We got up leisurely as promised. Packing up and rearranging things took until almost 11:00 am. I was all done with the Engineering Dept. and Claudia was almost done with the Domestic Dept. She was sitting on the floor and stuffing the last of the local brochures in the goodie bags for the guests. When she finished, I pulled in the slides and retracted the jacks. The rig lurched slightly as the pressure released from the jacks. “Where the (fill in the blank) do you think you are going?” she asked. “I’ve been waiting for three days to go back to the casino”. There was no getting out of it. We locked up and walked (she walked, I trudged) to the casino. She hit the penny machines and was about staying even and maybe even a little ahead. She changed machines and when I walked around the corner to find her, her machine was chirping like crazy. She had hit a $20 jackpot. Amazingly, she then called it quits and we left the casino about $22 ahead, not including her original $5 buy-in. I think that put us (her) at about a positive Alexander Hamilton (that’s ten bucks to save you looking it up or pulling out your wallets) for the stay. We returned to the rig, fired it up, pulled out and headed north for Florence.
We travelled mostly through the sand dunes area of Oregon but there were many beautiful lakes and trees as well. There are sixty miles of dunes in this area of Oregon. It was a knockout of a drive. Fifty some-odd miles later, we entered Florence. Florence seemed to be about two miles in length along Highway 101. It’s a cool little town. We passed the Elks Lodge and headed out the north end of the town to Mercer Lake Rd. and turned right. We shortly turned left into the Elks RV Park. This was NOT what we were expecting folks! This place is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! It is set in amongst lots of trees and has beautiful gravel roads, immaculate landscaping, large grassy areas and wide, secluded RV spaces…all for $18 a night.
We travelled mostly through the sand dunes area of Oregon but there were many beautiful lakes and trees as well. There are sixty miles of dunes in this area of Oregon. It was a knockout of a drive. Fifty some-odd miles later, we entered Florence. Florence seemed to be about two miles in length along Highway 101. It’s a cool little town. We passed the Elks Lodge and headed out the north end of the town to Mercer Lake Rd. and turned right. We shortly turned left into the Elks RV Park. This was NOT what we were expecting folks! This place is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! It is set in amongst lots of trees and has beautiful gravel roads, immaculate landscaping, large grassy areas and wide, secluded RV spaces…all for $18 a night.
Amenities include 50 amp power, water, two dump stations and free wi-fi throughout the park. The park is about a quarter-mile off Highway 101 so it is very quiet and secluded. There is even a bear warning sign among the postings on the park’s information board. Is this heaven or is this heaven? Now…how close is it to good crabbing? We are about to find out.
The answer is about five miles! We headed down to the Pacific Pines RV Park, introduced ourselves and got all of the necessary information for the trip. We then headed down to Old Town for a look-see. It hadn’t changed much in four years. We went into Mo’s for a quick dinner and then returned home via the local Indian casino. No, we didn’t go in but Claudia has it logged into her “Things to do later” data bank.
When we got home, the motorhome looked like a big weed in a rose garden. It was filthy. All the other motorhomes were spotless and spiffy. Claudia decided that we should wash the coach. Now, how do you wash the coach when the rules say you can’t wash the coach? Well, you get my crab bucket out of the car, fill it half-way with hot water, add a good cup of vinegar and scrub it with towels attached to a scrub brush. After it’s “washed”, you dry it with a clean dry towel. It looks fabulous! Well, it looks a lot better than it did. I’ll wait until tomorrow when the sun is really out and take a look at it then before I make a final determination of how it looks. We then took Gizmo for a romp around the park, made a pot of coffee, turned on the “telly” and kicked back. When I’m thoroughly kicked, I’ll take a shower. That may even be tomorrow morning.
Speaking of tomorrow, we shall arise at a reasonable hour, say around 9:00 or 10:00, shower if we didn’t shower tonight, and then take off to the north to see the Sea Lion Caves and the Heceta Head Lighthouse. After that, we’ll head south of town to check out the sand dune tour. Coincidentally, the town has erected a fishing and crabbing pier off South Jetty Road in the area of the sand dunes. Since we will be through with business at that time, we just might take an hour or two to see if we can capture some denizens of the shallows.
It was a little cool last night so Claudia got up about 4:00 to turn on the furnace and bring Gizmo into bed with us. After a short session of happiness licks, we all returned to sleep mode. Around 8:45 or so, we all started stirring and got up to face the day. Claudia was first and I followed shortly thereafter. Gizmo lagged! After a great breakfast of sausage and eggs on mini-English muffins, orange juice and coffee, we took off on our appointed rounds. The weather cooperated fully with totally blue skies and beautiful bright sunshine. Oh yeah, the rig looks beautiful in the sunlight…a 1,000% improvement!
We hit the Sea Lion Caves first.
