OREGON VACATION DAY 2

Day 2 started out on a very wet note--rainy and foggy. We were still a little tired from the day before and were not in a hurry to start down the coast. The picture of the lighthouse was taken around 12:00 and, as you can see, it looks like it was taken at night. The weather was this way most of the way along the coast. Fortunately, there were periods where the clouds and fog lifted a little and we did get some good pictures. The pictures of this lighthouse that we took while at the state park were fairly clear.

We also stopped at a national park that has the highest point on the Oregon coast. We started to the top and turned around because we were not sure we were in the right place. We stopped at the visitors center and visited their museum. I asked about the way to the highest point and was told that we had gone the correct way and if we had continued would have gotten to the top. After touring the museum, we went back to the highest point. However, the clouds and fog had moved in and you could barely see the coast line.

We continued our coastal tour heading towards Florence, Oregon. The weather was constantly changing along the coast. We arrived in Florence and drove down to the port area to tour the historic section of Florence. We had asked the ranger at the state park if there was a restaurant he would recommend and he said that the best in the area was the Bridgewater Restaurant in Florence.

We went to the restaurant and I ordered their fish and chips with a pint of their locally brewed dark ale. The fish and chips were the best I have had since we left England and the beer was also very good.

Linda ordered fried calamaris and chips and a locally brewed amber ale. Her calamaris were very good and the best we have had since we left Spain. Linda said that she should have taken a picture to send to Kim. The portions were large and the beer was cold and we managed to consume all without too much trouble.

After lunch, we took a walking tour of Florence. Just as in Newport, every building that had the space had some kind of Muriel on them. The artists that did them did an outstanding job and it added a lot to the looks of the town. The old section had a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, gift shops, galleries and other business relating to the fishing industry. The traffic wasn't too bad, but I sure would hate to be in the town during the major tourist season.

After touring the town, we headed inland to Eagle Crest which was about a 4 hour drive. The roads were narrow 2 lane roads and you could not travel very fast. The speed limit was 55 miles per hour the whole way with the exception of slowing for curves. The problem was all the curves and loops where the speed limit dropped to 25 t0 35 miles per hour. The road followed the rivers for a lot of the way and the view was fantastic. These roads were perfect for motorcycle trips.

We did pass one covered bridge which was still in use. I took a picture and thought about driving across it, but decided that it was not worth

We finally got to McKenzie pass road and took it. We got about 7 miles up the mountain road and it was blocked because of snow at higher elevations. We turned around and took another pass over the mountains. We did find snow on the grounds at higher elevations, but the roads were clear. I am not sure how high we were, but I do remember passing the 5000 feet elevation marker. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees when we got to the bottom of the Cascades.

We arrived at Eagle Crest a little after 8 PM and checked into our quarters. These are the best quarters we have stayed in. I can see why it is so hard to swap for these quarters. The resort has over 1800 hundred acres with four 18 hole golf courses; many tennis courts; soccer fields; swimming pools; sports complexes and miles of walking trails. So if the weather is bad, we can at least suffer in comfort.