Sunday, January 17, 2010

Again, it’s been a couple of days since I’ve posted but it is hard to find something to write about when you aren’t on the road and doing and seeing new things.

Thursday was a beautiful day and Tim (our park owner) built a fire for a happy hour, it was a nice visit with people from the park as well as Tim & Cindy. Other than that it was a quiet but pleasant day.

Friday it started to rain about noon and rained the rest of the day, a good day for doing laundry and I was lucky that I had the whole place to myself. I also settled up with Tim for our electric and propane for the past month and paid for the rest of our time here.

Earlier in the week I talked to a park in Yuma that we had hoped to try this year and they had just had a cancellation for February and March so we took the spot starting February 8th. We will be sorry to leave the Oregon coast as we really like it here, despite all the rain, but we are looking forward to getting some sun and warmer temps.

Yesterday was another rainy day but we headed south to Gold Beach where we picked up a couple of crabs for dinner and I bought a new sweat shirt, then we went on to Brookings where we picked up a couple of things at Fred Meyer. With our discount we filled up the truck at Fred’s for $2.899/gallon for diesel, we then drove down into California and the only gas station we saw had diesel at $3.219/gallon – OUCH!!

Tim and Cindy were in California and Nevada over the Christmas holidays and Tim says the roads in California are terrible – we can hardly wait to make the trip with bad roads and expensive fuel!!

A while ago I posted pictures of the painted bears on the main street of Brookings but yesterday they were all gone, we don’t know if it is just a holiday thing or if they put them away for the winter, I will have to ask someone about that.

Today was another VERY WINDY day with rain off and on - at times our house on wheels was shaking pretty good. Two motor homes came in early this afternoon and we are thinking they probably got off the road because of the wind.

This afternoon we went to the matinee at the local theatre to see It’s Complicated, we quite enjoyed it and the price was right - $5.00 each. From there we went to the Crazy Norwegian for dinner – we split a combination plate with shrimp, fish, clams, French fries and a pasta salad – it was very good and reasonable at a total price of $20 for the dinner and a beer each.

It is still windy, hopefully it will abate by morning. We drove to a lookout over the harbour on the way to the show and oh my, the waves were really something else. Unfortunately, I hadn’t grabbed my camera before we left so no pictures from today but I will post a few that I have taken in the last week. Hope my readers aren’t getting totally bored with water pictures!






And so ends another four great gifts of days here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow, no matter what the weather is like.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

It’s been a few days since I posted my blog but there has been nothing to write about. The weather has been so-so, Monday was really windy, we were going to go to Orange Beach and Brookings but decided not to bother. We went out to Paradise Point and watched the waves for a bit – the truck sat there and shook from the wind the whole time we were there. We did drive as far south as Humbug Mountain, it was a windy drive but the waves were fun to watch. We didn’t go to Cape Blanco as we figured we wouldn’t even be able to get out of the truck with the wind and you almost have to get out to get a good view.

Tuesday was a wet day so a quiet one at the Hacking home on wheels.

Today was a nice day, mostly sunny for a change so we decided to go to Coos Bay to do some shopping. I don’t know how we can spend all day there but we seem to manage to do that without too much problem. We were hoping to get the H1N1 shot there as I had found on the internet that they were available at the Safeway pharmacies. Well, the first store we went to wasn’t doing them but said the other store was so we went there and they said we would have to wait over an hour but suggested we could go to their clinic. Off we went, but couldn’t find the clinic, so at that point gave up and did our shopping instead, so no shot yet. It was about 6 when we got back so a quiet evening is in store.

And so ends another three great gifts of days here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow, and hope it is sunny as forecast.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

It’s been a couple of days again since I posted my blog, you can always tell when times are quiet and unexciting and there isn’t anything to write about. Not that it has changed that much today!

The weather has been mainly cloudy with a few showers here and there thrown in for good luck, I do wish the sun would peek out so we don’t forget what it looks like!

Yesterday I did laundry and other than that we had a quiet day and didn’t go any place. Last night when we went to bed we could hear the waves crashing in, always calming for sleeping.

