Friday 1st September
Into Seattle for the hop on hop off trolley tour. The tour started near the Space Needle and took us along the water front piers with the many shops and restaurants.
At lunch-time we stopped at the Crab Pot restaurant on the waterfront. As the name suggests the restaurant specializes in seafood and what a feast we had. We ordered a crab pot that consisted of Dungeness and Alaskan crab with mussels, clams, prawns, andouille sausage, corn and red potatoes all tipped into the middle of the table onto crease proof paper to pick at and enjoy.
Back on the bus we continued our tour around the city. This is Labor Day weekend and everywhere was busy with crowds of people all enjoying the warm sunshine and blue skies. Seattle is a town of headquarters, including Amazon, Microsoft, and of course Starbucks.
The first ever Starbucks.
Saturday 2nd September
Got on our way this morning heading west towards the Oregon coast, passing Olympia the state capital. This is the start of our journey along the Oregon coast to California and our destination San Francisco.
The Astoria-Megler Bridge across the mouth of the Columbia River bridge crossing the state line into Oregon.
Arrived at the north Oregon coastal town of Seaside, our campsite is Circle Creek RV Park - 32 dollars a night, no hook up. Everywhere is very busy because of the Labor Day weekend.
Went into Seaside town, about a mile north of the campsite. A 50’s style resort with a beautiful beach. We arrived in town at sunset, lots of people in town and on the beach.
There is a statue of Lewis and Clarke here commemorating their epic journey in 1804-1806 across northern America to find a route to the Pacific Ocean.
Sunday 3rd September
Five miles north is the beautiful beach town of Cannon Beach. It was so busy we couldn’t find a parking space and therefore, continued on a mile or so to Tolovana Beach. Sandy had a great run on the beach and dip in the very chilly Ocean.
Cannon Beach is classic Oregan coast with beautiful beaches, rolling surf, dramatic rock formations and stunning viewpoints .
Haystack Rock in the background.
Back into Cannon Beach this evening to see the sunset and have a look around the town.
Dinner at The Irish table. Dungeness crab for starter, steak and colcannon for entrée – delish.
Monday 4th September
Ninette and I got on the road early this morning and went into Cannon Beach before all the parking spaces got taken. We had a lovely morning looking around this picturesque little town with its beaches to die for on one side and pine forested hills at the back. Art galleries and unique boutique shops abound.
At mid-day we got back on the 101 to continue our journey south.
Scenic views of the Oregon coastline near Manzanita.
Arrived at the Waldport/Newport KOA RV Park in central Oregon.
Went to the Salty Dawg Bar & Grill in town for dinner. This is a locals bar serving hearty meals, like clam chowder inside a sourdough loaf.
Tuesday 5th September
Set off east this morning for a picturesque drive through the Siuslaw Forest to Junction City on Highway 99. Here is Guaranty RV Supercenter. Simon and Ninette are thinking about the purchase of an RV, Erik, our salesman, showed us around their extensive range of RV’s for sale. We had a test drive in a Newmar 3124 which came up as the favourite model. No decision made yet but a lot to think about.
On our way back, we stopped off at the small beach town of Yachats for dinner at Ona Restaurant and Bar. We sat out on their patio where the heaters were on to keep off the nights chill.
Wednesday 6th September
There are several forest fires burning in Oregon causing smoke haze and mixed with the morning sea mist it led to a pretty foggy travel day. The journey continued along the Oregon Coastal Highway 101. As we hugged the coast we soon came to Cape Perpetua Scenic Area where we stopped to have breakfast and take a few photographs. The mist was rolling in and out of the trees and across the rocks. The sea was grey and frothy, with high white rollers rushing to shore.
Breakfast
For lunch we stopped off at the small town of Bandon with it’s quaint clapboard buildings and boutique shops. After a walk around the town and a little retail therapy we stopped at Tony’s Crab Shack and ordered hot prawn and crab sandwiches.
After collecting our packed lunch from Tony’s we went a couple of miles north out of town to the Devils Kitchen State Park, a small park overlooking the beach, the sea was lost in the mist.
