Home Again, Home Again

Max with his new love, the pirate wench Sabine
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11/22-As I was finishing the blog update in the historic Ashland Springs Hotel the smells from the kitchen began to really get good. I'd been told 300 people had made Thanksgiving reservations months ago but, if a person were to be hanging out at 3pm, space might be available at the bar. I was indeed hanging out, space was available and I had a classic turkey dinner with the trimmings. It was delicious and the staff was so friendly and gracious towards an unknown traveler. It will remain the highlight of my trip. After an appropriate amount of time to honor the bird I'd just devoured we continued north on I5 then caught 42 west to the coast somewhere around Coos Bay and bunked in for the night at one of the state parks.

Max with 3 feet of preserved beef goodness, Tillamook, OR
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11/23- Up before dawn we make our way north on the Coast highway, finishing off the dried apples and our five pound bag of beef jerky for breakfast. With the last morsel of dried beef comes the feeling that this trip is finally winding down. Somewhere along the Oregon Dunes the full moon dived blood-red into the Pacific Ocean in a way I'd never seen before. We stopped at Heceta Head Lighthouse and watch the sea lions fish and play in the waves for a couple of hours, meeting an artist and his manager from Florida and a couple of guys from Seattle with a railroad speeder (the little car in which they used to check the tracks)  heading for open track somewhere in SCal.  We stopped in Newport and hiked the bridge

As a Lawn Ornament, Sabine is a Stunner

Beachcombers at sunrise, Manzanita Beach, OR
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( gut-wrenchingly high and windy) then down to the aquarium where Max forgets all about the Lady of the Desert and falls hard for the busty pirate wench Sabine. What are you gonna do? I have to admit, as a lawn ornament, Sabine is a stunner. There might be trouble, however, as the pirate silently sitting  next to Sabine had us fixed in his squinty-eyed glare our whole visit. We got moving north at a fast pace with the plan to see the sunset at Cannon Beach, stopping at the Tillamook Smoke Shop for more beef jerky and at the entrance to the air museum to make some images of the cool jet fighter-on-a-stick. Pulling into Ecola State Park at sunset I make what turns out to be the last one of 4271 images. I met a guy From Boise, ID,a, a budding photographer, and we talked about familiar places. Cannon Beach is decorated for Christmas and as I walked around I knew I needed to be home. Six hours later, tired and road weary after 7000 miles, a lot of energy bars and beef jerky, sunrises and sunsets and wide-open skies, FYI,Izzard the Lizard, Ed the Alien , Max and I get to the business of making ourselves at home.

Sea lions waking up for the day, Heceta Head, OR
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I think a summary will do a wrap with this particular trip. Coming soon.

Dan the Driver