Osprey Point RV Resort in Lakeside, Oregon (second time)

We returned to Osprey Point RV Resort on Monday.  It was suppose to be a five-hour ride, but we took eight hours getting here.  Stopped a number of times along the way.  We were not in a hurry.  We stayed at this resort earlier this summer and I posted a lot of pictures about this scenic place at that time.  We are in the very same spot we were in earlier, with the canal behind us and the lake on another side of us.  It is a really a beautiful spot.

Got to tell you about our new Magellan Roadmate GPS designed with RVers in mind.  If you've never driven a 40 foot or longer RV while towing a van, you may not realize that we cannot make any mistakes in where we are heading.  We can't back up, make sharp U-turns, go down blind alleys where we can't get out, and must at all times know about the clearance of bridges and overheads before we get there.  That's where this particular GPS comes in handy.  Jerry loves it.  And, I love it, too, because now I don't have to navigate with my Maps app on my Android phone which does an excellent job of voice navigating us to where we want to go.  It's all up to Jerry now.  Another benefit, I don't have to remind him that I think he is going too fast because the new GPS does that for me.  He has it set to 5 miles over the speed limit.  So, every time he goes over 5 miles over the speed limit, it will beep and yell "Warning" and I can immediately feel him let up on the pedal.  Life is good!  Oh, and one other thing. We had to laugh at the way the GSP lady says certain words.  Oregon is "O'Reagan" and U. S. is "us."  That happened the first week we had it.  I guess someone told her how to pronounce correctly those words, because she now pronounces them right.

The weather again has been good if a little on the cool side.  Certainly, we are not complaining.  We've been watching on TV the destruction, power outages and damage incurring by Hurricane Irene this weekend.  Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this disaster.  Been talking to my sister, Lavern, everyday.  She lives in upper PA, which was right in the middle of the hurricane's path.  So far, she reports that there is lots of wind, changing directions constantly.  They are out of power, have just a bit of water in their basement, and their pond has risen.  She even saw the bear on the property run as fast as he could past the bird feeder that he usually spends time at and head for the woods.

On Wednesday, we drove into Winchester Bay (where we also stayed earlier this summer) to go back to Kitty's Place.  Remember, that is where we had the great blueberry and rhubarb pies.  I had another piece of blueberry pie and Jerry had the peanut butter cream pie.  Both delicious!

Since I posted pictures last time we were here of this place and of the pies, I'm not repeating them this time.  But, we were looking forward to the Blackberry Festival in Coos Bay this weekend so I could post pictures of it.  And, we went to it yesterday.  What a joke!  Of all the booths at the festival, only one lady was selling anything that involved blackberries.  She was selling a blackberry cobbler that she had obviously made.

After walking the festival area, we took in our first movie in years and saw "The Help."  I had read the book a couple of years earlier and like it.  We enjoyed the movie, and Jerry, especially, remembers what the south was like in the 60s as he was stationed in Meridian, Mississippi.  The movie takes place in Jackson, Mississippi.  Jerry has a story about that place when he was there in the 60s that I won't relate here.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday in Coos Bay.

Blackberry Festival in Coos Bay, Oregon

Coos Bay Boardwalk

Statute on Boardwalk

Close up of words on statute.

We are here until Thursday when we will drive down to Linda (Jerry's sister) and Jamie's place in Grants Pass, Oregon.  We will be spending the holiday weekend with them and looking forward to it.

Seaside, Oregon Week 2

No rain all week here, except for a few drops one night.  Spent some of the days seeing the sites.

Went to Cannon Beach, about 10 miles south, on Wednesday on the recommendation of our friend, Greg.  Glad we did.  This place was busy, busy, busy!  A tourist town, like Cambria, but cars all over the place.  We could live here, but, again, it is too windy.  We walked the beach and took the following pictures.

 People here at the beach need wind screens.  See all of the 

orange wind breakers behind the beach chairs.

Thought these metal statutes in a resort north of town are cute.

Young child running to her parents.  See the impressive rocks on this part of the Oregon Coast.

Close up of Haystock Rock on Cannon Beach beach.

We named this picture "Solitude."

Motorcycles in front of restaurant.  Did not see any franchises in this town.  

Cannon Beach is definitely a tourist place.

