Pacific Coast Highway Day 8
Pacific Coast Highway
Day 8 - April 24, 2003 - Bandon, OR to Astoria, OR
At 7 AM this morning it was sunny. There was coffee in the room but no breakfast. We checked out and told the person at the desk about the dirty room and the unrequested wake-up call at 6 AM. “Sorry” was the response. Maybe we will avoid Best Westerns...
Today was a day for showers, I took one this morning and this evening. In between, we had several that made driving and the photos interesting.
We were out of the room at 8 AM and by that time it was raining hard and 40 degrees. We took a short tour of the neighborhood. Beautiful gray cedar shingled houses in a very nice neighborhood, surrounding the golf course.
We drove north on 101 and then took a side road to Charleston to the beach and to see the gardens at Shore Acres. We stopped at Cape Arago to take a few photos of the lighthouse and the beach.
On the way to the beach we saw many forests in various stages of the logging industry. There are totally clear cut areas, then newly planted trees, to more mature pines. The clear cut areas look awful, but the locals have assured us that the lumber industry is very good about reforesting - I guess they would have to be.
After twisting and turning on these narrow roads we finally arrived at the Shore Acres State Park. The gardens are in the estate of Lewis Simpson, a pioneer lumber man and ship builder. The mansion burned down in 1921 but the State of Oregon has preserved what is left of the estate and the gardens.
Luckily the rains stopped just as we arrived, so we were able to walk through the gardens and take pictures of hundreds of flowers and plants. The most unusual ones are azaleas and rhododendrons which were in full bloom. Some of the tulips we still blooming but most were damaged by the heavy rains.
We walked around the gardens and to the observation point where we took pictures of the surf slamming against the huge rocks. We spoke to some of the grounds crew who were cutting trees. They asked about the car and we explained the trip up the coast.
We were told that south of the estate there was a location called Simpson Reef. We stopped and saw elephant seals and sea lions covering the outlying rocks. We turned around and went back through Charleston to Coos Bay and then to North Bend.
At 10:30 we stopped at the Kozy Kitchen for breakfast. It was a great place to eat, featuring local home cooking. The breakfast special was only $2.75 (2 eggs, hashbrowns, toast, sausage or bacon).
We were back on the road again and heading for Reedsport. We stopped several times at the Oregon Coast Sand Dunes recreational area. It was raining again but we stopped at the dune overlook and drove in to the dunes area. There were few areas accessible to our car.
We got refueled at Florence and drove north through large dairy farms and prosperous small towns. The trees are just budding out and flowering plants are gorgeous, especially the pink flowering crab apple trees. As we had seen so many dairy cattle, we were not surprised when we got to Tillamook and saw the many cheese factories. We stopped at the Blue Heron Cheese and Wine Tasting barn. They had chocolate too! Refreshing and yummy.
At Manzanita, by the sea, we stopped at a phenomenal overlook where one could see the expanse of a sandy beach for miles down the coast. The tide was coming in so we took a few pictures.
We drove on to Astoria and arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River about 5:30. The river is immense. No wonder Robert Gray landed here and then John Jacob Astor’s company founded a beaver pelt colony here. We drove across Astoria to the Comfort Suites and checked in. When we got to our rooms we were pleased to see that it overlooks the harbor and a boat basin.
We heard the strange sea lion barks and they are just a little way outside our rooms, across from the trolley tracks. Even with the windows closed, they are loud and rambunctious. But they are beautiful.
Just before 8 PM we went out to dinner at a recommended seafood restaurant. But, as we got into the car, we once again heard the sea lions. Gennie and I decided to drive out on the pier and try to see these creatures. When we got out of the car, their bark was coming from all around us.
We decided to walk down one of the side piers to the moored boats and there they were. Some were on the boat slips and others were swimming in the river water. I was able to go right up to them and all they did was look at me warily and bark. I was able to get great shots and super videos. They were so loud.
There was a sailor sitting in his lawn chair just enjoying them. We talked and he told us that these are the California Sea Lions and all were males. They we getting much more active as they would begin their migration to find the females in California. One had a salmon hook in his cheek and another had a very serious scar across his chest (healed).
We stayed there talking and looking at these guys for over 30 minutes. They just kept a sharp eye on us. The sailor told us that sometimes they go up on the boats. One time he fell on one of these as he was coming home from dinner in the dark.
We went to dinner at The Ship Inn and it was wonderful. I had baked halibut in sweet chile sauce and Gennie had a combination plate with halibut, cod, prawns, and scallops.
About the car, when Gennie and I got in the car this morning both of our door had a squeak/sand scratch sound when we opened or closed the door. NO CLUE. I stopped and got some WD-40 and sprayed on the hinges but it only diminished the sound. It is still there - annoying more than anything. Both doors having the same problem is interesting, to say the least.
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