The Elusive Cable Car

Day 8 ~ St. Helena – Redwood City, CA

The Memorial Day weekend began with us departing the El Bonita Motel in St. Helena (Napa Valley)

El Bonita

and driving to the greater San Francisco Bay area.  The towns and landmarks ticked by on our GPS ~ Yountville, Napa, American Canyon, Vallejo, Pinole, El Cerrito, Berkeley, across the bay on the Oakland Bay Bridge, look at that skyline!  Once on the San Francisco side of the Bay, we followed US 101 thru South San Francisco until turning west toward Half Moon Bay.  The road became a curvy twist of turns up and over the coastal range until dropping down to the coast at Half Moon.  We were still seeing the occasional Redwood trees, which continued to impress.

Our daughter and son-in-law had stayed at Seal Cove Inn at Moss Beach (sealcoveinn.com)  so we made it our destination for mid-day.  It’s a lovely inn but we were not staying so chose to have lunch at the nearby historic Moss Beach Distillery.  (www.mossbeachdistillery.com)  High on a cliff, overlooking the dynamic Pacific Ocean, the distillery was the ideal secluded location for rum-running bootleggers and a speakeasy during Prohibition.  Once known as Frank’s Place it is now on the list of CA historical landmarks, and interestingly it was never raided during its speakeasy years.  Frank was well connected socially and politically and continued to run a highly successful business after the repeal of Prohibition.  In a nod to its history, the distillery continues to be home to its very own Blue Lady Ghost, who has been featured in spirit related documentaries and on the television show “Unsolved Mysteries.”  We had a very nice lunch at the distillery and also a pleasant walk through the small community before heading back over the mountains toward our home for the next few days. 

Moss Beach Distillery

Seal Cove

We traveled south toward San Gregorio, and over a very curvy road through the hills to the lovely community of Woodside.   There were some beautiful homes and small estates in Woodside but our four-day rental was listed on VRBO (www.vrbo.com/625757) as being a Quirky Floating Studio, located on Redwood Creek at Redwood City.  Let’s say that it was not what I expected; we took to calling it a floating box.  The best thing about the floating box was its owner, Tania, who was probably the most communicative and helpful VRBO host we have ever experienced.  She instilled enough loyalty in us that we chose to sort of overlook the poor condition of the quirky floating box and instead of walking away from our prepaid rent we stayed.  It did fulfill our needs of providing beds, limited cooking, a shower and a place to brush our teeth, and the infamous marine toilet.  Needless to say, I’m not a boater so didn’t really understand the marine toilet (really, we had to pour pitchers of water into it to flush!) and suddenly I was actually missing our camping nights from a few days prior.  However, the floating box was right on budget and in a very good location only a fifteen-minute drive to the Millbrae BART station. (www.bart.gov)  We stayed four nights in the floating box and we both bit our tongues, leading to one of our insight into retirement moments a few days later.  Details to follow! 

Quirky Floating Box

 

Marine toilet

Day 9 ~ Leaving our hearts in San Francisco!

We set out early riding BART into the city, getting off at Union Square. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Square,_San_Francisco )  It’s a popular tourist center with several hotels within walking distance and also the top of the cable car lines for two of the most popular cable car routes.  (www.streetcar.org/wheels-motion/ride-cable-car-lines)  We were told there was about a three hour wait for the cable car and wanted to get on with our sightseeing rather than stand in line for the car; we’d catch it another time! 

Cable Car

Because the floating box had internet (that was a plus!), we had been able to purchase tickets online for the City Sightseeing Hop On – Hop Off Tour; we had two-day unlimited tickets and were excited to be able to experience seeing the sights and having transportation too.  (www.city-sightseeing.us/index.html)

Tour Bus

It was our understanding (printed on the voucher) that we needed to make our way to Fisherman’s Wharf to pickup our bus tickets and catch the first bus.  What we didn’t realize was that City Sightseeing also had a ticket kiosk at Union Square.  Yes, we walked up the hill, across the hill, and down the hill to the Wharf for probably well over an hour and had actually been within a block of the kiosk when we got off BART.  Oh well, we got our heart rate up!  There actually is a big heart sculpture at Union Square painted by Tony Bennett himself, to reflect his famous song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearts_in_San_Francisco)

