Days 23-24-25-26

---

October 8, 2009

When our oldest son Billy was about 5 years old he was given a new soccer ball which he loved. One afternoon we drove to Castle Island to walk around and get an ice cream. When we got there we warned him not to play with the ball near the water. Of course he kicked the ball and it went right off the path into the deep end, impossible to retrieve! He was bereft. Even today if you ask him about the incident, he still gets that sick feeling inside...so that's how I felt( and still feel) on Monday evening when I started to write the blog and my computer crashed. I was appalled! I kept pushing buttons, turning it on and off, unable to comprehend what was wrong. When I finally spoke with the technician, he had me do a few things and then pronounced the hard drive DEAD...GONE...EXPIRED! I felt as if a friend had died!!! I'd only had the lap top for a few months and I was finally getting to know my way around it...and BAM...dead. Then the representative told me "no problem...as soon as you get home you could..." what!!! That won't due. Eventually I found a very nice gentleman who was quite responsive and sent a new hard drive to a designated hotel in Eureka and EUREKA... The Blog is Back! I'm still not quite over the event...(on the very same day I left my favorite pillow in our hotel room, but I wan't go into that!!). I don't have things set up the way I prefer and I can't do that without the afore mentioned Billy but The Blog must Go On!!!! I'll try to quickly catch up!
When last we spoke we had left the beautiful River Inn in Washington and traveled down the cost of Oregon. On the way we stopped in a little village restaurant that the inn keeper had recommended for breakfast...The Quinault Mercantile. It was quaint...order at the window, sit down and eat among the hardware supplies and the groceries. Great food. The owner told us about a loop through a forest that was not to be missed so we went and what we saw was unreal. It was a rain forest with gigantic redwoods, dark and damp, and cool. At some spots the canopy allowed some sun to filtered in ...just amazing! Travelling on we found the coast of Oregon, unexpectedly, magnificent. While up on a bluff taking pictures, we saw a little town below...Manzanita. We found the town and stayed at a motel (Sunset Surf) just yards from the ocean...unbelievable! It was a wonderful little place...we walked to a pub for dinner...but the ocean views were just breathtaking. I was somewhat distracted (because of the computer) but the spot was amazing!
The next day we left this paradise and continued south. Again I can't adequately describe the coast road...I hope everyone I know someday gets to see it. We stopped in DePoe (a bit like Nantasket Beach) for lunch then moved on trying to find a place as beautiful as our night on the ocean. After several stops, we checked into the Driftwood Shores Hotel in Florence. If Manzanita was beautiful, this place rivaled it! Again we were directly on the ocean but it somehow seemed wilder and more primitive. The roar of the waves was constant. We loved it so much we decided to stay for 2 nights! At any given time, you could observe Donna (Wee Willie Winkie) at her spot on the deck with her binoculars, searching for any sign of sea life, preferably a whale! All we ever saw was a constant stream of the boldest sea gulls on earth who would come right up to your door and wait there for you to serve them a meal. Donna was less than fond of them, and at night when she wanted to keep her door open for the fresh air, she'd have John palce a makeshift baricade in the door...it seemed a bit extreme but...everyone knows that seagulls are viscious...some of you may recall Jonathan Livingston Seagull...that bad boy!
Which brings us to today, October 8th. We left our hotel somewhat early because we had to be in Eureka to get the new hard drive. Again coming down the coast of Oregon was unbelievably beautiful. We entered California and at the state border there were officials stopping to check about whether you were bringing any fruits or vegetables into their state...are they kidding!!! It would seem to me that an odd head of lettuce or an apple is the least of their worries!! How about if they consentrate on mud slides, forest fires, earthquakes....but no..."DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT HAVE A RADISH IN YOUR VEHICLE?" Some things I just don't get! But we've landed in California safely, we have the new hard drive, I bought a new pillow and we successfully smuggled in an orange...life is good!
Today's Road Lesson: All that spout, are not whales.

---