May 21, 2013 - Coos Bay

Time for another update on the beautiful “Gold Coast of Oregon”. By Florida, Arizona and Maine standards, winter has not completely left the area. We have had more sunny days, but the winds have remained brisk. Temps have been mostly in 60’s during the day and 40’s at night. The locals keep telling us that summer is coming, but cautioned, “don’t sleep late or you might miss it”, or “don’t worry about getting a sun tan, Oreganders just rust”. Bud and Fran Vivian visited us last week, we worked with them our first year in Maine and were...

May 21, 2013 - Brookings, OR

We are at sea level...literally!! Arrived about 12:30. Typical coastal weather, overcast and intermittent rain....but who cares. Right on the ocean and were able to pull in, hookups on the other side, to take advantage of the view. The only thing behind us is the Pacific. "Beachfront RV Park, located at the Port of Brookings-Harbor, is one of the few RV parks that enable you to park right on the beach and, it only needs to be seen to be appreciated. Relax to the sound of the surf, scent of the salt air, and the feel of an ocean breeze. It...

May 18, 2013 - Milwaukie, Oregon

We are now in Milwaukie, Oregon just outside of Portland staying at an Elks Lodge. Weather has been gloomy and light rain for most of our stay it has not deterred us from seeing the sights. We traveled along the Columbia Gorge Scenic Byway, Mt. Hood Scenic Byway and Had lots of fun driving around Portland. Yesterday we visited the Japanese Gardens, the Brewery Square (many Breweries in a couple of blocks) and the River Front Park for a walk along the river Front. The Day before yesterday we traversed along the Columbia Gorge very nice but...

May 17, 2013 - Friday through Monday at Coyote Rock RV Resort and Marina

Friday, May 17, 2013 - Coyote Rock RV Resort and Marina Before leaving Netarts, we bought one dozen oysters and a shucking knife so we will try them tomorrow for lunch. We are going to try grilling them. We are now leaving what is known as the north coast and heading to the central coast area. Our coast tour will take us 364 miles through one of America’s great wonderlands, with wind-sculptured coastlines and historic lighthouse and bridges. We are taking our time driving down Hwy 101 as it is a picturesque and winding highway; not a...

May 16, 2013 - Big Spruce RV Park at Netarts

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 – Big Spruce RV Park at Netarts Netarts is nearly due west of the City of Tillamook, facing the long, shallow Netarts Bay. Netarts oysters are a delicacy because they are raised in the most pristine bay. We will buy some before we leave this area.. Wednesday, May 15, 2013 We toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory sampling their different cheese. We took pictures of the cheese operations as we watched them process the cheese. We bought some cheese and two ice cream cones. We drove past the Tillamook Air Museum (During...

May 15, 2013 - To The Beach!

Today, we swapped the sounds of the river rushing by our front door and the honking of geese for the sounds of waves crashing on the beach and seagulls. We are all happy, happy campers as we settle in to our spot right on the beach in Brookings. We were at this park last year, and again, it is one of our favorites. The ocean is out our front window. -- The park is part of a city park, with a parking lot for people wishing to visit the beach. There is a steady stream of slow moving vehicles between us and the beach, which sounds like it...

May 14, 2013 - Where the heck is Hermiston?

We said goodbye & thanks for the hospitality to Bart & Suzi this morning & headed east thru the Columbia River Gorge. We'd planned to stay on the Washington side of the river all the way but as we approached the Bridge of the Gods at Cascade Locks there were signs saying there is a narrow low tunnel ahead & vehicles over 13'2" should cross to the Oregon side of the river - so we had to cross & make most of the trip on the Oregon side of the river. The Columbia River is dams & barges - as you'll see in our pics. Watching the terrain change...

May 13, 2013 - Ft. Stevens State Park near Astoria, OR

Sunday, May 12, 2013 – HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY - Ft. Stevens State Park, OR We had waffles and bacon and eggs for celebrating Mother’s Day with Chuck and Debbie and their two boys. As we head across Washington to the upper Oregon coast, we found another “Jeff” road – the kind of road with switchbacks and lots of curves that motorcycles riders love and large motorhomes drivers don’t like at all. We had a late lunch at Seaside, OR. The seafood lunch was delicious at Dooger's Restaurant. We had to park at the far end of town and walked through the...

May 11, 2013 - Tillamook, Oregon

Another long day behind the wheel!! We moved north on 101 about 76 miles to Tillamook, Oregon to an Elks RV Park just 5 miles south of Tillamonk. We got setup and then after lunch took a ride to Cape Mears Lighthouse along the way we found Oceanside with a beautiful beach with a cave tunnel through to another beach. We walked along the beach and then continued on to the lighthouse. After our trip to the tree with tentacles we returned to Tillamook for gas then back to the coach for dinner and R&R. A good day and tomorrow will be Mothers Day...

May 10, 2013 - Aldersgate Retreat & Camp

Our Summer vacation (Sower Project)spot. We will be here for 5 months, except for 3 weeks in July when we go back to Md. Rob wants to spend some time with his family and Elizabeth wants to clean out things she has stored in her house there. So we should have a fun and busy 3 weeks. One of Rob's projects is replacing steps on 5 of the A Frame Cabins.

May 10, 2013 - Columbia River, the Gorge, and Oregon Trail

May 10 7:50 27498.8 Foggy morning, longer run today, nearly 6 hours and then a few hours of touring. Fog is burning off and in just 30 minutes we have clear skies. We whisk through Portland and head out I-84 along the Columbia River. The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, and flows for 1,270 miles to the Pacific Ocean. In some areas it is nearly a mile wide. For 80 miles it forms the Columbia River Gorge, up to 4,000’ deep. The Hood River is located in...

May 9, 2013 - Newport, Oregon

We have only been traveling about 5o miles between stops. Our last report was from Coos Bay we moved to Florence, Oregon and stayed 2 nights at an Elks Lodge. From this stop we toured the Sea Lion Cave, Cape Perpetua (The Gray Whales were feeding about 100 yards off shore), Devils Elbow and the little town of Yachats for lunch. The waitress told us of a Covered Bridge along the Yachats river so we went exploring found the bridge and then took the back way up Perpetua. A very narrow road climbing high with switch backs and beautiful views of...