Thursday, April 24, 2014

Newport, OR - On The Road

Time to move on. We’ve been doing a lot of this this spring., recently we’ve had stays of 3 days, 4 days, 4 days, 4 days, 3 days. Just when we get comfortable, it’s time to move to another place further north. Sometimes I don’t even get the inside of the RV clear of all the little things we do when we move. For example, if we’re going to stay only 3 days, why put away all the child locks we put on our cabinets when we move? Unhook them and just leave them hanging on a door knob. Why turn the passenger and navigator chairs up front? Just leave them facing front. But that makes the inside look so impermanent and certainly not homey

I’ve learned during this spurt of traveling from California up to the middle of Oregon that I like to stay in one place longer than 3 or 4 days. I don’t have so much ‘hitch itch’ that I want to be constantly on the move. I like to stay a bit. Or at least, vary the times. Actually, we’ve just been going through a spurt of short stays. From now on, it’s 7 days, 3 days, 7 days, etc. We’ve even got one section where we stay 14 days. Whoo-eee. I’ve got it varied. And, our next stay is 7 days in Newport, OR. So we’d better get going.

Did it rain this morning when we wanted to unhook the utilities, hitch up the Jeep and get on down the road? Is this Oregon? Is this April? Here’s how our time went.

        Light rain and then it stopped
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        Gary rushed out to unhook our electricity and water - we didn’t have a sewer here

        Steady downpour

        light rain and then it stopped

        we rushed out to hook up the Jeep

        steady down pour

        light rain and we were on our way

We want to see a few things along the way and our first stop was at Heceta Lighthouse. We parked the RV, unhooked the Jeep and drove back about 1/4 mile to the overlook on the ocean side of the road where you can get a great view of the lighthouse looking back down the coast. If you’ve ever seen a picture of Heceta Lighthouse, this is probably where it was taken.
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While we were there, another RV drove up on the road, stopped right before a blind right hand curve on the road where the overlook was and turned off his motor. On hwy 101, on a blind curve, with cars in back of him. Nothing happened. Finally, about 2 minutes later a young man got out and strolled around the blind curve to check ahead. Meanwhile the driver had opened his window and was asking about the tunnel on the other side of the curve.

Yes there was a tunnel and we assured him that he could get through and he drove on. Holy Toledo, what was he thinking!!

We drove back, hooked up the Jeep and then walked up the sidewalk to the lighthouse for the tour.
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On the way, we met a family of 5 coming down who told us that a group of school kids had just gotten there and it would be a 1 hour wait before we could get in. Hmm. There are lots of lighthouses, why not skip this one? And we walked back to the RV with them. Funny, they were from Edmonton and were in the rental RV parked next to us in the parking lot. They are taking an 8 day whirl though Alberta, Washington and Oregon and are on their way back. The kids love traveling in an RV. This family is doing it right, trying out an RV before they might buy one. It’s cheaper than motels and restaurants for a family to travel and so much more comfy. Great family time in an RV and the state parks.

To get to the lighthouse we had to pass under this bridge, another Conde McCullough bridge and what a piece of engineering and beauty it is. They are in the process of repairing it. And, check out the sign below. What kind of debris? A wrench? A bridge strut?
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We stopped at Cape Perpetua where there is a great ocean viewing Visitor Center with lots of displays about the life in this area. I especially like the display of the different kinds of flora growing in this area.
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We met with and talked to the volunteers who were manning this VC. It’s amazing how many RV volunteers there are: in State Parks, National Parks, Historical Centers, museums, etc. We met a couple today who clean cabins 4 days a week in a campground near the Tetons. Tough job they say and they and the owners take great pride in the cleanliness of the cabins but they get paid for their time and - get a full hook-up campsite. Can’t beat that deal. And, they get 3 days a week to explore the Tetons and Yellowstone and other sites in that area - for the whole summer. Imagine that - they get paid for this. And, that’s what most of the RV volunteers think - We get paid for this?

