Bromptoneering or bust

… the freeway back from the Hecta Head Lighthouse towards Florence (okay I know odd sounding name for a town – which is why wee passed through. Apologies to those people who actually knows anyone who lives there), I was driving the car and at the time there were no-other cars on the road and it was about dusk…. we saw a black bear!

I am not joking. The Bear in question wandered out into the middle of the road, I slowed down, he turned and saw the car shook his head and turned away and ran off into the trees. We were about 200-300 feet infront of him. Unfortunately Kym didn’t get the camera out in time.

Upon speaking to a few people who live in America (we’ve only asked a couple so the sample size is small), this is apparently quite rare.

Why does everything happen when I am driving??!!!#$

Who would have thought that in, what appears to be a nowhere place, Eugene in middle Oregon that there would be no hotel rooms available!!! But that is exactly what we faced at 9:30pm after a long and difficult drive.

GO DUCKS.

But like the power of past they are chokers.

We stayed in Albany instead.

Kym

Oregon

Brookings Bay Harbour to Albany (all in one day mind you!)

Pelican Bay Lighthouse

Some one actually built a lighthouse into their house. It is located in Brookings Bay Harbour which is where people go on holiday and you can actually stay there. However, we did not given it costs $160US!!!

Cape Blanco Lighthouse

6 miles off Highway 101, in Bullards Beach State Park. Cost was $4US each. For this we received an explaination of how it came to be in the current location, the modifications made (the wind kept coming in the door so they moved it but it faced North and the wind effect was worse- it still came in the door – so they added on a little foyer structure!!)> We even were able to walk up and see the lense.

Coquille River Lighthouse

Sad lighthouse that doesn’t have a light. They are trying to raise money for it to be restored. Currently is an interpretive centre about the history of the lighthouse. It was decomissioned in 1939, following improvements to the river channel and other navigational aids. Strangely enough this was about the time when the lense went missing.

Umpqua River Lighthouse

We just made the last tour of the day for this one – which was lucky as we were stopped on the freeway fro at least 20 minutes due to a car fire – no not ours! You should of seen the gift shop – it was jam packed with lighthouse models from all round the world, not to mention practially anything that has a lighthouse featured on it. The one that stands presently is the second one – as the first was built on sand and went into the ocean in 1861. The tour was great, even got to look inside the lens – as it has both white and red illuminated flashes. Bargain tour for $2US each!

More information on Oregon Lighthouses can be found on Wikipedia

It doesn’t look like there are canvas tote bags. I doubt HMK will go for the plastic bag. This library had an interesting display of books that conservatives in the US would like banned. I need to find her… Oh look she just found me.

Please help I am being tortured by the driver (Helen). She is stopping at every small library in Oregon (or so it seems). I am standing at the express terminal of the Coos Bay public library.

We followed signs to “downtown” only to find that we drove through it without noticing. Everything here is on the 101!

Off to find lunch (and Helen).

Kym

p.s. Hopefully this place does not sell library bags. She bought a t-shirt at the last library.

We crossed the California/Oregon state border last night and stayed at Brookings Harbor, a working fishing port. But it looks like it is starting to have a tourist boom especially at the opening of the Salmon season. Lots of tinnies out on the pacific! (Well some of them are bigger!)

Some observations for those of you in election mode. There are NO election posters on the US equivalent of stobie poles, they all seem to be in windows or on poles in the ground on private property. There are, thankfully, no photographs of the candidates and they seem to be electing everything and every proposition at once.

Oregon is good because there appears to be very little in the way of sales tax, unlike California. We were charged 79cents tax last night on the accomodation, but nothing on the food and postcards.

We’re on the 101 now, along the Oregon coast. It starts out foggy but that tends to burn off.

I was hoping to upload some photos of the lighthouses we have seen, but these “Gates Foundation” computers have frustrated me again, it won’t install because I don’t have privelges – I was hoping that the computer would treat my camera like a memory key, but it is trying to treate it like a camera – surprise! Oh well, you may all have to wait until we get to the Bowmanville Internet Cafe for pictures.

Hope spring is good for you guys.

Kym

Fort Bragg was interesting. Not alot was open at 9pm.

There was a coffee shop – which was not Starbucks and was packed! After having a Mocha each we wandered around the downtown… and of course there was a library! Thankfully this opened at 10am.

Okay, so it wasn’t a new slick looking library. Collections seem well located. There was even a separate children’s area – pretty good too! The staff were friendly, helpful and chatty. All the qualities you like of your local library staff – given it is a small library. They were due for an upgrade in their computers in the next week (11-15 October) – which they need!

Check out their website http://www.fortbragglibrary.org/

We left the library (after purchasing a library bag), and 20 minutes later I discovered we left our camera card at the library.. back we drove and it was still there. Ah… I just love country towns.

Well, heres the rub, in Fort Bragg we have access to computers with an accesible USB port and we have the Cable…. But what’s this a computer still runing Windows NT 4.0? And it is donated by Bill and Melinda, I think I need to e-mail. THem so, sorry, but you folks will need to wait a bit longer.

Deer = 10 . While we were on the way back from Manchester Beach (where the San Andreas fault line goes into the sea) we came across another 5 deer. Okay I was driving again… but I went a lot slower this time, and let one of them cross the road.

Sea Lions = lots! There are so many on the piers on the coast I’ve lost count. Here is a picture of a few sea lions… they were really loud!

I have to say that it was one of my all-time holiday highlights, up there with the Eiffel Tower, is catching a Cable Car and being the standing passenger at the front. Keep that head in or the passing Cable Car will knock it off. The free Cable Car museum was wonderful. A close second is the F line with it’s old Chicago, Philadelphi, St Louis, Baltimore and Milan streetcars! I had to buy a Calendar to support their on-going efforts.

We’ve been on the road for 2 days up the North Coast of California on Highway 1, the road less travelled, quite towns, more sea lions and lighthouses. Crossed the San Andreas fault as it “plunged into the sea”. We were in SF as the Parkfield earthquake struck but felt nothing.

We stayed in Bodega Bay, a beautiful secluded bay with a working fish industry and then used one of our Coupons for an el-cheapo in Fort Bragg. We have 2 more nights on the road.

We’re at the Fort Bragg public library I am on Navarro and Helen is on Albion – both computers were donated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation… Using old Windows 2000! I thought they would have at least XP! Such is life eh?

Kym