The answer is about five miles! We headed down to the Pacific Pines RV Park, introduced ourselves and got all of the necessary information for the trip. We then headed down to Old Town for a look-see. It hadn’t changed much in four years. We went into Mo’s for a quick dinner and then returned home via the local Indian casino. No, we didn’t go in but Claudia has it logged into her “Things to do later” data bank.
When we got home, the motorhome looked like a big weed in a rose garden. It was filthy. All the other motorhomes were spotless and spiffy. Claudia decided that we should wash the coach. Now, how do you wash the coach when the rules say you can’t wash the coach? Well, you get my crab bucket out of the car, fill it half-way with hot water, add a good cup of vinegar and scrub it with towels attached to a scrub brush. After it’s “washed”, you dry it with a clean dry towel. It looks fabulous! Well, it looks a lot better than it did. I’ll wait until tomorrow when the sun is really out and take a look at it then before I make a final determination of how it looks. We then took Gizmo for a romp around the park, made a pot of coffee, turned on the “telly” and kicked back. When I’m thoroughly kicked, I’ll take a shower. That may even be tomorrow morning.
Speaking of tomorrow, we shall arise at a reasonable hour, say around 9:00 or 10:00, shower if we didn’t shower tonight, and then take off to the north to see the Sea Lion Caves and the Heceta Head Lighthouse. After that, we’ll head south of town to check out the sand dune tour. Coincidentally, the town has erected a fishing and crabbing pier off South Jetty Road in the area of the sand dunes. Since we will be through with business at that time, we just might take an hour or two to see if we can capture some denizens of the shallows.
It was a little cool last night so Claudia got up about 4:00 to turn on the furnace and bring Gizmo into bed with us. After a short session of happiness licks, we all returned to sleep mode. Around 8:45 or so, we all started stirring and got up to face the day. Claudia was first and I followed shortly thereafter. Gizmo lagged! After a great breakfast of sausage and eggs on mini-English muffins, orange juice and coffee, we took off on our appointed rounds. The weather cooperated fully with totally blue skies and beautiful bright sunshine. Oh yeah, the rig looks beautiful in the sunlight…a 1,000% improvement!
We hit the Sea Lion Caves first.
According to people coming out of the gift shop, there were no sea lions in the caves. We went inside and introduced ourselves to “Boomer”, a retired teacher and the PR guy at the caves. We had some pre-conceived notions about the place that frankly weren’t good. We had heard that it was smelly, dark and not worth the entrance fee. Boomer generously gave us passes so we could go down to the cave and see it. We went outside, down the trail to the elevator and then down 120’ to the cave itself. It WAS dark, but subtle indirect lighting was all around the cave and you soon became acclimated to the darkness. First of all, it was NOT smelly. The recent storm may have cleaned it out a bit but there was no disagreeable odor at all. Second of all, it was huge, much larger that we had expected…and it was beautiful!
There was only one sea lion in the cave, but that didn’t diminish the beauty of it. There were several exhibits, a TV documentary and a view of the Heceta Head Lighthouse. It was well worth the time and the entrance fee.
After the Sea Lion Cave, we headed to the Heceta Head Lighthouse to check out the parking lot and the facilities.
After the Sea Lion Cave, we headed to the Heceta Head Lighthouse to check out the parking lot and the facilities.
After doing so, we returned to the RV park to romp Giz and pick up a turkey neck for crab bait. We then headed to the sand dunes to check out the tour.
We are all set for the sand buggy tour. We are going on the big sand buggies,
We are all set for the sand buggy tour. We are going on the big sand buggies,
not the rails.
Waterfront Depot menu
For us old farts, this is more the Chevy station wagon tour, not the Ferrari ride! Some of the dunes are hundreds of feet high. I think this is going to be fun.
After checking out the sand machines, we headed for the South Jetty fishing and crabbing pier. When we got there, the tide was still ripping and the wind was blowing hard and cold, but we had high hopes. We walked out to the far corner of the pier, baited the trap, tied off the pull rope to the rail (VERY important), and I heaved it into the water. Fifteen minutes later, I pulled the trap. It was loaded with over a dozen Dungeness crabs, all shorts or female…no keepers. We kept pulling and throwing every 10 minutes for the next two hours but no keepers emerged. I only saw four keepers landed during the time we were there. One old-timer told us it was a little early yet and to give it a few more weeks. Maybe on the trip down.
We left the pier earlier than we planned , mostly due to the cold wind, and headed off to mail some letters. We had been eyeballing a good-looking Chinese restaurant and decided to give it a try. We ordered a couple of specials at $9 each. I had Kung Pao Chicken, Sweet & Sour Pork with pork fried rice. Claudia had Almond Chicken, Fried Shrimp, Sweet & Sour Pork and pork fried rice. The plates were HUGE! I got three-quarters through my plate before switching to the “power-eating” mode. Claudia kept her senses and asked for a “to go” box. It was delicious!
We returned to the rig, romped Giz, brewed a pot of coffee and kicked back for the evening. Great day!
