It would be hard to find a State more different from Nevada than Oregon, and maybe that’s why Charlie and I love to vacation there.
We love our little home town of Mesquite, Nevada and enjoy the desert beauty and great weather for about nine months each year. However, June, July, and August are pretty brutal, and September isn’t a lot better. There is virtually no rain, accompanied by high temperatures in the 100-115 degree range. Lots of dirt, sand, cacti, Mesquite and Creosote bushes, Palo Verde trees, Roadrunners, and very few birds festoon the landscape. It gets windy, too.
Oregon, on the other hand, is moist and green. The coasts are cool and gorgeous, the mountains are lush with trees, bushes, and ivy, and the valleys seem capable of growing just about anything. Just about every rural highway in Oregon is lined with wild berry vines, and it is not uncommon to come upon a huge tractor-trailer hauling freshly-cut logs.
Lumbermen, fishermen, and farmers are the backbone of the Oregon economy. Levis, plaid shirts, and beards are features of the standard Oregon man. Women tend to be sturdy with long hair and little make-up. Pick-up trucks with trailer hitches and tattooed limbs are popular up here.
I’ve noticed that there are quite a few beat up travel trailers in marginal RV parks near here as well as guys living in crude tents down by the harbor shore. I’m guessing that the inhabitants are the hard-working but poorly-paid staff of the various commercial fishing boats that operate out of the Charleston harbor.
There are many seafood processing factories at the harbor, as well, with lots of crab pots, nets and floats, and packing crates piled high, along with enormous piles of oyster shells. If you like Dungeness crab, oysters, calamari, tuna, snapper, or cod, then Charleston is your kind of place. Our favorite restaurant here is a sports bar named Millers By The Cove.
The weather on the coast of Oregon averages a highs of 60-65 degrees mid-day and around 57 degrees overnight, which is good sleeping weather. Charlie and I both sleep like babies in Oregon as do the three dogs. We typically go to bed before 9:30 pm and wake up about 6:30 am. I should say that I wake up after the dogs start trampolining on me, anxious to go do their business and play fetch on the beach. Charlie ignores us and gets a few minutes of extra sleep.
Yesterday, I rode my bike over to the Charleston Boat Basin and toodled around there for about an hour looking at boats, seagulls, and the shipyard. I need to do more exercise like that each week to build up some muscle tone in my thighs. It sucks getting old.
Vinnie has been gradually learning how we do things up here. He’s getting better on leash, not acting the fool as we approach other dogs, and has stopped running off to greet other people and dogs while he is off-leash on the beach. He likes to play ball with Baby and BonBon on the beach and is super fast and agile. Vinnie has also become very comfortable with staying on our artificial grass “patio” area while off-leash: he has yet to wander off, even though there are lots of distractions like squirrels, dogs being walked, kids playing, etc. We’re quite proud of him for being so mature.
Vinnie has decided that the new carpeted dash cover that we bought in Yuma is an excellent place for him to park his ass when the humans are off running errands. He looks quite elegant up there, looking out the window and acting like a Big Shot. Another change in Vinnie: he’s been barking a lot less, which is a sign that he’s calming down and accepting the fact that he has some nice siblings and has found his forever home.
Charlie has done hardly any “work” on this year’s vacation, thank goodness. Instead, she has been reading… a lot. It is nice to see my wife relax, because she has worked hard for the past 60 years. She’s entitled.
Knock on wood: everything in the RV is working well and Charlie’s sprained foot is slowing getting better. We’re on somewhat of a diet, trying to lose 5 to 10 pounds each before we get to So Cal.
Tomorrow, we pack everything up and head south on U.S. 101 to Brookings. It is the southernmost city on the Pacific Coast of Oregon and one of our favorite places. Lots of things to do there, good places to eat, and typically better weather than in Coos Bay. We will be there in the At River’s Edge RV Resort for a month.
Update: Our short move to Brookings was not without incident. When we checked into At River’s Edge, the nice lady in the office couldn’t find our reservation. I said, “No problem, I will get my paperwork and show you that we’re reserved for a month.” I retrieved our copy of the reservation and, to my chagrin and embarrassment, we were due to check-in on August 3rd. The only problem was that it was July 29th!
How I had f’ed up this badly escapes me.
The folks in the office were wonderful. They said that this particular weekend (it was Friday) was very busy and they didn’t have much available. But, they worked the problem and came up with a 5-day solution: Boondock in their dirt parking lot for one night; then move to Space 203 for three nights; then move to Space 306. After that, we will move into Space 131 for a month.
So, we finished off moving day by going hook-up-less overnight. Not a big problem except that we had no TV and had to read, instead.
Just like the pioneers on the Oregon Trail!