Good-bye Oregon – Hello California

"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."

The plan on Friday morning was to wait until the fog had lifted. Our trusty little weatherman had indicated from about 11:00 on all the fog would be cleared out and we’d see nothing but sunny skies after that.  Well, as you might have already figured, he’s not as trusty with his forecast as he thinks he is.

If you drove a Blue Rhino truck like this, you’d never have to worry about running out of propane for sure.

The coastal area between Port Orford and Brookings is supposed to be filled with Ohhhs and Ahhhs.  It’s supposed to be the highlight of the whole drive down the Oregon coast.  I can’t vouch for that because it was all fogged in.  I may have snapped a few pictures but it wasn’t for the beauty of the ocean. It was to demonstrate just how foggy it was and how much we really couldn’t see.  You remember Murphy’s Law, don’t you?  Well, I’m guessing Murphy was around someplace.  The drive was still gorgeous and we certainly enjoyed the leisurely pace.

We hoped by the time we cruised into Brookings that the fog would be gone.  The weatherman said it would be.  However, it was still hanging close to the coast. To top that off, traffic was horrendous.    It was obvious that the weekend was approaching and everyone inland was heading our way.  State Patrol cars were expecting a busy weekend too because they were everywhere.  

Thus ….. we changed our plans again.  We were only a few miles from the California border.  Surely we’d find a place after we crossed it in Smith River to stay.  So, we just kept on going.  Smith River came and went.  We found a couple places to stay but they weren’t places we wanted to stay.  Next stop, Crescent City and that’s where we ended the day.

Actually, it was another short day as we traveled a little under 140 miles.  We started late and ended early.  We could certainly get used to these short days. 

We pulled into another casino -- the Elk Valley Casino.  You can tell by the picture’ how many neighbors we have here on their designated RV lot.  Security comes by often to   check on us.  They’ll let RV’ers stay a couple days but we’re not sure what we’ll do.

We had an interesting glitch in our GPS when directing us to the casino.  We followed it’s instructions perfectly until it told us to take a left onto HWY 101.  Egads!  We were on an on-ramp and we could only go right!  Well, I suppose we could have crossed the divider because it was grassy.  However, the chance of getting stuck there was probably about 99%.

Next?  Well, a drive through the Redwoods is ahead of us even though we’ve been there, done that.  It’s been a while since we’ve taken the route down the Avenue of the Giants.  At least it’s different than the route we’ve normally taken south. That’s a good thing because it certainly won’t be boring.

We still don’t know where we’re heading.  When we first pulled out of Washington we were thinking we’d hang around northern California until after the holidays.  However, the temperatures aren’t necessarily where we want them to be.  We’ve been looking at several different areas including Las Vegas and even Disneyland.  Only time will tell for sure.

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My search for great clam chowder on the Oregon coast continued from the time I thought of it in Lincoln City and even after we crossed the border into California.  On the coast there’s a pretty good chance you can get chowder any day of the week and not just on Friday.

Not everyone has the same tastes buds I do. What I might like someone else might not.  Most of all, I like my chowder clammy and chunky. 

The worst chowder was at the Stockpot Restaurant in Coos Bay.   The top three favorites for chowder on this trip are:

1. Beach Town Deli – Lincoln City
2. FullHouse - Crescent City
3. Plank Restaurant -  North Bend

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‘Tis life on the road.