Thursday, December 10, 2009

Today was another gorgeous, sunny day but still quite cool with a high of about 6C (42F) and tonight is supposed to go down to around -4C (24F) – still way too cold for my liking. The good thing is that this is supposed to be the last really cold night and the days are to start warming up a bit - the bad part is that it is supposed to rain for the next few days – charming!!

Today we drove north to Florence and went to Fred Meyer - we actually walked out without buying anything, but then we visited at their fuel stop and filled up with diesel so we did help the economy. We also had to get propane, with this cold weather we have been going through a lot of propane to keep warm so hopefully it will warm up soon and we can start using the heat pump again.

We drove around Old Town in Florence but nothing caught our eye to stop at and it was just too chilly to walk around as it was all shaded in there.

When we got home I walked around the park to get some exercise and fresh air and took this picture of the marina.

Later I went out and took another picture of the marina with the sunset on it – very pretty.

Tonight we went across the bay to a restaurant at the marina, we had fish and chips which was tonight’s special and they were good, but still not as good as the Erie Belle. When we arrived there was only one fellow eating at the bar, it turns out he owns the fish market next door so between him and the gal who owns the restaurant we had a great chat and they gave us lots of hints for things to see. We told Steve we would see him either tomorrow or Saturday as we want to buy a Dungeness Crab for dinner.

On the way to dinner as well as after we drove out to the Umpqua Lighthouse as a couple we talked to at Canon Beach said the light at night was beautiful with the red and white rays and they were right. The red and white from the light did a beautiful light show on the trees and the lighthouse itself looked lovely in the dark.


And so ends another great gift of a day here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice, and hopefully warmer, day tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Today was another nice sunny day but the temperatures were still unseasonably cold for this area – we saw a high of about 44F (6C) but as soon as the sun starts to go down it gets really cold!

Today we went to Coos Bay to Wal Mart, this is the first Wal Mart Super Store we have seen since crossing over from B.C. in mid November so we spent some time browsing and buying shares – LOL! John and I also got haircuts so hopefully we will be in good shape now until the new year.

The area from here to Coos Bay is all sand dunes and ATVing on the dunes is the highlight for this area, of course there aren’t any out at this time of year with the cold temperatures, but I imagine this place is just a-hopping in nicer weather. The drive from here to Coos Bay wasn’t very scenic as it was pretty well inland away from the ocean.

On the way back we stopped at the Umpqua Lighthouse lookout and got our first view of the lighthouse,

then we drove down to it to get pictures up close and personal. There is a platform across from the lighthouse that is apparently a great spot for whale watching but we didn’t see any whales today.

Coast Guard Lookout

The lighthouse is on a 65’ tall tower and stands at the entrance to Winchester Bay at the mouth of the Umpqua River, its red and white lights can be seen 20 miles out to sea.

We toured around Winchester Bay when we got back and stopped at the General Store/Post Office to mail a couple of cards. It was a really old general store and it was fun to browse around, we were surprised by the variety of goods they sold in there – they even had some yummy looking fresh baked brownies but I shut my eyes and kept moving – boy was I proud of my willpower!

We had bought a cooked chicken at Wal Mart for dinner – you can’t go wrong for $4.99 and it was delicious. While we were eating the camp host knocked on the door to say they had another water leak so they were turning off the water. John had put some water in the tank this morning but went out and put some more in so we will be good for a while.

Tonight is another quiet evening of TV and a good book if the TV gets boring.

And so ends another great gift of a day here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice, and hopefully warmer, day tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Boy, was it C-C-C-COOOLD last night – a low of -8C (17F)! We certainly hadn’t bargained for weather this cold along the Oregon Coast, guess the only good thing is that it is dry, therefore, now snow! John was really glad that he had hooked up the trailer last night as it wasn’t quite as cold then as this morning.

