Craig, June 23, Lots of Fun!

Morning broke with the occasional sound of fishing boats running up the harbor. It wasn’t annoying as this is a pretty small harbor so the traffic is pretty light. You couldn’t see them at first, then the fog lifted and the sky cleared and I wished I was heading out of with them for some angling of my own.

We aired the tires on the Jeep down in preparation for some duning. A slow drive of a half of a mile or so was all that was required to get to the sand, so we opted to let the air out before leaving the park. Now for some fun! We hit the sand and started to get the feel for the jeep. We gradually worked our way into bigger and bigger dunes, until we had climbed the largest of them. I wished I could say we climbed the steep side, but I think we all know better than that! We did make it up some good size stuff though, surprising the quad riders who were laughing at us the day before. We had fun on the trails that run through the pine trees, even surprising some of the smallest deer I have ever seen.

We decided to go walk out on the triangle jetty. I have always enjoyed hopping from rock to rock while checking out the sea life that clings to their side. Matt and I made it our mission to make it out to the very end. It took us about an hour but we did it, much to the chagrin of the sea lions who were sunning out at the end. They were pretty vocal about our presence. Their noise, coupled with the constant sounding of the fog horn every 20 seconds or so, kept us from lingering for very long.

Dinner time was starting to roll around and the prospect of seafood was still not appealing to Leah and Matt. We decided to compromise and get them some pizza from just down the wharf from the “Cannery” which was where we were planning on eating this evening. It was wonderful. Renee had the chowder in a bread bowl while I had the three item combo as one thing was not going to be enough. Fresh crab, ling cod and prawns had me ohhh and ahhhing with each bite. The kids even tried the cod and were impressed that it wasn’t anywhere near as gross as they expected. In fact they said it was good.

We jumped on our bikes back at the rv and did a little calorie burning. We rode aways out on one of the piers and struck up a conversation with Steve, the manager of a local hotel. He was one of the many people out on the pier, trying their luck crabbing. The are allowed up to three traps each, which they bait with fishheads and throw off the pier. After the trap sits for awhile you pull it up and see what you’ve caught. Steve wasn’t having much luck finding any crabs large enough to keep, but he sure was pulling up traps full of smaller ones. It is still early in the crab season and he said they tend to catch the larger ones starting in late July.

We finished the night off with a fire on the beach watching the sunset. A busy day for sure, but one of the best so far.

June 23, Sand, Sand, and More Sand

Today was a day full of sand .We went to the dunes. This time we could go on to the big stuff because we let air out of the tires. We went driving on the dunes for a while and then we went to the beach. At the beach my dad and I went on the triangle jetty. We had to climb on big rocks to get to the end. When we got to the end we saw sea lions! They where barking like crazy , and they did not stop. Then we journeyed back to the beach.
There , mom and Leah where waiting for us. We drove to the motor home. Then we went out for dinner mom and dad got sea food, and Leah and I got pizza. After we ate and drove to the motor home we went on a bike ride down to the dock. There we met a man who was fishing for crabs. You don’t fish with a fishing pole, you fish with a big basket with bait. You use fish heads for bait! The crabs have to be a certain size to be able to keep them. Soon we went back to the motor home. Then we went to the beach. We stayed until almost 10:30! My dad and I played catch and Leah drew her name in the sand. Soon we rosted marshmellows and we went back to the motor home. Then we went to bed.

