Getting Ready to Head Home

 So the last few days have been a little wet yet again, we haven’t really been doing too much, just checking out the town, doing a little shopping for Christmas.  We decided to finally go and check out the new Black Panther movie, it was very good,  We went to the matinee and were literally the only people in the theatre. Not sure if movies have come back to the main stream yet.  We regularly go to movies in Creston, Wednesday nights quite often is dinner and a movie night.  The one thing about the rain is that we will see quite a few movies or check out what is on Netflix or Prime.  Not much room to do anything else in the trailer when we are in the middle of an atmospheric river.  Hopefully the new year will be a bit better.

I have been doing a bit of knitting. I managed to make myself a set of fingerless gloves to use while riding the bikes.  It is hard to change gears or use the brakes with mittens. I am going to make a set for Len as well, with his bad hands he needs something to keep them warm.  I managed to find a set of knitting needles at a thrift store for $1, but had to go to Joanne’s to find some yarn that I actually liked.  In the mall thee was a large plastic polar bear.  It is another sculpture done by the washed ashore group.  You never know where you might find one.  This one is a polar bear. Daisy is sitting on a melting piece of ice to symbolize how climate change is wrecking havoc on the polar bears habitat.

We also took a small trip up the coast to Winchester Bay to check out the RV park we are looking at moving to in the New Year.  We found out that we can also store our RV there for a few weeks while we go home, so we will be calling first thing on Monday morning to find out if we can drive the RV up there, park it and then head on our way. If it won’t work we have made arrangements to leave the trailer here in Coos Bay, it would be nicer to come back in the New Year to the place we are going to stay rather than having to move later.  We are supposed to have good weather for the trip home, but since we are not pulling the trailer we are not really worried.  

We are going to go to Calgary for Christmas with Aaron, Chelsea and the grandkids. Hopefully we will see my Matt, Alex and Margot and my Auntie Joan.  Not sure how much writing I will do until we get back but I will try. 

Rainy Days

 So not much has been going on the past few days. It has been very rainy, in fact we have a small lake in front of the trailer. One of the drains in the park gets a little backed up and leaves quite the puddle. Luckily Lukie isn’t a water dog so he stays clear of it.  We are slowly getting things sorted out before we head north for Christmas.

We are going to start heading home to Canada on Monday.  We are able to leave our trailer here in Coos Bay for the month. It was cheaper to leave it here, than pay the gas to drive it back to Canada.  We will head back down south here in the New Year.  So right now we are going through everything to take back what we are not using.  We have discovered what we need in the trailer for a weekend trip away is much different that what you need for months on end.  We brought way too many clothes and a few things from the kitchen as well as we have a list of things to pick up from home.

We did manage to get out an walk a couple of beaches. Found a few rocks and enjoyed the waves. Lukie really loves running on the beach. We had to put his little sweater on as it has been quite chilly with the wind. You just have to dress for the weather. 

We did take a drive and explored a few of the dunes in the area

Bandon Beaches

So I have two days to write about, we ran around the other day and purchased a few things for the trailer.  We needed a new floor mat for the kitchen because the one we had didn’t stick to the floor anymore and we kept tripping over it so we went to Biglots and found a nice thin one that I can wash but has rubber on the back so it won’t slide on the floor, just have to remember not to put it in the dryer. We also purchased a small light ladder that we can attach to the back of the trailer.  We needed one as we had to take the awning out and take pictures in case we have to go through insurance. We need the ladder to help us hold in the fabric so we could get it back in place. 

I also managed to get a hair cut at Walmart. Thank goodness Lindsay has set me up so that I can get my head shaved to take away some of the bulk but still keep my basic shape.  We also took a few things that we don’t need to one of the local thrift stores.  

So after a day of running around we decided to head to Bandon and check out the beaches down at the beach level.  There are a number of stair cases that take you from the ledge down to the water level. The stair case that we took down had 154 steps in total and the stairs were the open medal ones that you can see through, so poor Lukie only managed to get down about half of them. He doesn’t like stepping on them when he can see right down tot he ground. So I had to carry him down half the way and carry him back up, luckily there was a bench half way up, climbing stairs just makes my knees burn, but we made it.

At the top of the stairs was a plastic puffin statue done by the washed ashore group to advertise the amount of plastic that goes into the oceans.  This area is very well know for bird nesting, we didn’t see any puffins but there was a large Blue Heron.