Once on the double decker bus we saw all the familiar sights . . . the Ferry Building, Market St., Union Square (been there!), Civic Center, Chinatown Gate, the Financial District, Transamerica Pyramid, Lombard St., Pier 39, and Fisherman’s Wharf to list some.  We didn’t hop on – hop off while on this initial ride, just trying to get our bearings and decide where we might want to go again and visit in depth.  After walking around Fisherman’s Wharf we enjoyed a nice fish taco meal at a local eatery and then went over to the swimming beach at Aquatic Cove Park, just below Ghirardelli Square.  This accomplished two things at once; we ate yummy ice cream sundaes while watching swimmers train in the cold bay waters for an upcoming long distance swim from Alcatraz.  I enjoy swimming so this was actually one of the highlights of the day for me!

City Hall

Coit Tower & Transamerica Pyramid

Federal Reserve

Stock Exchange

Fisherman's Wharf

Ice Cream!

After talking to some people we learned the cable car route up California Street was not normally very crowded and would top off near Union Square, where we needed to go to get back on BART.  So we thought we would hop on the sightseeing bus and ride it over to the Ferry Building; get off and walk a couple blocks over to the cable car.  However, the sightseeing bus was not coming for another hour so once again we took off walking across the neighborhoods, getting our heart rates up, and reaching the CA St. cable car turnstile only to find it busy with a long wait.  Oh well, we will catch it tomorrow!  Bob suggested we go into the Hyatt Regency and have a look (he’d stayed there years ago) and then we spotted a BART station, got on it and stayed all the way to Millbrae Station.  Home again for another night at the quirky floating box!

Day 10 ~ Golden Gate Park, Golden Gate Bridge & Sausalito

Once again we headed to the Millbrae Station and took BART to Union Square.  As mentioned earlier, there are several hotels near Union Square and fortunately for us the Westin Hotel is directly across the street.  We needed to use a restroom and never found any public ones at Union Square so headed to the hotel lobby; also purchased coffee and warmed our selves up before heading out sightseeing again. (www.westinstfrancis.com).

This time, we used our hop on – hop off tickets and got directly on the City Sightseeing bus for the Golden Gate Park loop.  Again, this was a very interesting route allowing us to see the Civic Center area again, the Palace of Fine Arts and Theatre,

Palace of Fine Arts & Theatre

and some of the beautiful Victorians in the Haight Ashbury district.  We got off the bus at Golden Gate Park and enjoyed an hour of exploring the Japanese Tea Gardens.   

Japanese Gardens

Koi Pond

Golden Gate Park

The bus was supposed to make a return in an hour but we waited nearly an hour and a half for one to come by; it took us back to the Westin Hotel.  Once again, we used their restrooms (thanks Westin!) and went out to wait for a bus to come by to return to Fisherman’s Wharf.  After a considerable wait the bus came but it was full; there’s no guarantee of getting on a bus so we tried the cable car.  Nope!  We’ll have to catch it another time.  So, we took a taxi ~ the cost was minimal and we were able to line up for the next sightseeing bus out to the Golden Gate Bridge and across to Sausalito.

Lining up for the bus is not the same as getting on ~ we waited about an hour despite being told the bus would be there in about 20 minutes.  Finally the bus came and we headed out to the Bridge ~ beautiful, of course!

Golden Gate from San Francisco side

Golden Gate from Sausalito

It should be noted that our bus driver was very aggressive; some Europeans on the bus commented that his bully-like behavior was exactly what they had read about being prevalent in the US.  That’s not a good impression to have left them with!  You might sense some frustration on my part with City Sightseeing . . . it's true.  There is a lot of competition for bus tours and I don't think we'd use this company again.  (www.tripadvisor.com/members-citypage/leawatkins/g60713)

We did cross the Bridge and go into Sausalito, which is charming. 

Sausalito Waterfront

We left the bus, enjoyed dinner and a couple hours of exploring the town and admiring San Francisco 's skyline, and then took the ferry across the harbor back to Fisherman’s Wharf. (www.oursausalito.com/sausalito-ferry.html)  Once again, we took off walking toward the BART station near the Hyatt Regency and called it a day.  We never did get to ride a cable car!

