SEPTEMBER 8, 2003
NEWPORT OREGON

We left Long Beach Washington early September 7, drove into Portland for a “pit stop” at Camping World where we purchased a new door for a compartment that we lost en route. We headed toward Lincoln City, Oregon. We missed our turn off for Lincoln City and decided to go to Tillamook instead. Ken remembered touring the Tillamook Cheese Factory at the age of eight, thus an interest in Tillamook was in play. The drive through over the mountain to the Coast was picturesque as has been most of the scenery on this trip. As we entered the outlying area of Tillamook the lush green pastures that provide the food for the “raw material” that make the cheese that is the foundation to this town’s ecomony, or at least we thought so. However, when we went to the RV Resort where we planned to spend the night, we found out that this is high season for this Oregon coastal resort. It is fishing season and the salmon are running. Consequently, we decided to shine “Tillamook cheese” on and headed toward Lincoln City. We ended up at a resort between Tillamook and Lincoln City which was adequate though not a “Gwelda Park”.

This morning we continued our drive down the beautiful Oregon Coast which contains some of the most spectacular coastline we have seen. I have decided I am turning into a “specialist in coastline viewing, marina hopping and boat analysis because Ken rarely passes by a body of water of any size without stopping to personally inspect the facilities, the boats and the surrounding amenities. As we drove through Lincoln City we were impressed with the size of what we thought would be a small town. It is a very nice medium sized coastal community surrounded by beautiful farms with happy “cows” just waiting to provide the main ingredient to the dairy up the road.

As we drove through Newport, we chose a RV park next to the marina which has a view of the bridge that connects Newport to South Beach for our overnight stay. We did a “walk about” Ken explored the docks and we drove through town and paid a visit to “old Newport” and the waterfront of yesteryear.

A weather front came in last night thus our drive down the Coast today (September 9) was wet and dreary but the weather stirred up the sea with awesome action adding to the adventure of maneuvering an exciting road on its own.

We are safely at rest in a lakeside park just outside of Coos Bay relaxing and waiting for the rain to pass us by.















SEPTEMBER 6, 2003
LONG BEACH, WASHINGTON
Happy birthday to our daughter in law Marci.

We wish we were there to help her celebrate but we look forward to celebrating with her when we return. When we tried to call to wish her a happy birthday we discovered we were out of cell phone range. Our Verizon coverage has been very good but occasionally we get lost in the span of space.
We are in Long Beach Washington, which is located on a ten mile long peninsula of the same name that runs from Ilwaco to Oysterville. There is a major fishing port at Ilwaco from which Ken caught a salmon fishing charter at 6AM . He has been yearning to catch a salmon since our arrival in this State and the charter boat seemed to improve his odds.
It is very cold and overcast today. Yesterday when we arrived the fog was still hanging over the horizon and when we walked on the beach, it was very foggy. Today we are experiencing a weather front and the fog simply has not go away. We arrived in this little village to find that it is hosting a vintage car event with 2 - 3,000 vintage cars expected for the weekend. It is amusing to see the small town anticipation, enthusiasm and celebration of these events. The residents of small town America seem to show a great appreciation for the brief interruption to their regular schedule. No doubt this is due to fewer opportunities to escape their daily routine. As we drove into town through the only main road connecting it to the mainland, residents were lined up along the roadway in their chairs, drink and in some cases food to watch the entrance of the old cars into town. In Hoquiam, the town just before Ocean City where we were before Long Beach, they were having a "loggers playday" today. They, too, were preparing for their celebration with special breakfasts, barbecues, ice cream socials which would all be capped off with a logging event at 6PM that would include events such as log rolling, chopping wood and whatever other "activities" that are unique to loggers. We have concluded that September signals the approach of fall and these events reflect the last hurrah of the season for the inhabitants of people in this area before the onset of winter.
Ken just returned from fishing with two salmon. They are small ones and it would have been much cheaper to buy them in the market but he would not have had the thrill of "the catch". Our diet for the next few days will be salmon, I think. Tomorrow we will be off to Portland and South. If possible, we hope to stop by Ashland, Oregon to say a quick hello to an old friend and co-worker, Jane Davis. Jane recently relocated to Ashland and if possible, we hope that we will get to see her as we pass nearby her area.
We have decided to cancel our planned trip to The Dalles on the Columbia River because of fires in the area. We learned that travel on Highway 84 is escorted one lane traffic and we feel that we have had enough smoke and forest fires for this trip. Like Lake Louise, it was a highly anticipated stop but alas, another time when the haze of smoke will not deter our sight.