One of the major rocks in this area is called Face Rock. The story of Face Rock comes from the rich traditions of the Coquille Tribe.  The great chief Siskiyou was coming to visit and he brought his daughter Ewauna. A Potlatch was planned to honour them by the four chiefs of the coast.  Food and celebrations were planned, warriors were placed on the coast to keep the coastal evil spirit Seatka away from the event.  Chief Siskiyou’s daughter Ewauna had never been to the coast before and she was mesmerized by it’s beauty and she ignored the warnings that if she wandered the coast line by herself that the spirit Seatka would steal her for his own.  During the celebration Ewauna snuck away and went to the ocean and started frolicking in the waves when suddenly the friendly moon became obstructed by a black hand and she was being grasped by a fearsome creature who came out the water. Seatka held the girl tightly trying to make her look at him but she refused and continued to looking up toward the friendly moon. 

At sunrise Ewauna’s father awoke to find her missing, they all went to the sea and found the beautiful face of Ewaua  lying on the sea smiling up at the white clouds. Many moons she has been lying there and has now turned to stone.

The local cheese factory is called Face Rock Creamery. They have excellent cheese, their vampire bite cheese is delicious.

Tomorrow we are going to try and take the bikes up the beach to try and get to an agate beach. The bikes let us go so much further, hopefully the weather cooperates.

Chores

 So today was all about doing laundry and cleaning up around the trailer.  We are lucky here that the laundry is on site, so it makes it much easier to wash everything.  I also did the sheets on the bed.  Before we came down I had decided that I would just use a bottom sheet and a duvet as with most trailer beds, the top sheet does not fit well on the bed because the mattress sticks out a bit over the end of the bed frame so it is very difficult to tuck the top sheet in so that it stays on the bed.  However Len really likes having a top sheet so I decided to see if I find a sheet set that had a fitted end on the top sheet.  I did find a set that your sheets zip into each other and another that had a fitted end but the cheapest was $180, so that wasn’t going to happen.  I decided that I had made some fitted sheets for the grandkids cribs so why couldn’t I make a fitted top sheet.  I bought a new set of flannel sheets, washed them and then looked up on YouTube on how to make a fitted sheet and that is what I did.  I just made the bottom end fitted and it works great.  It think that I might do this with all my sheets.

So we got all the laundry done and put away, cleaned the bathroom and swept and washed the floors.  We then decided to walk down the road the Chuck’s Seafood Store to see what was there.  Unfortunately crabbing season has been delayed because the crabs are lower in meat content and there as been a domoic acid build up, turns out the acid is harmful to humans.  They did have some very nice shrimp, which we picked up and a can of their own crab was just processed before the ban came on. It is just  packed in water, so I will try and make some crab cakes with it later. I cooked the shrimp in some butter and garlic and I cooked some spaghetti and made a light butter cream sauce with some of the black garlic. We had some white corn and sourdough bread to sop of the sauce.  It turned out really well.

Tomorrow we are going to try and find a place so i can get a hair cut and see if there is a dog wash in town as Lukie is a little smelly, salt water and sand adds up.  Might try and find a beach at low tide to see if we can find any agates. 

This was a wood carving that we saw at the marina in Winchester Bay yesterday. Quite elaborate.

Craft Fair & Christmas Parade

 So today we headed north to Gardiner. It is a very small town, I don’t even know if it is incorporated. The old school has been turned into the Oregon Coast School of Art and this was there holiday  market. There was some really great vendors. We found a few Xmas presents and also got a head of black garlic and some smoked cheese. The black garlic is really interesting. I have had black garlic salt but never a clove. Making black garlic is done by taking regular garlic and aging it with low heat for weeks on end. The flavour is sweeter, with a nutty flavour, I am going to try some pasta with a butter cheese sauce.  Hopefully it will be delicious.  

After the market we headed south to Winchester Bay.  We saw a sign for an RV park right in the marina so we went in to check it out.  This marina is very large and it is much neater and fancier that the marina we are in now.  The RV park does cost more but it was really nice, clean, landscaped and the view is amazing. We are seriously thinking of moving there in the new year.

So after checking out the RV park we headed back to North Bend, to partake in their Christmas festival.  They had an ice carver, petting zoo, the library was giving out free books and of course Santa.  They had some food trucks, we had an amazing smoked tri tip steak with udon noodles. It was delicious. Then to finish off the night was the lighting of the tree and a lighted truck parade. It was really fun, and since we missed the Creston parade, we channeled it here.

Finally Some Sunshine

 So today it decided to stop raining, so we decided to take the bikes and head to Bullard’s State Park, outside of Bandon.  This is a huge state park, the day use area covers or 3 miles of road to the beach and then the beach front also goes for miles.  It is located where the Coquille river meets the ocean.  we took the bikes down on to the beach we’re going to ride them as far as we could go but then the wind came up and we decided that coming back against the wind would be too hard.  We did let Lukie run after Len and he ran for quite awhile, until he just gave up trying to catch him, so then I put him back in the basket.  He actually rides quite well, but he does like to ride up front. I think that when I come home at Christmas I will make sure I pack up our fake go pro and try it out.