About the weather . . . San Francisco in May is generally cold, windy, and has a high chance of fog.  And, that is exactly what we got!  We are pretty familiar with the Seattle area in May and it can be similar so we should have been better prepared.  But we weren’t, or at least I wasn’t.  Let’s just say that capris and cute sneakers are not warm enough for SF in May, especially on the top of a double decker bus.

Day 11 ~ Silicon Valley

Our last day in the Bay area and we decided to explore Silicon Valley.  The community names were familiar to us; Cupertino, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park.  We started driving on a self-guided tour of company headquarters; Apple, Google, and Facebook.  Also drove and walked around Stanford University and while a bit lost we stumbled across the NASA Ames Research center and its impressive wind tunnel and blimp hangars, visible from the road.  It was interesting to see the tech companies, the university, and NASA and appreciate the collective impact they have made on the world . . . all in our lifetime!  Rather than list all those websites, we will let you, the reader, Google that!

Apple

NASA Ames Research Center

Facebook

Google

Stanford University

We returned to our quirky floating box and got ourselves organized for the next day’s journey to Yosemite.  At this point our patience with the floating box, the rooftop carrier, and with each other had started to wear thin . . . as we approached retirement we were concerned that we might not like each other all day every day.  My insight into retirement now is that is a valid concern!  All in all though, we enjoyed our few days sightseeing in San Francisco and the greater area.  It has a reputation of being a romantic city and it might have been if we were not staying in that quirky floating box!

Wine, wine, and more wine!

Day 6 ~ Fortuna – St. Helena, CA

We broke camp early on day six of our travels and continued south on Hwy 101, driving along the Redwood forests.  This route parallels the Avenue of the Giants so our minds knew the wonder “just over the ridge.”  It had been such a powerful experience to visit the Redwood State and National Parks; one we won’t forget.  We didn’t have a clear itinerary for the day (one of the benefits of retirement traveling), only to reach Napa by late afternoon.  While researching this trip we’d seen there were several resorts on Clearlake and decided we’d like to see the area for possible future travel.  Turning off 101 at Ukiah, we entered a beautiful valley of farms and ranches.  It was an enjoyable drive over to Upper Lake, where we promptly became confused about where we wanted to go.  We headed south on CA-20 toward Lakeport and found a wonderful visitor center overlooking the lake.  Lakeport is a charming community on the west side of Clearlake, the perfect spot for a picnic lunch and a walk around the marina and small downtown area.  As it turns out, Lakeport is not where the resorts are; they are on the east side of the lake but we saw enough to agree Clearlake is a very pretty area of California and worthy of consideration on another trip.

Clearlake

 

Clearlake

 

Leaving Lakeport we went southeast toward Kelseyville and turned onto CA-29 for what became a long, twisty road down through the hills toward Napa Valley.  We commented that the locals didn’t seem at all phased by the road as we noticed several cars driving way too fast up the hill; we were relieved to reach the valley floor!  Our family has been to Napa Valley but this was our first visit and we were immediately taken by it.  Despite California’s severe drought (we saw evidence of it everywhere), the Valley was lush with green vineyards rolling on the hillsides and the wine estates were beautiful.  We drove into Calistoga and were immediately charmed by the town, choosing to walk around town and enjoy drinks and appetizers at the historic Calistoga Inn.  www.calistogainn.com   Beautiful and relaxing!

Historic Calistoga Inn

Patio at Calistoga Inn

A few miles down the road was the town of St. Helena, and our destination for a couple nights, the El Bonita motel.  The motel was a pleasant change from camping, and delightful in all the other aspects also.  It was reasonably priced given the relatively high prices of Napa Valley.  While walking around town we spotted a street sign; it sort of says it all!  The El Bonita has kind of a retro feel to it, and is much bigger than it appears.  We had reserved a poolside double room but next time (hopefully) we might prefer a garden room just to be away from the street.

Expensive St. Helena!