Today we went out to Cape Blanco and boy was it windy out there, it wasn’t real windy here when we left so we were totally surprised by the wind there. It was so bad we had a hard time trying to hold the camera still to take pictures so we didn’t stand out there for too long. I thought John was going to have his new hat that I gave him for Christmas blow away but he put it on backwards which kept it on his head!

Pictures from Cape Blanco





We went from there to Paradise Beach and what a difference, it was a bit windy but not too bad and the waves were pretty calm. We watched some pelicans flying just over the tops of the waves looking for dinner - they were fun to watch.

Paradise Beach

These Cottages at Paradise Beach Have A Nice View


From there we drove south on Highway 101 as far as Humbug Mountain but again the waves were pretty calm so not great for taking pictures. They are calling for tremendous winds tomorrow so maybe it will be better for pictures.

We stopped at Ray’s market for a couple of groceries then walked around the park a couple of times when we got back.

I have talked to the kids, my sister and a couple of friends this weekend and they are all complaining about the cold back home so even though we are having damp weather here it isn’t cold so we won’t complain too hard. I noticed a high of 15C (60F) on the truck thermometer today so that isn’t too hard to take.

Our friends G & G left Kitchener on Tuesday to pick up their trailer in Alabama on their way to Texas and they have sent a couple of e-mails saying how cold the weather is down there, it certainly is a strange winter all over.

My friend Alison teased me today by saying they had been to the Erie Belle last weekend for fish and chips and have been to Swiss Chalet a few times – okay, she made my mouth water for some of my favourites.

I have another book going on my Kindle so tonight will be a quiet reading evening unless we get surprised and there is something half decent on TV.

And so ends another two great gifts of days here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow, no matter what the weather.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Today was another rainy day, hopefully we will see the sun soon and be able to get out and do something without getting wet! On the plus side the temperature here is pleasant and sure beats what is happening in Florida, Texas etc.

We did a bit of cleaning this morning and a bit of this and a bit of that then spent most of the afternoon reading. Tonight we finally got our pizza for dinner, we went to the Hard Rain Café and had a really good pizza. This is where we were going to go on Wednesday night, but it turns out they are closed on Wednesdays but open the rest of the week – good to know.

I am almost finished my book, it has been a long read but I have enjoyed it.

And so ends another great gift of a day here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice (and hopefully not wet) day tomorrow.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Here I am again doing a couple of days at a time – yesterday was a bit of a dud day so there was nothing to blog about.

Yesterday was damp and cloudy, not a really great day so we didn’t do a lot – spent time on the computer and I spent a lot of time reading my Kindle, the book I am reading (World Without End) is over 1,000 pages so is taking a while to read.

John and I both had a desire for pizza so about 6 p.m. we headed out for the local restaurant where we had heard they had good pizza – oops, closed! We ended up coming home and having sausage on a bun with slaw, good but not a pizza!!

Today was supposed to be a nice day so we had decided to wait until today to go to Coos Bay and do some shopping and whatever else. Well, the weatherman lied, again, - it was another gray, dreary, drizzly day. Not a good day for taking pictures, hence no pictures tonight.

At Coos Bay we stopped at a pizza restaurant but they didn’t sell slices and we didn’t feel like at whole pizza at that point so we went to another place – they only sell uncooked pizza which didn’t help us at all. Our third try they didn’t have any eat in facilties so we ended up at Subway for lunch – good but still no pizza!

We stopped at Fred Meyer and picked up a few things then our next stop was a place that advertised sheepskin seat covers – well, they weren’t within our price range but they had a nice pair of Australian sheepskin slippers that were on sale, and in my price range, so I got them and must say they are very cozy and warm.

Next stop was Wal Mart to finish the groceries then it was time to head home. We stopped at a RV place and got a spare set of lightbulbs and the sewer hose extension that John was looking for.

On the way home we decided to take the long way through Coquille, it was a pretty drive from Coos Bay to Coquille and Coquille looks like a pretty town but the drive from there to Bandon wasn’t the greatest – narrow roads and sharp drop offs.

We had bought a cooked chicken ($4.99) at Wal Mart so dinner tonight was easy with the chicken and a spinach salad – my kind of dinner!!

When we got back we called our friends Linda & Jim in B.C. and were happy to talk to Linda and hear she is doing well in her recovery and they are looking forward to being able to spend at least the month of March in California.