It was a little difficult getting back, a couple of times the wind was so strong that it was almost like coming to a standstill, it also felt like I was being blown sideways.  Will have to wait for another day when the weather is a bit better to see how far the beach goes. Also will have to try and time it when the tide is low so maybe we can find some agates.  We did hit another beach but there was too much sand so not a lot rocks.  

Also saw another plastic sculpture that the Washed Ashore Group makes to show the amount of plastic ends up in the ocean.  

We did find a very cool farmers market-food coop that has everything from fresh seafood, vegetables cheese and all sorts of preserves.  This is also where we were able to find the Jacobson salt I like so much, so we know where to get it in the spring.  

We also went to Face Rock Creamery and picked up their Vampire Cheese, heavy on the garlic.  We have found that when you go to the actual cheese factories, you can actually pick up the ends which is usually way cheaper, bit misshapen but still tastes the same.  

I have found a couple of Christmas markets in the area so we are going to check them out tomorrow. Also North Bend is having their Christmas parade tomorrow night, so will check that out as well, can’t be home for our Christmas parade so will try the next best thing.

Another Rainy Day

 It is still raining on and off. Last night the winds got pretty bad and they blew the bikes over.  We just had them stored beside the trailer with a cover over them. Well there was some pretty good gusts and over they went. I think the ground got a bit too wet as well, making the kickstand sink a bit and over they both went.  Well my kick stand broke off and bent the fender a bit and Len’s brake broke.  So we had to find a repair shop here in North Bend.  We went to MO’s bike repair shop and Mike the repair guy was great.  He couldn’t get me a new kick stand as of course they are specific to my bike. I will order one to have delivered at home and we will pick it up at Christmas and bring it back with us.  Mike was able to fix the fender and he got Len’s brake fixed right away.    

We also visited one of the local RV repair shops as I don’t remember if I mentioned earlier but at the start of our vacation we made the mistake of putting out the awning and again with the rain and wind it ripped and bent one of the arms.  We are going to have to get a brand new one.  Insurance will cover it but we found out that awnings are really hard to get right now so we will probably wait until the spring to get it fixed in Canada when we come home.  

We did talk to them about checking to make sure are trailer was level when we are towing it.  Adding the bikes on the back of the trailer makes it sway when we get over 50 miles and hour, especially on windy roads.  We are hoping that is what it is, though the RV place said it might be because our tow hitch is too small and we might have to upgrade.  We are hoping an adjustment will do the job.  

We didn’t do much else today, just cleaned up around the trailer site, cleaned out the back of the truck, figuring out what we are going to bring home at Christmas that we don’t need to carry around with us.  We have a long table that came with the trailer when we bought it. We have recliners to sit at and no dinette set. The table was supposed to help with that but it is too long and too high to eat comfortably at, so we are going to take it home and bring back two TV trays that we have. Hopefully because they are individual  and smaller they will work better and be easier to store.  We have found that there are things that we brought with us that we don’t need and Len has been making a list of things we have to add.  Eventually we will have it all figured out.  This is the first time we are travelling for this long in a trailer.  

Here are a few more pictures of the area around us. More King Tides.

Rainy Day

 So last night we were not sure if we were going to be carried away by the wind or by the sheets of rain.  Poor Lukie did not want to go outside for a pee this morning as it was coming down in buckets. He did manage to sneak under the trailer so managed to stay a little dryer. We are finding out that staying full time in the trailer it gets a little moist inside.  We had some condensation in a few of the cupboards and on the windows in the bedroom.  It also got the mattress a little damp. So I went online to see how we deal with the problem. So now every morning, I wipe the windows down to get rid of the excess moisture, then  I open the cupboard doors above the bed and turn on the exhaust fan. It seems to dry everything out and takes all the moisture out the vent.

It rained on and off all day, so thank goodness for Netflix and Prime.  We spent the day watching movies and started The Lord of the Rings: The Power of the Rings.  I can see why there are not a lot of people who seem to snow bird on the Oregon Coast.  It doesn’t freeze here but I can see in the future travelling further south for the sunshine.  However this year we have to stay close to Canada, in case I get called back for knee surgery.

After seeing all the snow that had landed at home though I am glad I am in the rain, it is chilly but not freezing and Len doesn’t have to shovel.  If the rain keeps up we might go and see a movie tomorrow.

Here are another couple of pictures of the coast.