El Bonita gardens

  Our son has visited Napa several times and recommended St. Helena to us.  We were grateful as the town is central to many wineries, restaurants, and is very charming.  The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone is located on the main street, and the kitchens are behind glass walls so it was interesting to observe the students at work. Greystone is a solid stone building, formerly the winery Greystone Cellars.  It’s quite impressive, and worth a visit. www.ciachef.edu/california/

Culinary Institute of America @ Greystone

Students at work

 

It had been a long day of driving so for dinner we chose a casual patio setting at the Pizzeria Tra Vigne, with a nice variety of authentic pizza and pasta dishes.  Tra Vigne also offers a more formal restaurant with a menu of traditional Italian cuisine.  Our waiter at the pizzeria made the evening with his winning personality and attentive service. travignerestaurant.com/

Day 7 – St. Helena and surrounding Napa Valley

Our day started with a visit to one of St. Helena’s best-known (over 90 years) establishments, the Model Bakery.  www.themodelbakery.com  The coffee and artisan breads and pastries were the perfect way to jump-start our day of Napa Valley wine tasting.  We also needed to do some laundry and found a coin-operated laundry, which turned out to be a delightful experience.  A lady from Fiji started a conversation with us and the time at the laundry flew by.  One of the things we have learned through our years of living internationally and traveling is that while you are out “seeing new places” it is most fun to be “meeting new people.”

Our area of WA State is also a viticultural area so we were curious to see how Napa Valley wineries compare with those near our home in the Yakima and Columbia River basins, Walla Walla valley, and Red Mountain vineyard districts.  www.washingtonwine.org/explore  The first stop was V. Sattui, a California winery with a three hundred year history of winemaking.  www.vsattui.com/  One of the slogans for V. Sattui is “come for the wine and stay for the food’ because in addition to having a big variety of wines available for tasting, V. Sattui has an impressive marketplace, deli and picnic grounds.  We enjoyed a couple hours visiting the winery and having lunch on the grounds and people watching.  It was interesting to watch the bottling process at V. Sattui.  This winery only sells their wines direct to customers through their wine club, online sales, or at the winery shop.

Beautiful V Sattui

V Sattui Tower

V Sattui barrels

V Sattui bottling line

After lunch we headed to Beringer and took a tour that included visiting their caves. www.beringer.com/  Beringer is known as the longest continuously operating winery in Napa Valley (since 1856); it was also the first winery to offer public tours after the repeal of prohibition which brought an increase in tourism to Napa Valley.  The winery was actually allowed to operate throughout prohibition under a special license allowing it to produce wine for sacramental purposes.  In all likelihood that may have been “loosely interpreted.”  The grounds were lovely and we also enjoyed a walk-thru of the historic Rhine House, a lovely Victorian with impressive stained glass windows.

Beringer

 

Old wine; dusty!

Beringer Caves

Beringer Caves

Rhine House

Rhine House

 We knew we were pressed for time as most of the wine tasting rooms close by late afternoon but we were able to make a short stop at Rutherford Hill and also a brief drive on the grounds of Duckhorn.  Rutherford Hill is best known for their Merlot, with the geography of their vineyards closely matching the merlot-growing region of Bordeaux, France.  Hopefully we will visit Napa again and would probably return to Rutherford Hill to have more time to enjoy their impressive tasting room and nearly mile-long caves and oak grove. www.rutherfordhill.com/ Duckhorn is known for its varietals, and the winery has some beautiful gardens.  www.duckhorn.com/  The drive to both Rutherford Hill and Duckhorn was very pretty and we enjoyed being out in the rolling hills of Napa.

Rutherford Hill Winery

 

Duckhorn Vineyards

While in Napa we also visited Dean & Deluca, the gourmet culinary shopping experience, well respected for carrying only CA wines, local produce and many cheeses from local artisans.  www.deandeluca.com/  We bought a few fun things and wrapped up our evening with a deli-style dinner at our El Bonita motel room.

We have been traveling a week now, four nights camping and three motel nights.  The weather has been beautiful, the scenery amazing, the time together precious (but not without its moments!), and our insight into retirement is that everyday life still goes on while traveling.  I found myself concerned about things at home like mounting mail, paying bills, and some “what if’s?”  Bob rarely worries about the administrative details of life but he was concerned with the garden and our koi pond, and yes, he’s still wrestling the rooftop carrier!  We have another two weeks to go!

Next stop, the greater San Francisco Bay area . . . thanks for traveling along with us!

Those are Really Big Trees!

Days 4 & 5 – Humbug State Park, OR – Fortuna, CA – Avenue of the Giants

After our traditional camping breakfast of oatmeal, stewed apricots, & coffee, we broke camp and headed down Hwy 101 toward the southwestern OR coastal towns of Gold Beach, Rogue River, & Brookings. 

