Star gazing and Sea Lions

Wow, I have two weeks worth of things to catch up on. Let's see if I can make it the abbreviated version. I will start with this past weekend, since it is fresh on my mind. Drove to the coast Friday night to Bandon. Stayed in a cute little inn that overlooks the Coquille River flowing into the ocean and "Old Town Bandon". Walked down into this cute little Sea side town with tons of character and charm and started off Saturday with breakfast at the Minute Cafe. Walked around for a while and explored the many shops. Particularly enjoyed the hand-made candy and chocolate store...free samples, yum. Even the beer candy was good. That's right beer candy. Anyway, their specialty involves cranberries. For those trivia buffs, Bandon and the Oregon coast produce the majority of cranberries in the US. Ocean Spray has contracts with most of the farmers. So learned about the bogs and sampled berries. Also, visited an art gallery and finally did what I have been saying I was going to. I purchased some art painted by a local. And of course, I bought an ornament. For those of you that don't know it, I buy Christmas ornaments from every place that I visit. The only thing is, it has to be something representative of that area or something that I did. I hope to one day have a Christmas tree full of ornaments from all of my travels.

That afternoon, went to the West Coast Game Park Safari. There are free-roaming wildlife that you can pet and feed. In total there are 450 animals representing 75 species. A little stinky and tricky to walk around (watch where you step)....but fun and interesting. Drove along the coast and reached Face Rock. There are tons of off shore rocks and rocks near the shore with caves that you can explore. Absolutely beautiful!! After playing on the beach and taking a little siesta, headed back to the boat launch in Bandon for a little kayaking in the Coquille. Wasn't brave enough to head out into the ocean, but did make it far enough to see the lighthouse. Paddling was difficult with all the currents and totally made me exhausted. Luckily, had enough left in me to eat at the Wild Rose which had scrumptious, fresh seafood in a cozy atmosphere.

Sunday was rainy but ended being my favorite exploration. Kept driving up the coastline to a little town called Charleston. Visited Sunset State Park which had amazing views of the cliffs, seascapes, and crashing waves. A little farther up, at Simpson Reef and Shell Island, from the overlook you could see and hear endless numbers of Seals and Sea Lions. I have never seen anything like that. At the tip of the Cape, Cape Arago, was another great place to view the rocks and crashing waves. Spotted a humpback whale making its migration. Also visited Shore Acres State Park. I truly cannot describe this view...was what I call a "go God moment". Walked around the botanical gardens (formally a private estate in 1921) and marveled at the displays of floral and scenic beauty. Not wanting to get home late, started heading back. Just when I thought my adventure was over, spotted a sign for Elk viewing. Little did I know how much viewing there would be. The first field had about 8-9 elk just sitting there. Down the road, another field had about 20 or so. Overall, a great weekend!

So I won't bore you, I will make the rest short. I just have to mention the star gazing. Last week went with a large group of people to the top of Mt. Ashland to view the Perseid Meteor Shower. I don't think I have been closer to the sky nor had that view. The meteors sailed across and lit up the sky as their tails faded. One actually looked like it exploded. Everything was so clear up there. Also played in the park one day with a group of people. We were celebrating Julie's half birthday. It was complete with relay races and singing half of the birthday song...you would just have to be there. Went rafting again on the Rogue which was fun and visited an art festival in Shady Cove. Walked around Ashland and sat in the shade of the trees in Lithia park listening to Blue Grass music. Still having a blast and loving the West Coast. Whew...I think that is it, give or take a few details. Hope you are all doing great.