Leah, June 23 Sand, Sand, and More Sand

Today was basically all about sand! First we went to the dunes. Then we went to the beach.
At the dunes we could do a lot more because, dad aired down the tires. We kept going up bigger and bigger hills until we couldn’t because they were too big. Then we went back to the loading area so dad could air up the tires so we could ride on the roads.
Then we went to the beach. We tried to hike out to the end of the jetty but Mom and I ended up going back when we were ½ way through. Mom and I turned back because she was tired and I had flip flops on.
When Mom and I got back to the beach we went into the water. We saw sand crabs burying themselves. When the water got too cold I tried to make a 3-D sand angel. It didn’t work. When the guys got back we went back to the RV for lunch. Mom did laundry after lunch. That took until dinner.
After dinner we went on a bike ride. We rode the bikes to the boardwalk. We watched people fish for crabs. When we got to the RV, we took some wood, drove to the beach again. We made a fire. I ran down to the water. It was too cold for me. So I drew my name in the sand. When I finished, I went back to the fire. Then we roasted marshmellows. Mom, Matt and I played with sticks until we left.

Matt June22, Another Day Another Trip

Again today was a travel day. We went from Grants Pass to Winchester Bay. Our campsite was called WINCHESTER BAY RV PARK. We didn’t stop anywhere today. On our way in we saw two heard of elk. After we got to the RV park we went to the dunes. We couldn’t go on the big stuff because we had to let air out of the tires. We went on small dunes and went back to the rv. Mom and dad went out for seafood and Leah and I stayed at the rv.

Craig, June 22, Back to the Coast

We packed up the coach and hit the road this morning. After a leisurely breakfast though. It is sometimes hard to get the gang moving in the morning. Anyone who knows me, knows that when I am the early riser, we might not be breaking camp at the crack of dawn. But hey, it is vacation after all and the only place we have to be, is where ever the heck we want to be! Where we want to be is Winchester Bay!

Winchester Bay is just south of Florence Or. The RV park is right in the middle of a small harbor protected from the Pacific by a few breakwaters or jetties. The harbor protects a small fishing fleet along with a few charter boats. One of the jetties is unusual in the fact that it sticks out into the ocean in the shape of a triangle, with base leg being a beach and the two legs of rock meeting a half mile out in ocean. In the center of the triangle is an oyster farm! I am sure you can see where this is going…SEAFOOD!!! Fresh seafood! There just happens to be a handful of restaurants right on the wharf.

After getting set up we had to take a tour. We drove out towards the mouth of the harbor, seeing the jetties, as well as the beach. Then we hit the dunes. Huge dunes with lots of pine trees. We drove out into them without airing down as I knew we would be back on the pavement and did not think to throw the co2 tank in the jeep before leaving the coach, so we were very limited to what we could climb. We had to have some fun though, so we picked out a couple smaller hills and made a few runs. Tomorrow we will come a little better prepared.

Back at the RV, I decided to do some cleaning on the coach. We had taken out more bugs with the front of the rig then a cave full of bats on clear night. I managed to get the drivers side and half the windshield done when the local security came and shut me down. It seems that even though I had taken the utmost care not to waste any water or to disturb a neighbor, IT WASN’T ALLOWED! I was told to read the rules I had been given at check in. Then was even shown were it was written, without having to ask. I finished the windshield in the midst of the admonishment, said my goodbyes, then went inside and made a drink. Ahhhh….RV life…I love it.

We asked the kids if they wanted to go for seafood and that went over about as well as the rv washing. Ok then, you stay here, have your Spaghetti O’s and mom and I will go for out something good. So off we went to hit one of the local joints for a taste. Renee and I both decided on some fried platters, which is unusual as we generally prefer our seafood not dunked in oil. Watching a few different meals being served around us put us on the path to the golden brown gates of deep fried nirvana. We had fresh “triangle” oysters, calamari, ling cod, prawns, clams, scallops and all the trimmings. We waddled out swearing not to do that again…until tomorrow night!

Leah June 22: To the Oregon Coast

Today was another travel day. We drove for 3 to 4 hours. When we finally got to our campsite we set up. After we finished setting up we went to the Oregon Dunes. Dad didn’t air out the tires so we didn’t do much.

Then we wnet to the beach. The sand felt so warm. When we got down to the water I ran right into it. It was FREEZING!

Mom and Dad decided to go out for dinner so Matt and I stayed at the RV because we didn’t want seafood! We watched TV until bedtime