Tonight will be another quiet evening, I doubt I will finish my book but will hopefully read a bit more (if I can keep my eyes open).

And so ends another two great gifts of days here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow, no matter what the weather.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Today is our son-in-law Carl’s birthday – Happy Birthday Carl! I missed my sister-in-law Carol’s birthday on Sunday but hope you both had great days.

Today was another damp day here in Port Orford although the temperature is still warm enough – in the mid 50’s (about 12-13C). It didn’t rain hard during the day but drizzled, just enough to make it nicer to stay inside!

Later this afternoon we went into town and checked out the video store but the movie we wanted was gone so we came out empty handed. I checked out the grocery store for a fresh veggie for dinner but again came out empty handed – bummer.

We drove down to the lookout over the dock and it was very foggy so we then went to Paradise Point and surprisingly it was clear there and quite calm. On the way in and out to Paradise Point we saw a few deer, we always seem to see them in that area. When we got back we walked around the park a few times and Claudia came out so we had a bit of a visit with her. She was saying they went out fishing the other day and made $750 – not bad for a day’s fishing!!

Fortunately I had put a pot roast in the slow cooker this morning so John didn’t have to get wet grilling – we had a nice dinner and thought of Kelly who really likes the pot roasts.

And so ends another great gift of a day here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice (but probably wet) day tomorrow.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Yesterday (Sunday) was a pretty quiet day here on the Oregon Coast. It was a beautiful day but unfortunately I wasn’t feeling real great, I think I had the 24 hr. flu.

I laid down about noon for a ½ hour then got up and we decided to drive north to Bandon, sometimes I find that if I am not feeling great getting out and doing something, helps. Yesterday that helped a bit but not completely

We first went to Bullards Point State Park where you can see the Coquille River Light House up close – very pretty and we went down to the water where we had a good view of both the north and south jetties. There was lots of wood piled up on the beach, probably the most we have seen here on the coast. After that we stopped at the beach (presumably this is the swimming beach in the summer)there and walked down to the ocean, then drove through the state park camping area - it had some really nice sites and we think full hookups, but no wi-fi. A lot of the parks now have Yurts, for rentals – interesting.

Coquille River Lighthouse

Near South Jetty

Old Town Bandon

Beach at Bullards Beach State Park


Yurt at Bullards Point State Park


From there we went back into Bandon and stopped at a shop where we lucked out and I finally got a new sweat shirt for a decent price and picked up a few gifts for the kids.

We stopped in Old Town and wandered around a few stores that were open, but most of them were closed – we will have to go back again when more are open. From there we took the scenic route back through Bandon and stopped at a couple of Waysides for pictures.
View from Wayside




On the way back my sister called so I talked to her until we lost the connection so called her back when we got home. As soon as I got off the phone I told John he could do whatever he wanted for dinner as I wasn’t interested in eating, so I laid down on the couch and slept for about 3 hours. I woke up and went to bed and then woke up about 1 a.m feeling much better – thank goodness.

Today was mostly overcast with a couple of showers thrown in for good measure but the temperatures are pleasant so we aren’t complaining.

Other than a couple of walks around the park it was a fairly quiet day, I spent most of the afternoon reading. Once I have finished posting my blog I will return to my book.

And so ends another two great gifts of days here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice (but probably wet) day tomorrow.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Today was supposed to be rainy but we fooled the weatherman and had a reasonably nice day with no rain. We had a bit of sun and the temperatures was in the mid 50’sF (12-13C) so not a bad day at all.

We talked to a few friends today – it’s always nice to chat and get caught up rather than always doing e-mail. I did a major cleaning today and some laundry – talk about boring, but it has to be done! The only thing I didn’t get done was washing the floors – I figured they could wait until another day and I’m sticking to my story!

Late this afternoon we went out to get our ocean fix – we went to Paradise Point and enjoyed the waves

and watching a fishing boat bouncing around in the swells and then down to the harbour.


We watched the sunset over the point at the harbour, and the waves crashing up on the rocks, the sunset was very pretty and a bonus as we hadn’t expected much of a sunset tonight.