It was about 11 a.m. when we got on the road this morning for our drive to Winchester Bay – a drive of 170km (106 miles). It was a good drive with stunning views, have I said how much we love the Oregon Coast and its scenic coast line!
Seal Rock

Waves Crashing at Bray's Point

We stopped at the viewpoint for the Hecta Head Lighthouse and could hear all the sea lions roaring and lo and behold there were hundreds of them on the beach below us. There are caves here where you can see them in their natural habitat so that is on our agenda for when we are in this area and visit the Hecta Head Lighthouse. We stopped at other viewpoints to enjoy the views and take pictures and arrived at Winchester Bay RV Resort shortly after 2 p.m.
Hecta Head Lighthouse


Sea Lions on the Beach

This is a beautiful park with paved sites and it is situated between a marina and the ocean – wonderful views. Now that it is dark it is nice to look out at the marina with all the lights etc. The park isn’t really busy so we had our choice of sites so are on an end site with a view of the marina and as we have no near neighbours we could leave the blinds open and enjoy the view while eating dinner.
Winchester Bay Marina

Our Site at Winchester Bay RV Resort

Tonights Sunset


And so ends another great gift of a day here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice, but hopefully warmer, day tomorrow.

Monday, December 6, 2009

Well, our last day here in Lincoln City OR has been a very cold one – I think the high today was just 0C (32F) and the temperature now is a frigid -5C (23F) – brrrrr!!!!

We went out for a bit this afternoon, we drove down to the Siletz River and walked for a bit but it was just too cold to stay out for too long. When we left I didn’t take my camera, hence no pictures today. There were a few hardy souls fishing along the shore and one small boat out in the river - I can only think that they were all freezing and I just couldn’t see the icicles hanging off them! We also stopped at the beach in Lincoln City – there was no one walking there today but we could see one fishing boat out bobbing around on the water, I have to believe that it would be REALLY COLD out there.

When we got back John decided to hook up the trailer as although it was cold we figured it was still warmer than it would be in the morning. While he was doing that I kept warm inside and chatted on Skype with my brother in Australia, he said it was 30C there and I replied that it was the same here but only in farenheit. He said it was very hot and humid so I’m not sure which weather I would like to have but somehow the cold is winning out as you can always keep warm but sometimes with the heat and humidity it is impossible to get cool!!!

It wasn’t an exciting day but it was also not a day for doing a lot of ourdoor stuff, hopefully it will warm up in the next couple of days. We have had nights this cold in New Mexico but I don’t think we have had days as cold as this since we have been on the road – guess there is a first for everything.

And so ends another great gift of a day here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice, but hopefully warmer, day tomorrow.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Yesterday was a very quiet day with nothing worth writing about so I didn’t bother with my blog. We had a stay at home day which we enjoyed, I did some cleaning and then just vegged for the day.

I woke up during the night to hear the wind howling and it had gotten quite cold, almost down to freezing – I guess the predicted cold front has arrived. Today was very windy and cold, I don’t like this weather but I guess we had better get used to it as it appears that it will be around for a few days! It sounds like there will be bad weather all over the country for the next while so I guess we are just getting our share of it – as long as it doesn’t snow I won’t complain too loudly!

Today we went to Newport to visit the aquarium and on the way we stopped at Cape Foulweather. We had passed the cape the other day but didn’t stop as the parking area was full, today there were very few cars there so it was easy to find a parking spot. We walked out to the lookout but it was too cold to linger. We could hear sea lions but couldn’t see them, the cliffs are straight down so the sea lions must have been right at the bottom out of sight. We were quite surprised with all the wind that the ocean wasn’t wilder but I guess it wasn’t blowing in the right direction to create the huge waves.

The aquarium was very good and we quite enjoyed it, we spent a couple of hours there. The only problem was that we didn’t realize part of it was outside and hadn’t worn our warm coats in as we thought they would be too hot so it was quite cool doing the outdoor displays – needless to say we didn’t spent as much time at them as we might have had we been dressed warmer. Today’s pictures are all from there so hope you won’t be bored with fishy pictures!












On the way home we stopped at Fred Meyer and Wal Mart to pick up a couple of things then stopped for dinner. When we got home it was only 6C (44F) in the trailer so the furnace was put on real fast, fortunately it warms up quickly so we weren’t really uncomfortable for more than a couple of minutes. After about a half hour we were able to turn off the furnace and are keeping cosy and warm with the little electric heater and the Wave propane heater. John is just heading out to disconnect the hose for the night, we could leave the tap dripping a bit but it is probably just as easy to disconnect it.

We are watching a TV program with Christmas music, very nice.

And so ends another great gift of a day here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice, but cold, day tomorrow.