Le Anna @ Brookings

All three looked like nice places but we didn’t stop in any of them for more than a drive thru.  It was nice to see the town of Rogue River, as we are familiar with the Rogue in central OR, known for its white water rafting.

We entered CA and had to stop for a produce inspection point.  If you are not familiar with traveling to CA, the state does not allow fruits and vegetables from other areas to come into CA.  This protects their agricultural crops from pests and disease.  However, it is a bit of a nuisance for anyone traveling with a cooler that may have produce in it.  We were aware of the regulation and had consciously gotten ourselves down to only two apples (WA apples, of course) that we were happy to learn are OK to enter CA. www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/PE/ExteriorExclusion/borders

The first CA town on 101 is Crescent City, site of the Redwood National & State Parks Visitor Center.  www.nps.gov/redw/index .  I always enjoy these centers and find the staff and volunteers to be enthusiastic and helpful. 

Crescent City coastline

One volunteer’s enthusiasm was so infectious that we left pumped up for the big trees!  Redwood is an interesting park because it is a compilation of CA State Parks and NPS lands that stretch over 50 miles along Hwy 101 with private lands scattered amongst it, many scenic drives in and out of it, and also Redwood encompasses over 40 miles of pristine CA coastline and other woodlands.  Together, the combined redwood parks are designated as a World Heritage Site, quite a treasure!

We learned over 90% of California’s Redwood forest had been logged off by the late 1950s.  In the early 1900s the Save the Redwoods League was formed but the national park wasn’t established until 1968.  We should all be grateful to these dedicated people who convinced the politicians to start setting aside some of the remaining old growth areas of coast redwoods.  The visitor center at Crescent City suggested we start our visit by going to the Prairie Creek area, and especially hike the easy Revelation Trail.  Although the Drury Scenic Parkway was unfortunately closed due to maintenance, we were able to reach the Prairie Creek area from 101. 

 

Looking across Prairie Creek

Groovy Bark

Red Bark

What a pleasure!  The Revelation trail was magical as our first exposure to the big trees.  Each tree has it’s own unique character with fascinating bark patterns, scars, fire damage, burls, etc.  They truly look their age, which is hundreds of years old.  Several of the giants had serious fire damage, leaving gaping holes at the base of the trees large enough to stand in.  We realized the old trees must have been through dozens of fires in their lifetime, and still survived.  The tanin in their bark is a natural fire supressant.  There is a profound peace that permeates the air in these old growth forests.  The Revelation Trail was a great introduction to these magnificent trees.  www.redwoodhikes.com/PrairieCreek/PrairieCreek.

Looking up!  Revelation Trail

Traveling south, winding down Redwood lined Hwy 101, we turned off on Requa Rd. and climbed up the Patrick J Murphy Memorial Dr. to the Klamath River Overlook.  What an expansive view! 

Klamath River Overlook

It is a great site for whale watching and also to appreciate being on a high bluff (650’) above the Pacific.  Our eyes did a few tricks on us when we mistook an exposed rock for a whale!  The estuary formed at the mouth of the Klamath River is teeming with birdlife and the coast also hosts sea lions so bring your binoculars. www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/things2do.

Continuing south, we came to the Bald Hills Road and followed it up a steep hill to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove, site of the park’s dedication ceremony.  Lady Bird picked a very special area as her namesake.  The trail is about 1.5 miles long and relatively easy with little elevation gain or loss.  The big trees are everywhere you look, and the grove tends to create it's own little micro-climate of foggy weather.  The fog supplies a significant amount of the water needed by the giants.  And the silence here is deafening!  Walking this trail is humbling and awe inspiring.  www.redwoodhikes.com/RNP/LBJ.

Fire Cave

Lady Bird Johnson Grove

Massive Roots

Returning to Hwy 101 S, we followed the road and every twist and turn amazed us with the magnificent Redwoods.  We passed through the communities of Orick and McKinleyville, and also through Eureka, the largest city between Portland, OR and San Francisco, CA. 

 Our home base for the next two nights would be Fortuna, CA where we would camp at the Riverwalk RV Resort.  The town of Fortuna is a convenient mid-way stopping point for exploring Redwood State and National Parks, however, in retrospect, as long as we were choosing to camp we should have chosen a park campground for maintaining the “we are camping” mindset.