They learn about their park or museum or historical site and can tell you where the best spot to watch the whales is, how long that trail is, where the tide pools are, who lived in this lighthouse, they do maintenance work, they man the interpretive centers, they man the gift shops, they do it all. For some it supplements their RV lifestyle, for some it is their passion, for some it is a chance to meet lots of people for some it is a chance to see another place in our country. Whatever the motive, they do great work, help keep our parks and memorials open and make it more fun for us visitors. These people are unsung and unknown most of the time - imagine what tourist sights would be like without them.

We always ask volunteers if they are RV’ers and 9 times out of 10 they are. And that starts a discussion of RV’ing. Where have you been, where are you going, where have you stayed? As a full-timer, we now feel like part of the clan. When we had our home and went back to it in the summer, we really didn’t. We read recently that there are 1.5 million full-timers in the US. But how are they counted? Do we all raise our hands? It’s not as if there is a place to register for this so we can be counted. It’s not a question on the census. (Interestingly, I think Gary and I are the only 2 in our graduating class who are full-time RV’ers. We have out 50th HS reunion this September and have been getting some info on our class recently.)

We just found out that two of our best friends are going to go full-time this summer. In the past they would swear up and down that they are not going to do this, that they like having a place to return to, that they want their piece of terra firma. But, guess what? Times and thoughts change and they have decided to go full-time. They are right in the throes of getting the house ready to sell, asking their kids what they want, having a yard sale, cleaning out the rest and putting the house on the market. Just what we did last summer. Good luck, Shirley and Jerry.

We arrived at our campground in Newport, right on the port, next to the marina and under this amazing bridge by Conde McCullough. More about him later.
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We checked in and met our camp ‘host’ Clay who has been the camp host here for 8 years. He told us that he would like to stop by later with his ‘welcome.’ Sure enough he stopped by our RV about 1/2 hour later with his ‘welcome’ which was a wealth of information about what to see in this area. Now, it was not just the tourist sites like the Ripley Believe-It-or-Not but it was lots of little places and things that are the nitty gritty of Newport. He told us where to find the shrimp conveyor belt, where and when the octopus feeding was, where the oyster farm was, where to get the best views, where to find pieces of a dock that floated in from Japan after the tsunami, about the tour of the Rogue Brewery which is right on the Port too. I took lots of notes while he was talking. Now I just need to plan it all.

We took our walk in the evening and met guy who volunteers at the Hatfield Marine Science Center right across the port facilities. He invited us to visit and watch his octopus feeding. Gotta do that - be rude if we didn’t but it would be so exciting.

To end our walk we went out onto the pier which extends about 200’ into the bay. Here we found a father and son combo - from Brainard Minnesota of all places, all dressed in rain gear and warm clothes crabbing off the pier itself. They had their $20 licenses, an official measuring tool (the crabs must be males 6” wide at the widest), 3 crab pots and a bucket on the dock with 2 dungeness crabs in their bucket. We saw them haul in several pots with crabs in them but one pot was especially active. They were using uncaged raw chicken in that one. The other two pots had a little cage where they put the chicken. Here’s the son has just pulled in one of the traps and the crabs are crawling all over.
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Oops, looks like these little ones got away. They will go back into the ocean, they are too small to catch.
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Here is the son measuring the crab - it has to be 6” and a male to keep.
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Looks like they were going to have a great meal.

And, then we asked them where they were from - Minnesota. It costs only $20 or so to get a license to crab and they figured that was lots less than the cost of a crab dinner in the restaurant. Plus - it was so much fun.

Hmmm, it’s 9:00 and time for some quiet time - and plan tomorrow’s schedule.

2 comments:

  1. I'm enjoying your trip up the OR coast. We will come down it in September.

    Those short stays are hard after a while. I love staying at least at week somewhere, but sometimes you just can't help needing to move on!

    Metamorphosis Lisa

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  2. Hi, Thanks for your comment.
    Yes, I agree, when we move, I don't mind begin on the road. But, when we stop someplace we are so busy exploring that we forget to rest an relax. Then, out time is up there and we move again, only to spend time exploring again. We need to stop sometimes.

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