After our delicious picnic lunch, we walked through the sand dunes onto the beach and ventured out into the mist to dip our toes in the very chilly sea.
The sand was warm, soft and comfortable as we sat and relaxed. The last time we were in Bandon was June 2015, then the sky was brilliant blue, the sun was shining and the wind was blowing, a total contrast to today.
The dog had lots of fun fetching sticks.
Back on the road and an hour later we got to our destination, Gold Beach and the Oceanside RV Park.
Thursday 7th September
Today we went along the Rogue River in a jet boat with Jerry’s Rogue Jets
It was another misty morning as we set off along the Rogue River with our skipper Geoff.
Our hope was that the weather would clear a little as we moved inland. We were wrong, there was torrential rain, thunder and lightning. Arriving at Cougar Lane Lodge, absolutely drenched and looking forward to a hot drink, we were soon disappointed, The lightening had taken the power out!
Back to the boat, still drenched but at least it had stopped raining but it wasn’t long before another deluge was dropped on us.
Anyway, we still managed to laugh and the rain did eventually stop. We enjoyed the scenery, wildlife, fishermen (and women) landing large salmon, running the rapids and the boat captains occasional 360 spin of the boat.
However, the highlight of the trip was seeing a black bear. He followed us along the river bank for some time. It was certainly the longest sighting of a bear we had experienced.
Back at Cougar Lane Lodge for lunch and the lights were back on.
At the end our trip we were relieved to arrive back at camp for a hot shower and change of clothes. The round trip up the river was 104 miles long and it felt like we had been on Oregon’s authentic version of Wet n Wild.
Friday 8th September
Our Journey south today continued into California. We gradually left the smoke haze and mist behind and the sun came out.
Northern California is Redwood country and as soon as we had set up camp at the Benbow KOA RV Park, we headed out to explore the Avenue of the Giants.
This is a magnificent 31 mile drive lined with these giants of the tree world. The Avenue is surrounded by Humboldt State Park which has the largest remaining stand of virgin redwoods in the world. It was like entering a prehistoric world amongst these ancient old growth trees. The quietness and the smell of pine in the air was intoxicating.
The Avenue followed the route of the South Fork Old River and has a few small towns along the way. We stopped off at Myers Flat to visit the Drive-Thru Tree, the Shrine of the Redwoods. The tree has been owned by a local family since the 1950’s and the natural opening in the tree was caused by fire centuries ago. We had no trouble getting through with the Celica but the people behind had a pick up. It was touch and go but amazingly he managed to get through without any scratches or getting stuck.
Back to the RV Park for a dip in the pool and a soak in the hot tub.
For dinner, we took the short walk from the park across to the Benbow Inn. An impressive looking place built in the 1920’s and to my mind rather like an Austrian hunting lodge. The decoration was sumptuous with some nice old pieces. We sat out on a large patio and was entertained by a duo singing some nice mellow music.
Saturday 9th September
We had breakfast and said goodbye to the Benbow Inn and RV Park.
It was sunny and 25c as we travelled south to our destination, Petaluma, 38 miles north of San Francisco. Down the 101, forests soon gave way to rolling golden hills and vineyards.
Arriving at Petaluma RV Park we met up with Peter and Suzan. Here we set up camp for nearly three weeks. Simon and Ninette will be here looking after the RV’s and the two dogs, Sandy and Trey whilst Peter, Suzy and ourselves fly off to Hawaii for two weeks - so excited !!
We soon found our way to a favourite local brewery, Lagunitas Brewing Company.
Monday 11th September
Up early to catch the Sonona Airport Express to San Francisco Airport. Simon took us to Petaluma Fairgrounds where we picked up our transport. The coach was busy but the roads were even busier. Road work was causing some problems but for 5.30 in the morning it was amazingly busy.
We arrived in plenty of time for our five hour flight to Honolulu. At Honolulu we caught a flight with Island Air for the 45 minute journey to Kona on the west coast of Big Island, the name commonly used for the island of Hawaii, which gives its name to the chain of islands collectively known as Hawaii.
We had had good views of the other islands on our approach to Kona and the weather was warm and sunny on arrival.
