Bandon and beyond

Our drive to Bandon was an uneventful 55 miles.   The weather was beautiful - sunny and mid 60s - albeit  windy.    A two hands on the wheel, eyes on the road kind of drive.   Poor Dave, he rarely gets to see the beautiful things he's driving past......

concentration....

We set up camp at Bandon by the Sea RV Park,  right on 101.   We've stayed there before and it was as we remembered.   Quiet, grassy, decent sized spots with lots of flowers everywhere.    The Rose Robber loves these kind of places....

Beluga was filled with roses by the time we left on Thursday.   They need to be pruned regularly to stay healthy he says......it smells wonderful in here.   (I know Judi...aaaachoooo)

We enjoy Bandon, it has lots of opportunities to get to the beach, a beautiful river,  a couple fairly decent restaurants and a cute little town and harbor to do a little window shopping.     One night Dave had a take-out order from Tony's Crab Shack.    I caught him sampling his Cioppino as soon as he got it into the house.   He couldn't even wait to take off his hat and vest!    Oh Dave....

He pronounced it excellent, or at least that is what I took his groans and mumbles and big smile to mean.     He chose to eat there, this time outside in the sunshine, on his birthday a couple days later.   His dessert waited back in Beluga....the favorite Rhubarb pie.    He was a happy man on that birthday!

    

R for Rhubarb

After lunch we walked around town a bit and found the Washed Ashore Gallery and workshop that houses clever and thought provoking art work made entirely of marine debris (aka...plastic)  washed up on beaches and collected by volunteers.    They have traveling exhibits, do workshops and provide environmental education.

There were a few pieces of smaller art for sale, like this fish composed  of washed up plastic and rubber flip flops!

As we walked around the harbor and town streets we came across this more familiar guy in one of their outdoor installations.

he even has stuff in his open mouth!

One of us may have consumed a tiny cup of Cranberry Cheesecake ice cream....Bandon is the Western Cranberry Capital of the World,  you know.

Another night we had a lovely, white tablecloth sort of dinner at the little Alloro Wine Bar.   Nina and Paul first told us about this place years ago and it's a favorite stop when we're in the area.

The day after the birthday we drove north to Charleston and out onto Cape Arago State Park for our usual  waterside lunch.    I think we've been there before, we both had that feeling as we pulled into a large, calm cove to eat our sandwiches.    We forget where we've been sometimes, we're often "called" to the same sorts of spots.....but there is always something new to see so we don't mind one little bit!

Once again, we practically had the wide sandy beach to ourselves and were mesmerized by the gentle, curved wave patterns coming onto the beach beside us.

After lunch we continued our drive along the high bluffs, stopping here and there for more beautiful views.       

One area gave us a good look of the largest haul out of seals and sea lions on the Oregon Coast.   Boy were they loud!   We knew they were there, we could certainly hear them, and a nearby plaque told us there were there so we got out the binoculars and sure enough, the rocks were loaded with pinnipeds.

Many had hauled their big old selves out onto the larger rocks and beach area but some seemed to have made a poor choice for a resting/sunning spot -  or they hadn't checked the local tide tables before settling in for a snooze....

In another area we (actually, Dave) spotted some Pigeon Guillemots in the surf and when we zoomed in on them, we discovered youngsters sitting on tiny ledges on the sheer cliff sides.

see the tiny white dots?

those dots are these babies wing patches!

Our last bird sightings were a few days later, our last in Bandon for this trip.    We stopped at the nearby Bandon State Natural Area for a walk on the cliffs above the beach.

We heard the islands just off shore were home to nesting Puffins!

another Washed Ashore installation

This guy told us.....We could see them with our binoculars but they were too far away for my little camera to capture.   You'll have to believe me, Puffins, real Puffins!

We also saw a couple new-to-us sea ducks called Surf Scoters.   We enjoyed watching them feed in the shallower surf line, diving down just before a wave came.

white eyes!

is he sticking his tongue out at us?

 Little flowers dotted the path we walked along, reminding us to look down and notice the beauty at our feet.

do you like my new llbean ducks?

 

 

We left Bandon on Thursday for another short drive (about 70 miles) to our next stop, the Elks Lodge's RV Park in Florence, Oregon. 

bridge over the Coquille River

 This lodge provides RV spaces at their lodge building itself,  but it also offers a lovely, park like and rhododendron filled campground about 3 miles north of Florence.     We'll be here for a week and hope to be able to drive into Eugene to shop at their fabulous Farmer's Market on Tuesday.

Beluga's view at the Elks!

Yesterday Dave took the Jeep to Les Schwab for 4 new tires.    We like buying big ticket items in Oregon (no sales or excise tax) and we like dealing with Les Schwab.    

 Today it's pouring rain, as it is forecast to do for the entire weekend.    We are all taking this down time to accomplish some things we've been meaning to do... I'm getting caught up on the blog, 

some long delayed radio work

     

long needed toy box adjustment

Then we'll all take a little nap, that's legal on a rainy day, right?

ahhhhhh

And...on the home front, MonaLiza tells me (and shows me) our Wickenburg house is being guarded by  FOUR owls!    How cool is that!