Wednesday, our last day here in Florence, was not spent they way we had planned. Our plans were to get up somewhat early to get to the crabbing pier by 9:00 am. The first low tide is set for just past 10:00. You want to fish the hour before and after the low or high tide. Otherwise, the current in the rivers is so fast the traps won’t stay on the bottom. Well…after a fitful night of semi-bad dreams, we woke up at 8:45. Scratch crabbing! I got up and let Giz out. After two stretches and a quick foot lick, he made a beeline for the bed. Then, one jump up and three hops later, he landed right on Claudia’s face. She woke up! We then finished getting up. I threw on some sweats, romped Gizmo and returned for a shower and a blueberry pancake breakfast, complete with bacon and sausage. Yum!
Our new and revised plan for the day now includes walking Old Town and ????? That’s as “planned” as the plan for the day was planned. OK, OK, maybe a trip to DQ later on. Before we started out, Claudia got me all fired up and I wrote one of my famous “nastygrams” to Freightliner about the work they did and asked to be reimbursed for my out-of-pocket expenses. We then took off on our new and re-revised plan of the day about 2:00 pm, drove straight to Old Town, parked, and started walking.
The first store we walked into was a leather store. Claudia walked out with a beautiful brown leather backpack purse. This was a bad start! Actually, to be truthful, I bought it for her for our anniversary, which is tomorrow. We went to several other shops and dropped some more money in them. Finally, we walked by the Waterfront Depot, a small but highly recommended restaurant right on the river.
After checking out the sand machines, we headed for the South Jetty fishing and crabbing pier. When we got there, the tide was still ripping and the wind was blowing hard and cold, but we had high hopes. We walked out to the far corner of the pier, baited the trap, tied off the pull rope to the rail (VERY important), and I heaved it into the water. Fifteen minutes later, I pulled the trap. It was loaded with over a dozen Dungeness crabs, all shorts or female…no keepers. We kept pulling and throwing every 10 minutes for the next two hours but no keepers emerged. I only saw four keepers landed during the time we were there. One old-timer told us it was a little early yet and to give it a few more weeks. Maybe on the trip down.
We left the pier earlier than we planned , mostly due to the cold wind, and headed off to mail some letters. We had been eyeballing a good-looking Chinese restaurant and decided to give it a try. We ordered a couple of specials at $9 each. I had Kung Pao Chicken, Sweet & Sour Pork with pork fried rice. Claudia had Almond Chicken, Fried Shrimp, Sweet & Sour Pork and pork fried rice. The plates were HUGE! I got three-quarters through my plate before switching to the “power-eating” mode. Claudia kept her senses and asked for a “to go” box. It was delicious!
We returned to the rig, romped Giz, brewed a pot of coffee and kicked back for the evening. Great day!
Wednesday, our last day here in Florence, was not spent they way we had planned. Our plans were to get up somewhat early to get to the crabbing pier by 9:00 am. The first low tide is set for just past 10:00. You want to fish the hour before and after the low or high tide. Otherwise, the current in the rivers is so fast the traps won’t stay on the bottom. Well…after a fitful night of semi-bad dreams, we woke up at 8:45. Scratch crabbing! I got up and let Giz out. After two stretches and a quick foot lick, he made a beeline for the bed. Then, one jump up and three hops later, he landed right on Claudia’s face. She woke up! We then finished getting up. I threw on some sweats, romped Gizmo and returned for a shower and a blueberry pancake breakfast, complete with bacon and sausage. Yum!
Our new and revised plan for the day now includes walking Old Town and ????? That’s as “planned” as the plan for the day was planned. OK, OK, maybe a trip to DQ later on. Before we started out, Claudia got me all fired up and I wrote one of my famous “nastygrams” to Freightliner about the work they did and asked to be reimbursed for my out-of-pocket expenses. We then took off on our new and re-revised plan of the day about 2:00 pm, drove straight to Old Town, parked, and started walking.
The first store we walked into was a leather store. Claudia walked out with a beautiful brown leather backpack purse. This was a bad start! Actually, to be truthful, I bought it for her for our anniversary, which is tomorrow. We went to several other shops and dropped some more money in them. Finally, we walked by the Waterfront Depot, a small but highly recommended restaurant right on the river.
We each had the crab encrusted halibut, served with a Caesar salad, the dish that the manager of the Pines RV Park raved about. She was right! It was fabulous! Even though I was glared at, I had two glasses of Clos du Bois Chardonnay, which also was excellent. We topped off the dinner with a stop at the local Dairy Queen. Claudia had a hot fudge sundae and I had a plain cone. Another great day! Tomorrow, we head for Newport.
1 comment:
Jerry!!! Lamb shanks were on the menu. You are a dopier than a dope!!! You can eat halibut anytime up there but lamb shanks... you don't get a chance to eat them too often. Sauteed in red wine with lots of mushrooms!!! Yummmmmmm!!!
The readers will know who is the REAL cook in this family for sure now.
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