Then, yesterday, we went to the local Crown Victoria Car Show. 

Sign announcing the car show.

One of the cars painted T-Bird Blue.

Jerry took a VIDEO of the show.

Then, today we drove 20 miles north to Astoria, Oregon, for its Sunday Farmer's Market.  Astoria is right at the mouth of the Columbia River that runs all the way to Portland and beyond.  The State of Washington on the other side of the river.  

The town started this Farmer's Market in 2000 and it has expanded beyond the town's expectations.  There are lots of different kinds of food, live music, including jazz players, and activity.  We enjoyed our time in Astoria this afternoon.

A view of the Astoria Farmer's Market and the mouth of the Columbia River in the background.

A close up of the Farmer's Market.

Inside the Market.

A pretty young entrepreneur with a great name.

Oil tanker on the river.

Astoria, Oregon coastline.

Bridge over to the State of Washington.

Walkway and bridge.

We leave here tomorrow and have a five-hour drive back to the Osprey Point RV Resort, a place we were already at earlier this summer in Oregon.  We are heading south and gradually making our way back to California.

Seaside, Oregon

We've been here for the past week at the Seaside Leisure Time Resort here in Seaside, Oregon.  We are here as a Resorts of Distinction member.  But, after we leave here, we won't be able to come back as a Resorts of Distinction member because Thousand Trails and Resorts of Distinction have separated.  See, this is also a Thousand Trails park and will no longer be available to members of Resorts of Distinction.  Too bad, as this is a nice place.

Sign on entrance

Parked at Seaside

The weather has been in the high 60s, no rain, sometimes overcast in the morning.  We have yet to turn on our air conditioner.  

Been biking a lot.  Biked to the beach one day.  

Bike path ran parallel with the beach for 1.6 miles.

Lots of young people on the beach.

Chanti enjoyed the ride, too.

Lewis and Clark statute

Historic site where Lewis and Clark spent from January 2 to February 21, 1806, and made salt.

The plaque at this salt making site says that "The explorers found stone to build an oven, wood to burn, fresh water to drink, elk to hunt, and seawater to boil for having ... a good concentration of salt."

Picture on the plaque showing settler making salt in early 1800s.

This place has a large swimming pool, jacuzzi, and game rooms.  I've even taken in water aerobic again.  There was a fund raiser celebration here this weekend.  So, we attended two dessert auctions (got peanut butter fudge with nuts) and had a pulled pork dinner last night with the group.  The young man in front of us bought our tickets ($15) for us before we knew what he did.  It reminded us that we all need to do our share of "random acts of kindness" to make this a better world.

Jerry found a dentist here to help him with his cracked tooth.  He is now on antibiotics and he said his tooth feels better.  We both made appointments with our dentist back in San Luis Obispo, California, for September when we should be back in Pismo Beach, California for 5 days.  My super glue is still holding my front tooth in place for the last 2 1/2 months.  

Will be here another week.

Neskowin, Oregon Week 2

We are still here at the Neskowin Creek RV Resort.  

This is the entrance into the park.

Colorful fish in the parking lot in Neskowin

Took some time on Monday to walk six miles on the beach that is right next to the park.  

There are life saver rings located all along this stretch of the beach.

Jerry carrying the backpack full of food, drinks, and his camera.

Found a nice shaded wooden structure to sit under while we ate our lunch.

I love this shot.  Below is a picture of what this area looks like when the tide goes out.

Jerry ran on this beach a couple of times.  One day he came back and said that the beach looks totally different when the tide is out.  So, we went back on Friday to walk the beach again.  And, yes, the  scenery had changed.  

Shot taken at almost the same spot as the one above.

It also appears that there was at one time a forest here before the sea rose.  

Wooden stumps that show up when the tide goes out.

Moss on the rock

Interesting, huh?

Oregon sure has some interesting coastlines

On Saturday, we ran into Lincoln City again.  We couldn't believe all the cars on the road.  That city is crowded on the weekends.  But, with all due respects, it looked as if they were having some kind of kite festival.  Glad I brought my camera.

The day was overcast.  These are large kites.  See the small people on the ground.

More kites

And more kites

We are leaving here tomorrow and driving about an hour and a half up the coast to Seaside near the top of the Oregon coast.