Boat Winches at Port Orford Harbour


Dinner is over and once I get this posted my book will be calling me. And so ends another great gift of a day here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow.

Happy New Year

Well, here it is 2010 and I can still remember all the hype and uncertainty that the year 2000 caused, sure seems like a long time ago.

Yesterday was a perfectly lousy day weather wise here on the Oregon coast with torrential rain and strong winds – a good day to hunker down and stay inside. Fortunately the temperature was fairly mild so at least it wasn’t a cold day.

They were having a little do here at the park at 6 p.m. with snacks and then cake and ice cream for anyone who had celebrated a birthday or anniversary in December – Charlie was the only celebrant for December so everyone sang happy birthday to him. We had bought Dungeness crab for our New Year’s Eve dinner so we went over and had a drink (no snacks) and socialized for an hour or so then came home and had a wonderful dinner. Charlie has a miniature cannon that he shot off just before we came home, for a small thing it sure made a heck of a boom – I just about jumped right out of my shoes!!

Today was a bit nicer with some sunny periods along with a bit of rain. This afternoon we went out to Paradise Point to see the waves, boy were they huge! We walked down to the beach and stood for a while watching the water but it was chilly after standing in the wind for a bit. At one point John was taking a picture and I called to him to watch out, there was a huge wave crashing up on shore farther than the other ones, he ran like heck to get out of the way or he would have gotten a good soaker – these are what they call rogue or sneaker waves.






We then drove down to the dock and Battle Rock where the waves weren’t nearly as big. We went to Cape Blanco and it was interesting there – one side of the cape was fairly quiet while on the other side the waves were crashing in pretty good. It was really windy there so we didn’t get out – just sat and watched them from the comfort of the truck.

It really poured on the way home but had stopped by the time we got back so John finished taking down the Christmas lights – all the Christmas stuff is now put away for another year.

And so ends another two great gifts of days here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice (but probably wet) day tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Today looked like it would be a reasonably nice day so we decided to head south to Brookings. It was a mainly sunny day, but occasionally clouded over and rained for a minute, with a high of about 54F (12C).

On the way to Brookings we stopped at some lookouts to enjoy the ocean and take pictures, as always the ocean was beautiful and fascinating.







We stopped at Gold Beach for lunch and to pick up a couple of Dungeness crabs for our New Year’s Eve dinner – I’m sure they will be yummy!

Brookings is the town with bears everywhere so we parked and walked a bit and took a few pictures but this was one of the times when it decided to rain a bit so didn’t go as far as we might have.




From there we went to Fred Meyer and picked up a few things seeing how we were in the area. We also got diesel there, with our card and $0.10/gallon discount we filled up for $2.689/gallon – sure beats the $2.899/gallon at most places around here (their gas was already $0.10/gallon cheaper than any place else).

While in Fred Meyer someone tapped my shoulder and said fancy meeting you here, it was a lady from the park here and I was surprised as in this part of the world I don’t expect to meet anyone I know. We had a nice chat before carrying on with our shopping.

Yesterday was our family dinner at our daughter Nan’s so on the way home we stopped at Gold Beach to call her place and talk to everyone (we had no phone signal between Brookings and Gold Beach or we would have stopped at a view point). We wish we could have been with them and it sounded like they had a wonderful dinner – after they got through telling us what they had for dinner we said we were going home to cook burgers – I think they had the better dinner but we have the better weather and scenery!!

Tomorrow we are supposed to be back to wet and windy weather, so we really enjoyed the nice weather today.

And so ends another great gift of a day here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice (but probably wet) day tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Today we were back to a dreary, cool, rainy day – just what they had forecast!

This afternoon we had a short break in the rain and the sun came out so we decided to take a run into the post office and then go and take a look at the ocean. Did I say a short break, by the time I got ready to go (about 5 minutes) it was raining again! But off we went and mailed our mail then headed for Battle Rock Park. The waves there were okay, but nothing terrific which surprised us as the wind was howling. So then we went to Paradise Point and again no large waves there so we decided it was a mix of the wind direction and waves that were working against each other. We drove out towards Humbug Mountain but again the sea was much calmer than expected. I didn’t take any pictures as there was nothing worth getting wet to take.

