Goodbye California...Hello Oregon

OK...so where did I leave off last time? Oh, yes, the PERFECT day...and it was perfect, followed by a perfect evening. While enjoying another fire watching the sunset, we also watched the very thick fog move in...it was wild! We woke up the next morning surrounded by fog...very pretty actually.

Well, to truly appreciate a perfect day, one must experience a day that isn't perfect and well, we did. It wasn't that bad, really...and it could have been a lot worse. Leaving Westport was pretty much uneventful even though the roads were very winding and steep, but no worse than we had already been on, so it was no big deal. We exit off the main highway (101) to jump on the Avenue of the Giants, which is a road that is tucked inside a forest of giant, amazing and beautiful Redwood trees. It was so nice that we decided to pull off the side of the road for a small picnic and that was very lovely as well. But, when we were finished and on our way...the RV wouldn't start. James knew immediate that it was the battery by the "clicking" noise...to me, it just sounded horrible! Thankfully, our wonderful Abram is equipped with an "Emergency Start" button that bypasses the main battery and starts the engine off the coach battery and away we go! We did stop in Eureka, California and purchased a new battery. So, no big deal.

We headed to Patrick Point State Park for the night, which is another beautiful state park, however, I have to complain a bit about California State Parks, so excuse me. Yes, they offer incredible views, but the price is outrageous, especially when they are all primitive (no electric, no water, no sewer); other RV parks are the same price, if not cheaper. And to make matters a bit worse (well, worse for me that is), last night around 9:00pm we had a knock on our door; it was the Camp Host telling us we had to turn off our generator (when primitive you run the "genny" so you can run things like the TV, AC [we didn't need...it was freezing] and anything you have to plug in). So, we apologized and told the nice man we would turn it off immediately. He then informed us that we couldn't turn it back on until 10:00am the next morning. WHAT???? What am I going to do for coffee until 10:00am???

Yes, I will admit it here in front of all of you, I'm totally insane for my morning cup of coffee...you might even say I'm addicted, both emotionally and physically, as I get horrid headaches if I don't have it (caffeine withdraw...lovely). So, starting about 4:00am this morning I wake up wondering how it is I'm going to get my coffee? This goes on every half hour or so until 7:00am, by which time time I'm fully awake and in a serious panic. I think James was amused. I was also annoyed...having paid $35 a night for a spot with no electric, no water, no sewer and no coffee?

Well, don't worry folks, it all worked out! We loaded up the truck and we moved to Beverly...opps...sorry...got off track. We loaded up the truck and headed up the road a bit to a lovely spot James found right on the ocean where we could turn our generator on, brew our coffee and enjoy it by the water side. Now, I do have to say SOME good things about Patrick Point State Park...and that is the amazing trails, rocks and views. Our campsite didn't have any view (we were surrounded by trees, which was nice), but we went exploring and it was truly beautiful. No, I didn't take my camera...don't ask me why. While we were on the trail I asked James, "Now, why in the world didn't I bring my camera?" And he responded, "Well, I guess this will just be for us." He is such a romantic. So, it was just for us. A memory of climbing the rocks, looking out over the water and just enjoying being alone in a very big world.

Oregon is everything I dreamed and more. And we have only seen 35 miles of it!! Gold Beach is awesome and the RV Park we found is right on the beach and offers FULL everything. Nice. I can have my coffee anytime I want it! OK...enough. One thing about this part of Oregon is that it is extremely windy. The photos I took on the beach I had to brace myself against the wind and the sand was brutal! James, the smart man that he is, stayed in the car (except for one area and even then he found shelter), while I faced the sand blaster and tried to get as many pictures of the fabulous rocks as I could before my skin peeled off. I loved every minute of it though.

We are going to drive to Crater Lake (a four to four and half hour drive from Gold Beach) either tomorrow or Sunday, we haven't decided. We wanted to spend the night there and bring The Nut along, however, every hotel I called was booked. So, it may be a serious marathon driving day when we go. We have heard great things about Crater Lake and can't wait to see it. We are in Gold Beach until Tuesday morning and then we hit the road again heading north...to where? We aren't sure! Yeah! Love traveling like that!

Hope everyone reading this is doing well! Again, and I will never tire of saying it, we miss you all very much and love you! Check out the two new photo pages on the Photo Journal, "Primitive Westport" and "Welcome to Oregon!" GOD BLESS!