packed us mini cherry pies so we went in search of someplace to buy a coffee for me and a hot cocoa for Monte. 

We found a coffee shop near a wharf.  While we were sitting outside on a park bench munching on our pies we heard the sea lions barking.  We followed the sounds and came across a pier above where the sea lions were gathered.  They were quite amusing as they formed what looked like a jigsaw puzzle with on resting its head on another while another one had its head on another ones belly and so forth. 

 When a newcomer showed up and tried to climb aboard the platform, the others started hissing and barking but the newbie just hissed and barked right back and forced his way on.  I learned from reading the info board on the pier that all the sea lions gathered were males as the females stay in California year round.  Interesting-It seems that the males make their way to California when it is time to mate.  That is a long way to go for some whoopee but I guess it doesn’t matter what species they are when it comes to that—guys will be guys!

 

While we were on the same pier we spoke to a family who were crabbing.  It was humorous because when they pulled up their net they had three crabs in it and the father and son said they needed to throw them back in the water because they were too small.  But the mother insisted they were big enough.  She pulled out a ruler that appeared to have been made for that very reason and proceeded to measure the crabs.

  It was really very close to call.  When we walked away from them they were still arguing over whether the crabs were the legal size to keep or not.

The town of Newport is an interesting place.

  It kind of has a rugged feel to it as opposed to the town of Florence which is a little more upscale, evident in its shops and restaurants.  The one thing I DID NOT like was the smell. 

Trident Seafoods Corp has a processing plant in Newport right on the docks and the odor was enough to make me gag.

 It was getting late and since we had a two hour ride home ahead of us we decided it was time to leave.  The GPS wanted to route us back the way we came but I looked at the map (a physical map) and I routed us the old fashioned way.  We continued on along the coast and came upon another overlook that was as equally breathtaking as all the other ones we had been to.  The sun was setting and as I gave Monte a hug I thought to myself that it just doesn’t get much better than this moment, right now! 

 

We didn’t tarry long as it was cold.  We headed south and then east when we came to the small town of Waldport.  The next hour and a half was spent with me wishing I had an “Oh shit” handle in my car.  That is the handle that some cars have above the passenger window that you can grab onto in scary situations and say, “Oh shit.”  The road we were on was pitch-black.  We didn’t encounter another car for at least an hour while we were on that road.  The speed limit was 55 MPH but I kept wishing Monte would do like 20 MPH because there were so many twists and turns.  AND THEN we came around one bend in the road and a deer ran across the road in front of us.  Thank God Monte is such a good driver.  After that I kept expecting a deer to run across the road after each bend.  Luckily that didn’t happen but we did encounter quite a few more deer along the way but they were on the side of the road.

We finally made it back home around 9:30 and I was able to unclench my hands and rub them together to get the circulation going again.  I heated us up some pizza I had in the freezer.  We watched a little TV and called it a night.  What a great day!  Days like the one we had experienced are the reason we decided to embark on this adventure.  With all my griping about being stuck in a parking lot for a week, days like these really puts things into perspective.