This trip was meant to be a surprise trip. But with the way my mind works, I'm in the habit of chipping away the suspense built around a surprise. Too much of a planner, or rather a spoiler at times. I "eavesdropped" on one of M's phone conversations with a friend of his and had an idea of where we might be going this weekend.Submitted my PTO form on Friday, and left the office around 2pmish and joined M on a "surprise" trip. We used an airticket coupon from the Alaska trip that we cancelled and redeemed the other ticket with 20,000 miles.
An old and small airplane crammed everyone in. The windows had no shutters. The sun was shining brightly on the tarmac. One of the flight attendants was very bubbly and trying to be funny with the annoucements that she was making. It was a fast ride - 50 minutes later - we landed in Eugene.
Picked up a car at Avis, then off we were on the road. HW126 took us through a string of small towns, marshes and valleys. The road stretches out in front of us like a green tunnel once the road started traversing hillsides. As we were soaking in the tranquil and pristine scenes, suddently yet nonchanantly, a big black fluffy ball leaped out of the woods from the right side of the road, it took us a couple seconds to realize that it was a BEAR! We almost hit that guy! Yet, he strolled across the road without a glimpse of the excitement that we had over spotting him crossing the road. This is the first time I saw a bear in the wild.
We stopped at Florence, a city founded in 1893, to stretch our legs. Strolled around the Old Town area, which is lined with boutiques and eateries, then stopped at a little pocket garden where we had a good view of the 1936 Siuslaw Bridge, which is one of the city's landmark structures. Bridges from that era seem to be more soulful, unlike modern day viaducts - souless structures built with steel and concrete. What a drag compared to these older bridges! They shine through times with form, color, and grace.
Then, we turned South soon after Florence and drove on 101 through Reedsport, North Bend, Coosbay, Charleston and finally pulled into Bandon around 8pm. It was still bright outside. A big arch that says "Welcome to Bandon Old Town" was beaming under sunset clouds. Then, M's faced grimaced, "Shit, the cop is after us." Describing the rest of the encounter with this old police patrol guy annoys me. Basically, we were given a speeding ticket for driving at 49mph in 30mph zone. An outrageous fine of $140!!! We forgot that we were in Oregon, a state famous for giving our speeding tickets. And it took him 20 mintues to write up a ticket - that's the worst part! Maybe the blackbear was a sign - he was trying to warn us of these predatory cops waiting to prey on out-of-towners!
We found our hotel and checked in. The room is situated on a bluff directly facing the roaring ocean and an expansive beach. WOW. We are in Bandon, a small seaside town on the southside of the mouth of Coquille River. Population 3000.
That dreadful episode with the mean cop augmented our hunger. Got a couple of recommendations from the hotel guy for where to eat. Decided on Lord Bennett Grille & Louge, which has windows facing the ocean side. Unfortunately, they stopped serving food at 9pm. Drooling over a dessert cart, we ordered a Marionberry Pie and a Flan. Still hungry. Then, we went to El Jalapeno, a Mexican joint and picked up a Burrito and a Quesadilla.
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(6/30/07, Saturday)
The sandy beach, the whispering waves, the morning breeze and the blue sky lured us our of bed early. We headed down a path to the beach. Facing the ocean, I could smell Freedom in the air. The beach streches miles and miles in both directions. The urge to run, chase, dance and embrace is so real and natural. There were only a few people and a few happy dogs on the beach. Looking closely, there are also colorful seastars, sea anemone and other marine creatures and plants clinging onto rocks and hidden in the sand. There are different rocks, big and small, scattered near the beach. We walked around seastacks and rocks exploring marine life and admired these rocks with names like "Fish Rock," "Face Rock," "Elephant Rock," and "Cat Rock." The "Fish Rock" has big crevasses/holes that you can walk through from one end to another.
Stopped at Bandon's Visitor Center. Tried every sample of what Cranberry Sweets shop offered - at least 20 different kinds of mostly cranberry-based sweets. And it is the best place to try cranberry sweets, because Bandon is the capital of cranberry producton in Oregon. Then, we stopped at Brewed Awakening, a cafe, and had two English muffin sandwiches. Now we were ready to explore this area.
Stopped at an Animal Shelter tucked away next to a gravel road on the slope of a hill. Dogs were barking and whining. M suggested we take a dog for a quick walk. There wasn't really a trail, but we improvised and walked one of the dogs for about 10 minutes. She was in heaven compared to those dogs in cages.
Coos Bay (Art Museum [Profontaine's Room], Coos Bay Boardwalk)>> Shore Acres Park >> Laos-Thai Restaurant in Charleston >> South Slough (loop hike) >> Bandon
We had the best Pak Kee Meu in a small Laos-Thai Restaurant. It reminded me of Xinjiang Banmian!
******************7/1/07, Sunday
We walked on the beach and explored tide pools again in the following morning. Checked out of the hotel at 11am. Stuffed our stomach with a yummy shrimp and seafood sandwich at Tony's Crab Shack in Bandon's Old Town next to a fishing pier, then we poked our heads into crabbers and fishing enthusiasts' buckets to admire their catch, big or small, and watched how a few seagulls were fiercely fighting over a piece of fish...
We hit the road again. Stopped at North Bend's Visitors Center. Our first stop was Umpqua National Park, where the West Coast's tallest sand dunes are. ATVs and dune buggies are zooming around like swarms of loud flies - the noise can be heard from far away. Too short on time, we'd have to leave this for the next trip.
Next to the sand dunes, there is a lake, Maria Lake. We did a hike around the lake. Amazing in such a small stretch of land, there is ocean, beach, sand dunes, forests, lakes, rivers, all within the vicinity of each other. Currently, the sand dunes have been contained by beachgrass introduced from Europe from long ago and plants are growing on the edges of sand dunes. They have stopped moving eastward inland. Quite a combo of terrain and contrast!
We drove back to Eugene on Route 38, another scenic road, and stopped at a Butterfly Pavilion near Elkton. Monarch butterflies pass through here on their way to Canada or Mexico. This little place near a valley helps educate people on butterfly and preserve their hatching environment. The Pavilion has a beautiful garden attached to it. These butterflies must be very happy to go through their metamorphosis in such a beautiful and friendly environment.The rest of drive to Eugene was no fuss. We drove into the city to get a quick look at this college town. Green, clean and quiet - school is off now. Had dinner at Wings, a restaurant at the airport. Our weekend trip came to an end when the airplane landed in Seattle, our home city surrounded by mountains and bodies of water. Looking down at Seattle from the airplane windows always reminds me what a beautiful part of the world we live in, with majestic and pristine nature at our doorsteps.
