Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Florence, OR - From Lumber Mill to Casino

We’re staying at the Mill Casino RV park. Nice park, very modern and, though many would call it a glorified parking lot, it has greenery between each site and they have planted trees - they just need a few more years. However, the most fascinating thing is that this used to be a huge lumber mill owned by Weyerhauser. The guy in the site in front of us told us that he used to sell security systems and one of his clients was this mill. What a change he says. There used to be freighers at the docks here loading and unloading lumber and trees. Now, there is just an RV park with a casino and hotel and a great view across the bay. Here’s a picture of the site when Weyerhauser was there and here is a recent picture of the RV park and casino.
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We can see where the ships tied up when they came in for lumber.
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It's chili and rainy today and we’re in a coffee shop drinking hot coffee and publishing my blog. Pretty cozy place with lots of locals reading the newspaper, chatting about a local wedding, a group of 6 playing cards, 60’s rock playing softly in the background, a fireplace pumping out heat on this cold, dreary. rainy day, raindrops covering the window and strangely enough - no one out on the patio. We found a spot at a counter facing the window overlooking the river. But - counters and stools? Huh, no place to lean back. Not my kind of sitting. Then 2 women left a small table and I moved to it. Gary stayed at the counter and moved closer to the table but, when a group of 4 left the other nearby table, we were all over it. Nothing like musical chairs in the coffee shop.

Now about that wedding, I know everything about it now: the dress color, the flower arrangements, the invitations, who is invited, what church it is at - everything except the name of the minister. We wish Jody and Evan the best and I hope they have a marriage like ours.

We found the local newspaper on the table and I was reading it as I was waiting for my blogs to publish. One of the lead stories was about a man who was injured on the beach yesterday. He, an elderly female family member and his daughter were sitting on the beach on a log, 40' and 25" in diameter. A big wave knocked them all off the log and, when he went to the rescue of the elderly woman, the receding water pushed the log back onto him severely injuring him. Now, we see signs all the time on the beaches around here warning us about the ocean.

        Don’t fight the current.

        Never turn your back on the ocean.

        Stay away from logs on the beach.

        Always know where you are in relation to the ocean

But who believes the signs? Not gonna happen to me. The water is so far out. And, that log looks so comfy facing the ocean. Let’s relax there. Oh, shucks, I hope he’s ok.

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