Riverwalk is a commercial RV resort but also has a few camping cabins and tent sites.  riverwalkrvpark.com .  Ironically, Riverwalk is next door to a Best Western motel and our tent site was only about 15’ from the motel property.  The RV resort offers a small store (firewood for sale), coin operated laundry, playground, pool, and restroom/shower facilities.  We set up camp and enjoyed our evening, mostly reflecting on how in awe we are of the Redwoods.  More to see the next day!

Our fifth day of traveling began with a much-needed “catch-up” morning at Riverwalk, doing laundry, cleaning out the car, and reorganizing ourselves.  Yes, we still have that roof top carrier and getting better at packing it each time we break camp.  By late morning we were ready to head out and explore the town of Fortuna (promptly getting ourselves a bit lost!) and then drive down the Avenue of the Giants.  The name is an understatement!  www.aveofthegiants.com

Bob & Giant

Big Burl

Avenue of the Giants is a 31-mile long stretch of the old highway 101, now labeled CA254, and meanders through Humboldt Redwoods State Park.  It is home to the world’s largest old-growth redwood forest.  humboldtredwoods.org.  John D. Rockefeller gave a big start to the parkway with a $1 million donation to buy old growth redwood lands in 1926. The route meanders through several small towns and follows the course of the Eel River, which has a history of devastating floods, most recently Christmas 1964.

There are many opportunities for pulling-out and taking photos of the Redwoods but we particularly enjoyed the Founder’s Grove.  This is an easy trail and there are several “giants” among the forest.  Most notably are the Founder’s Tree (346’ tall) and the Dyerville Giant (the “Champion” tree at 371'), which was blown down by a big storm in 1991.  When the Champion fell, several other trees were also toppled making an interesting maze of giant fallen redwood. www.redwoodhikes.com/Humboldt/Founders.

Avenue of the Giants

We spent the entire afternoon exploring the Avenue of the Giants.  You get to experience awe at every turn of the road.  We never tired of seeing these impressive trees.  There are several on/off points along Hwy 101 and I promise that even one small part of this route will take your breath away.  After two full days of appreciating the redwood forests, our insight into retirement is that Mother Nature has a much bigger plan than we do.  We are humbled, amazed, and so appreciative by experiencing Redwoods State and National Park.

Is That a Whale?

Day 3 ~ Beverly Beach State Park to Humbug State Park, OR

Beverly Beach State Park is located along the coast between the towns of Depoe Bay and Newport, OR.  It is our first campsite on this trip and my first camping experience in probably twenty years.  My first impression is good ~ the park itself has lots of trees, a nice nature walk around the campground, family friendly areas with playground equipment, a welcome center that offers tea and coffee, firewood and ice available for a reasonable fee, and a kindly host who suggests we move to a different site than the one we had reserved.  This state park is a beach park but US 101 runs alongside it.  Our original site was closer to the beach but also basically next to the highway.  Good suggestion on moving!  One thing about the site exceeded my expectation . . . there are actual flushing toilets and hot water in the restrooms!  Camping has come a long way since my earlier days of backpacking with Bob. http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=164

Beverly Beach State Park Nature Trail

Beverly Beach

Bob set up camp and got the campfire going.  We decide to cook hot dogs and beans over the open fire and dispense with the camp stove tonight.  Our family had suggested we invest in camping cots since we are “not young anymore.”  They are low to the ground so not easy to get in or out of but we both believe we are more comfortable.   Lesson learned though . . . need to keep a barrier (wool blanket, foam pad, anything!) between your sleeping bag and the cot since you are above the ground and therefore cold.  All in all the camping experience was good, for the first night.

We head out of Beverly Beach by mid-morning, continuing south on 101 and immediately get to Newport.  It’s a nice little town, and one of the oldest (1868) communities.  Newport is home to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, a world-class marine education attraction (http://www.newportaquarium.com/) and also the beautiful Yaquina Head Lighthouse (http://yaquinalights.org/)  There are several lighthouses along the OR coast so plenty of opportunity for visiting and exploring them if you enjoy and appreciate them.  In addition to its historic district, Newport has one of the prettiest bridges on the OR coast.  There’s a nice park on the north side, worthy of a stop for a photo.