We came home and John checked the internet and saw that they had tried to deliver my new camera this afternoon so he made a quick run to the post office and picked it up – now all I have to do is figure out how to use it!! I am looking forward to, hopefully, taking better pictures.

Dinner is over and I am looking forward to a quiet evening of reading. At the moment the rain has stopped, hopefully tomorrow will be a nicer day.

Oh yes, a piece of trivia – New Year’s Eve will be a blue moon – only the second one since some time in the 1970’s - (a blue moon is when there are two full moons in one month) so now you can look for the blue moon on New Year’s Eve.

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

Monday, December 28, 2009

Today was a beautiful sunny day with a high of about 58F (14C).

We decided to head to Coos Bay and take the scenic route and find the Cape Arago Lighthouse on the way, so just north of Bandon we picked up the Seven Devils Road. We stopped at the Seven Devils Recreation area, there was a nice beach there with a crazy girl standing out about waist deep in the water dressed just in her normal clothes – it must have been freezing cold! Not only that but also dangerous as all along the coast here they warn about sneaker, or rogue waves, which are large waves which come out of nowhere and can pull you out into the ocean. She had a friend on the beach, at least one of them was smart.

We continued on for a bit then came to a sign saying single lane road for the next 3.5 miles, well that was the longest 3.5 miles we have done in a long time!! It was 3.5 miles of my most unfavourite type of road with lots of heights, steep drop offs and twists and turns. Fortunately, we only met one other person crazy enough to take this road and it was on a bend where he had lots of room to pull over and let us by - we both let out a huge sigh of relief when we came back to the main highway! We had found out why they named this the Seven Devils Road!!! As John commented, it made the 40 Hills Road out of Lions Head look real tame! We sure won’t be back that way again!!

We finally ended up at Sunset Beach where we stopped and took some pictures and watched the waves crash in,



then drove about ½ mile further and stopped at the view point for the Cape Arago Lighthouse.


Unfortunately it was a fair distance away, not one that you can see up close, but it did look pretty sitting out on the point all by itself. The lighthouse has a 44’ high tower and was first lit in 1934.

We stopped at Fisherman’s Grotto in Charleston for lunch and had a bowl of delicious clam chowder. The people at tables on either side of us were having fish and chips and they looked really good – we got chatting with one couple for a few minutes and they said the fish and chips were really good. Certainly a place we would go back to again.

Something I haven't done in a long time is post funny signs we have seen in our travels but I couldn't resist putting this one in my blog that we saw today - Bonk & Bonk, Investigators!! We needed that laugh after driving the Seven Devils Road.

Our next stops were Staples and then Wal Mart, where we picked up some groceries, and by then it was time to head home.

When we got back John barbecued some pork chops for dinner and now I am trying to keep my eyes open to do this, they keep wanting to slam shut on me! I have a feeling this won’t get posted until tomorrow as I still have the pictures to do.

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

Sunday, December 27, 2009

The last two days have been pretty quiet here in Port Orford. Yesterday I did laundry in the morning and then in the afternoon we drove to Paradise Point to watch the waves for a bit but they weren’t as good as we hoped they would be.


If you click on this picture to enlarge it you can see the Cape Blanco Lighthouse light.


We also went down by the dock and then to the park at Battle Rock and there was very little wave action there. A couple of surfers were at Battle Rock beach but all they were doing was floating around on their boards as the waves weren’t great – they would have had better luck off Paradise Point.

It was nice and sunny in the morning but by mid afternoon it had clouded over and the forecast was for rain again, and they were right. It started raining early last evening and has rained off and on ever since but at least it held off until after John had barbecued our dinner!

Last night we watched Public Enemy, not a very good movie as far as we were concerned and very confusing. On Christmas night we watched the old James Bond movie – Thunderball, it was better than Public Enemy.

Today was a lazy day, I did some cleaning and then spent most of the day reading. Tonight we went to the Crazy Norwegian for dinner, we had fish and chips and they are the best we have had since leaving Kincardine but still not as good as the Erie Belle, we did enjoy them though.

It wasn’t raining while we were out but has started again. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit drier.

And so ends great gifts of a couple of days here on the Oregon Coast and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow.