I won’t live long enough to look back at this and laugh.  Uneventful trip to Eugene, dropped LilyPad off at the RV repair and took Ribbit in for repair.  Lexus dealership said the Air Force One air brake was not working correctly and we needed to find someone who does the repair.  Still trying to find someone in this area that can fix it.

LilyPad sat for a two days with several dehumidifiers running and the heat up very high only to find out that we have severe mold and will need mold remediation.  Been there, done that, years ago and not anxious to do it all again. It will be in the hands of the Solar company and Tiffin for all the repairs.  We have physically moved all four of us into Best Western and will be removing our belongings as soon as the reports are in on the bubble air pressure test.

The only positive is that Millie is still acting pain free, is still playing with other dogs at the dog park and enjoying being with us 100 percent of the time.  So wishing the down side to this life were not so drastically down.  So far we are not impressed with the town, things to do or the choice of good eateries.  Until we are moved back in, I won’t say anything unless there is something good to say.

It’s going to be a bright, bright sunshiny day!   Explorations with the pups today now that we haven’t found any more water dripping from one part of the ceiling or another.

Small towns are fun to explore and I’m craving a browse through a resale shop but unluckily it is Sunday and most everything is closed, excluding restaurants.  Good thing Oregon has dozens of state and national parks spread up and down the coast.

First stop is behind LilyPad to watch the tide crash into the rocks along our sidewalk.   I kept moving to catch a shot of the spray and the waves would move down.   After 15 minutes of standing with the camera stuck to my face looking like an old lady frozen in place, the waves cooperated and were just shy of soaking me.

The pups were happy to hang with us wherever we were going and the first park was along Eel Lake.  The dock and shore were scattered with occupied bird houses and they weren’t happy that we were invading their space.  It was peaceful until geese flew in and began their loud conversations.  Not wanting to interrupt or have the pups receive a threatening peck if we got to close, we continued on our way.

Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area and Horsfall Lake were next up but the lake turned out to be a swampy area that meandered around the huge sand dunes so we drove on to the ocean.  You could only reach the ocean by climbing up and over a huge sand dune so we all climbed to the top of the ascending boardwalk to watch the ATV’s zoom over the dunes.  Even their buzz was drowned out by the crash of wave after huge wave rolling into shore.  John and the pups climbed over the dunes to the beach while I stayed on the highest point of the boardwalk to breath in the salty air and enjoy the cool breeze.

On the way back to 101, I stopped to take a few shots of the dunes.  It’s hard to believe how monstrous these mountains of sand really are until you see a huge RV dwarfed in their presence.

Once more over the cathedral bridge to backtracked across to Coos Bay and Bandon to walk through Old Town Bandon and have lunch.  Another fantastically fresh Dungeness crab sandwich and a bowl of smoked salmon chowder before poking around in the gift shops.   Tried some of the cranberry fudge and bought a small chunk…yummy stuff. Beautiful wood items for sale and some interesting recycled material statues in the park.

Stopped at Safeway for some supplies before heading back to the LilyPad.  What would have been a beautiful sunset was smothered in fog.

KatieBugs morning chirps woke us early and after family hugs all around, we were on our way.  First moving down the coast, then inland to Eugene for the next few days.

All along Hwy 101 are incredible views of the aqua blue ocean foaming up against huge boulders and spreading thinly across the black sand.  Forests of tall rigid green pines intermingled with patches of naked white Birch, their feathery limbs stretched out as if to shield the ground that has been stripped bare from logging. Stately bridges with interesting colors and designs.  The beauty of Oregon offers surprises around every corner.

Brilliant yellow is everywhere as if it were planted for its intense color now that winter has removed the leaves from the trees. As pretty as it is, the fields of giant ragweed are taking a toll on my sinuses and I see Sudafed in my near future.  The dogwood’s huge white puffs and Redbuds deep rosy red blossoms line many of the narrow streets of  whistle stop town’s we pass by every few miles.

We passed acres of cranberry bogs on both sides of the highway.  For some reason I never connected the name Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice to an actual ocean.  It was a “duh” moment driving up this part of the coast.   For some reason it struck me as funny to see all these Ocean Spray fields and never connecting the dots.  I worked for an environmental engineering company where my job was to count the number of cranberries in the bogs that abutted power plants in New York and feed the information into a computer to determine the amount of radiation per cranberry.  Reason enough to stick with the name brand Ocean Spray.

A quick stop at the Mill Casino in Coos Bay for a sweet juicy fresh crab roll before continuing on to our stop for the night, Winchester Bay, Oregon.   Our front window faces the harbor which is dotted with sail boats sandwiched between weather worn wooden docks.  Low tide invites anyone with hip boots to trudge out and gather crabs.   If insanity happens to hit, we may pick up some boots from a local resale shop and give it a try for tomorrow’s low tide.

A quick clean-up of the water that splashed down out of our forward lighting fixtures and we were set for the evening.  Our view is awesome on all sides.  Sunset views while we walk the dogs, then a bowl of fantastic home made clam chowder before ending the day.

For anyone who is wondering…living in a Motorhome does not easily come second nature.   I still have difficulties remembering all the little things that must be done to live in our box on wheels.  No running the faucets longer than absolutely necessary, clean sink screens daily, dump all non-water liquids outside, keep filters vacuumed weekly and floors vacuumed daily, wipe dogs paws each time they come in if it is wet out.  On and on and on…the length of time it takes to clean up after letting them pile up can substantially eat into your adventure days.

First thing this morning we had breakfast at Matties.  To-die-for crab omelet and plenty to take home for tomorrow’s breakfast.  The owner is a retired drag race car driver and her husband is a plane enthusiast who owns several planes.  They are friends of dad and Cathy’s and joked around throwing coffee creamers between dad and each other, over the heads of a packed restaurant.  Some people never grow up…my 86 year old dad is one of them.

Dad and I did the treasure hunting thing again this morning at Brookings Harbor.  The pups ran on the beach with John while dad and I hunted around the picnic tables and the sand parking lot.  So many people stopped to ask if I were rich yet, what did I find, how long have I been doing this, is it hard, how much is the equipment…I didn’t do much hunting, mostly chatting and answering questions.  Still it was fun, got some fresh air and exercise walking along the beach and met lots of interesting people…oh, and found another penny!

Took the pups to the local dog bath house while John and I cleaned the LilyPad top to bottom.   We leave tomorrow to have the roof fixed and Ribbit has all sorts of dummy lights going off and on again.  Most of the time “adventure” does mean something fun.

Sun, sun, sun here it comes…finally!  It was nippy but the warmth from the sun was heavenly.  We took the tarp off LilyPad’s roof so it would dry.  Luck on our side, the forecast has not an ounce of rain for the next few days.

The pups let us sleep in this morning.  We went to the casino with dad and had the $5.00 Senior lunch.  Best deal in town.  Picked up the pups and several loads of wet dirty towels wash at the Laundromat while we all went to Crissey Field State Park so the pups could have a run on the beach.

Just short of the beach is an area of trees that reminded me of the scary flying monkey forest in The Wizard of Oz.  I ventured in and looked around for a few minutes before quickly leaving opting for a walk on the beach where the only scary thing was the warning of undertow in the water.  At least the water would not jump out and pounce on me and I was not sure what was making those strange noises coming from somewhere in that forest.

As the four of us walked along the beach, Millie took off after a young Great Blue Heron with John and I yelling after her to stop, halt, no, come…anything to keep her from jumping into the waves and the undertow following the Heron.  She got up to her tummy before deciding a sure thing like a treat would be better than a scolding for going after a bird.

When we returned to the LilyPad things had dried off so the pups got to sit outside in the sun while we put things away.  Our guilty pleasure of watching TV after dinner has been a rare occurrence while on the road so we turned on the TV and set the timer.  Morning seems to arrive so much faster when you are retired.

The weather still refuses to cooperate with our strategy to dry out the LilyPad.  The leak appears to be covered for the time being but predictions are for strong wind and continued rain so hopefully the covering holds. Surges of hail followed by heavier rains kept the outdoors soggy the entire day.  Sort of “ditto” yesterday’s agenda.  We have returned to the status of the only RV in the Park.  The four other’s wisely left yesterday, probably seeking sun.

Small enclosed spaces and the mess from wet dogs, dirty wet feet, soaked clothes and stepping in gravel/mud/lawn before entering the door triples any clean up efforts.  A turn-up-the-heater and huddle together with the pups kind of day.  An early evening quick stop in at the Elks Lodge for a drink and chatter with the locals about the weather before returning to the LilyPad for a movie, salad, pizza and an early bed time.

Rain all day today and expected to keep up straight through the next two days.

Stuck my finger up the hole where the solar wires came into the LilyPad to make sure it was dry… it was wet again.  CRAP…the leaky roof experience continues.   Spent the entire day trying to find someplace to pull the LilyPad under to get it out of the rain, begging the repair guy to come back, calling to see if anyone else would come out and try to stop the leak in the rain, pulling a tarp over as much of the roof as possible, calling anyone and everyone to see what we could do to stop a leak in the pouring down rain and squeegeeing the lining of the ceiling over and over and over again.  Going to be a drying-things-off night.  The two legged, the four legged and the roof over all our heads, soaked repeatedly. Not really liking our “adventure” today.

Excellent start to our day.  LilyPad is dried out and we are able to proceed with our adventure seeking.  Dad, John, the dogs and I went to Azalea Park this morning and I found my first treasure while metal detecting.  The dogs came over to sniff where I was poking around but didn’t understand why I was so excited about something not eatable.  It was fun, I found my first treasure (2 pennies), deep breaths of refreshing cool sea air and exercise.  Multitasking at its finest.

It’s been either rainy or very foggy since our arrival with only a few hours of appealing temperatures scattered throughout those days.  It’s a good thing that great weather isn’t necessary for metal detecting or hanging with the family.  On the beach, the sun makes appearances in short bursts.  The wind can get mean and it whips up the sand so we stay away if we see lots of tree tops being pushed in the same direction.

The pups were getting restless for another adventure so we drove to Loeb State Park for a walk along the Chetco River and then down one of the foot trails in the picnic area.  More spooky dimness and green moss dripping from the branches.  No way to tell which way is North to Alaska with moss growing 360 degrees around all the trees. The campground has real flush toilets, hot water showers and beautiful views of the forest and Chetco River so Loeb State Park went on our list for possible work camper hosts.

The evening ended with a trip to the casino just over the border in California for Monday night prime rib dinner with dad and Cathy.

My dad joined us for breakfast.  After packing up our things from the Inn and pausing a few minutes to watch the seagulls outside our window we moved back into the LilyPad.  Packed the pups into the Ribbit and we all drove off for our daily beach outing.  If we continue our beach walks every morning, it just may turn us into ocean people and sea dogs for the extent of our trip North to Alaska.

The first beach was very windy.  We walked until the cold got to all of us and my foot began to hurt.  The pups dashed around in every direction enjoying the sun and not minding the wind.  Whalehead Beach, our second stop, was cut in half by a large spring so we walked around the park and headed back.

KatieBug loves the beach.  She is so nosy that she sticks her head down near every tide pool and between even the smallest separation in the huge rocks.  Today I didn’t have the camera ready and, in a split second, she stuck her head down towards a large tide pool, slipped on the mossy rocks and fell head first into the ice cold water.  She went under, popped her head up and froze stiff legged as if to say, what the heck happened.  John was reaching in to pull her out when she realized the water was cold and sprung her little body out and tore around the beach cussing under her breath.  Both pups got a spray down and towel dry before their mid-day nap.

After toweling off the pups, the rest of the day was spent putting away all that was moved when the water leak began and storing all the electricals used to dry everything up.  As we were given the OK to stay another week at the Elks, we relaxed and kicked back for the rest of the day.

Today we take the pups to the ocean first, then more clean up from the water damage, then we put on our tourist hats for the rest of the day.  This is a small town with very little to do but according to TripAdvisor, there is a Museum, an Oregon Redwood Trail, Oregon’s largest Monterey Cypress and a lighthouse.

The daily trip to the ocean with the dogs is always entertaining.  They enjoy running free chasing the ocean in and out with each wave.  Millie pouncing KatieBug and sending her rolling out from under her, then KatieBug dashing away, spinning around to face Millie and spurring her on again.

After a quick bite to eat we left for our “tourist for a day” adventure.   First up was the lighthouse.  John didn’t read the TripAdvisor description for the lighthouse until we had stopped and asked a local lady for directions.  As the local was explaining that she didn’t know about a lighthouse, John was reading that it was a private citizen’s house and was only open when they held an event for charity.   On to the next touristy thing.

Just off Hwy 101 is the largest Monterey Cypress tree in Oregon.  Turn onto the road that leads to the Oregon Redwood Trail and you pass by it within the first minute.  Snapped a picture and pulled up to the museum but it was closed.  We decided to continue on down the road that pointed to the Trail.

After several miles the sign for the Trail pointed over a bridge and up the mountain on a narrow one lane bumpy winding gravel road.  Ribbit was going off-roading again.    A funny sign at the far end of the bridge, then directions that pointed upwards for 7 more miles, climbing higher each switchback.  I drove until I was uncomfortable and ready to turn back.   After creeping through a dozen or more slippery areas, I found a turnaround and headed slowly back down.

Still early, we decided to drive along the river for a few miles.  Seeing a sign for a National Forest Campground, we followed the road next to the river for miles until it ended in a spooky mossy green forest.  I got out to take pictures and another car with an older woman drove up behind us.  She told me she loved this area, came out here to paint often and had seen deer, elk, black bear and cougars.  Hearing cougars, I bid her a nice day, got back into the car and took pictures inside the car from the open window on the drive back.