Newport Bridge

Seal Rock is a coastal village stretching about five miles.  It has some lovely homes, many on the hillside.  It’s actually a hidden gem among OR coast towns with galleries, shops, and a beautiful beach.  Enjoy!  http://www.sealrockor.com/

Years ago, Yachats (pronounced Yah-hots) made a big impression on me, and it continues to do so.   Nestled between the ocean and the base of the coastal range, the village is sort of quirky and therefore unique in comparison to some of the other coastal towns.  We stopped for a break and walked through the small farmer’s market and spotted Bread & Roses.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bread-Roses-Bakery/108141789227468  We had planned to grab a coffee and run, but ended up sitting and enjoying the friendly staff, the ambience of the place, enjoyed espresso and pastry, used the very clean restroom, and enjoyed ourselves. It was a lovely experience, and a welcome break.  Yachats has made tourism their mainstay.  http://www.yachats.org/

Beach at Yachats

 
 One of our favorite sites along the OR coast is a couple miles south of Yachats at the Cape Perpetua Visitors’ Center operated by the USFS.  The Siuslaw National Forest is dense with old-growth Cedar, Sitka, Fir, & other Spruce and the headland over looks the Pacific.  The visitors’ center offers spectacular views of the ocean, the coastline, and a lighthouse and is a great place for storm and whale watching.  We didn't see any whales but the visitor's center is worth a stop!  http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/siuslaw/recarea/?recid=42265

Cape Perpetua

Cleft of the Rock Lighthouse from Cape Perpetua

 We pulled into Florence needing gas and as soon as we left the station we were alongside of a parade route.  The police kept one of the lanes of the highway open and the parade (Rhododendron Days) meandered down the other lane . . . for 2.8 miles!  There were lots of people watching the parade and lots of people in the parade . . . this must be a big deal for the small town of Florence.  http://www.florenceoregon.net/

Coos Bay is the largest city on the OR coast, and a strong history of timber and shipbuilding.  http://www.oregonsadventurecoast.com/ It has a beautiful bay and is a major hub of southwestern OR.  As a tourist destination, Coos Bay is best known for the Oregon Sand Dunes National Recreation Area.  http://www.stateparks.com/oregon_dunes_national_recreation_area_in_oregon.html  There are miles of sand dunes, not little ones, but huge ones!  We drove out as far as we could go and then hiked up one of the dunes designated paths to see the ocean.  It’s an impressive destination. 

Across the Sand Dunes

Path up the Sand Dunes . . . ocean just over the dune!

  
Bandon is best known for the Bandon Dunes Golf Courses, world-class links courses reminiscent of Scotland, where golf was born.  We have been to St. Andrews, Scotland and were struck by the similarity.  It was a cold, windy day when we visited both!  Bob didn’t play any of the courses, and we didn’t stay at the beautiful lodge, but driving and walking around the grounds and found ourselves wishing we were indulging.  Maybe next time!  http://www.bandondunesgolf.com/

Coastline at Bandon

Bob shivering at Bandon

After a long day of driving we reached our next campsite, Humbug State Park in southwestern OR.  http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=40   Remember, I’m not a “camper” but you won’t catch me saying, “bah Humbug” about this camping experience.  This campground was not very busy but that may have been because it was a Sunday evening when we camped.  We did have a reservation but did not need it for this particular stay.  The host sold us some firewood (no ice available) and we had a lovely campfire.  Our particular site was #27, directly across from the restrooms.  The restrooms at this park were immaculate, and the shower was definitely better than the one at my neighborhood swimming pool.  The best part about camping at this park is that the area is grassy so the tent sites are very clean and level. 

Restrooms at Humbug State Park

I should probably explain that one of the best parts of camping with Bob is that he does all the work!  He sets up camp, he cooks dinner and breakfast, builds the fire, finds sticks for marshmallows, and tears down the camp.  I do help wash dishes but my contribution is very minimal.  Spaghetti for dinner and oatmeal for breakfast, a good night's sleep, and a nice shower . . . we both enjoyed this experience. 

Our insight into retirement for today was that we have time to poke around, stop when we want, see what we want, and take the time to enjoy our surroundings.  It's very relaxing to not be on a schedule, or at least on a firm one.   Next up on the itinerary is visiting Redwoods National Park in northern CA . . . we are looking forward to seeing these “really big trees.”  Yes, we will camp for a couple more days, and we still have the roof top carrier and getting better at packing it up and strapping it down!