Drive to California

So today had been busy, I phoned our travel insurance company and managed to change our travel policy so that it tops up my work insurance. This means that through work we get 40 days and our other policy takes over after that for a total of 75 days. We will look at upping the one policy to 60 days, which then gives us a total of 100 days.  We are coming home for Christmas, so the 100 days will start over in January, should get us to the Spring, in time to come home and get the lake property set up.  

We decided to head south to California and check out the different RV parks along the way. We are looking for a different location for the new year and it is difficult to see what a park looks like online.  We learned that some parks look much different in person that in pictures.  We also figured that with the rain coming on and off that somewhere with grass and lots of pavement is better.  Lukies little feet make a lot of mess in the rain.  The less mud the better. 

We found a couple parks in Crescent City CA and one in Bandon.  We will see what is available when we go back down in January.  Didn’t take a lot of pictures but I do have some from before that I will post.

We did stop in Bandon for some lunch. Downtown is a wharf that has a couple of places that rent crab traps and fishing stuff. They also serve food, I had a fish taco and Len and a half order of fish and chips. The fish had a very light coating and Len got a little container of fresh shrimp and coleslaw. Both dishes were very good. 

Shore Acres in the Daylight

So today we headed to Shore Acres to see it in the daylight. We made sure we could be there during high tide.  The King Tides were this weekend and we caught the tail end of them.  The King Tides are the highest the tides get this month, so if you want to see the big waves crashing against the rocks, this is when you go.  The best part is you don’t actually need a storm to see them, so we actually had sunshine to take the pictures.  

So the waves were unbelievable, I was awestruck standing there and feeling the power of the waves crashing around us. It is also very interesting to see what the rocks look like at low tide, to see what the water does to the rock.

This is a video of the waves crashing in and then a picture of those same rocks at low tide

We walked along a couple of trails and came upon this huge tree stump, I wanted to bring it home for cousin Brenda but it wouldn’t fit in the truck.  

 

 

A few more pictures of the waves

Too finish off the day we went back up to Simpson Reef where all the sea lions hang out just to compare the tide levels and see where the sea lions were if the water was so high. Well they were all out surfing the waves.  We watched through binoculars and they were diving and jumping through the waves, they didn’t really have a choice because there was only one shallow section of shore to lay on, everything was underwater. 

This is low tide

Night Tide

Quite the difference.

 

 

Shore Acres Holiday Lights

 Shore Acres is a state park here in Charleston, Oregon. It was originally an estate owned by timber baron Louis Simpson. They actually had to build twice here as the first house burned down.  A formal garden was built on 5 acres, complete with a rose testing plot and a Japanese lily pond.  The Simpson’s unfortunately had to sell the estate to the Oregon govt in 1942 because of financial losses.  The park is a great place to watch storms and migrating whales.  It is also part of the Cape Argo area, which includes the Simpson Reef where the sea lions hang out.

Every year since 1987 Shore Acres have been hosting the Holiday Lights from Thanksgiving to New Years Eve.  They started out with only 6000 light to decorate the area to today with over 320,000 LED lights.  They do it with the support of the local business community who decorate Christmas trees as well as help to decorate different area with lights.  They also have some very creative light sculptures.  We had to make a reservation for parking and it was raining so we had to take our umbrellas, but it was amazing to walk out amongst the lights.  Here are some of the videos and pictures we took. 

One last video, this is an orca breaching, they also had a leaping frog, sea lions and dolphins jumping.

I was also kind of naughty, hopefully Santa doesn’t find out, but at Shore Acres you are not supposed to let your animals out of your vehicles. Well Lukie gets a little upset about being left alone so I found a baby  carrier at one of the thrift stores and I put Lukie inside of it and we all went through the exhibit. Didn’t have any problems until I decided to go through the gift store and got busted by one of the staff, should have known better. They were very nice just told us that animals were not allowed in the park, so we said okay and we were on our way, luckily we were on our way out anyways.  Lukie did seem to enjoy the walk thru the park and he cuddled right in.  Great way to take him places, I always figure it is better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

Thanksgiving Dinner and Black Friday

 So we started Thanksgiving by going on a bike ride the beach that is at the mouth of the Charleston Bay. Len rode down the beach but I am still not completely comfortable on the bike, so I am sticking to harder surfaces.  

So for dinner we decided to check out the Mills Casino, who had a dinner buffet. So prime rib, Turkey with all the fixings and pumpkin cheese cake for dessert, we ate too much but it was delicious.  

So Black,Friday is not the same as it used to be, they seemed to have deals all week leading up to Thursday and all the stores were actually closed for Thanksgiving. They all opened up on Friday for shopping, which we didn’t go out until the afternoon. We picked up a few deals but not the same as years gone by.  I think today we might try a couple of thrift stores as I need a baking dish to cook a roast in the oven.  I think we will also try and find a spot to watch the tides.