Brookings

Guess I'm starting at the end, rather than the beginning, of this day but I couldn't resist starting with this photo taken around 4pm on the beach near the Port of Brookings.

It's been a picture-perfect, chamber-of-commerce day on the southern coast of Oregon: warm, clear, sunny and impossibly seductive and beautiful. Come hither, it says, loud and clear and often. And I'd love to answer that call.

The possibilities of things to do in this area are damned near endless, for an outdoor sort such as I. Expansive beaches, tiny river inlets that cry out for exploration, the wild and wonderful Rogue River all of 30 miles away in Gold Beach, wetlands and river mouths to explore in a kayak -- and the scenery certainly can't be beat! The Oregon Coast Bike Trail follows the highway for the most part, but veered off onto tantalizing side roads from time to time that I simply itched to follow. Would love to get back into shape to ride that highway to my heart's content, and I don't think it would be all that hard to do. The California redwoods are no more than 30 miles to the south, so I could visit to my heart's content. What's not to like about this?

Driving down here I tried to figure out how long it's been since I've been in this area, and it has to be at least 8, maybe 9, years. It's a trip I made often when I first moved to Oregon -- driving to Napa, or just to the redwoods -- but it's been much, much too long.

I do remember very clearly the first day I drove up this coast. It was in May of 1996. I'd driven west from Atlanta at a very leisurely pace, stopping for a week at the Grand Canyon, a few days at Sequoia National Park, a week at Yosemite, stopped in Napa and nobody I wanted to see was in town, so I kept driving north up the coast highway. A day in the redwoods and then across into Oregon and jaw-dropping scenery that pulled me into its magic and hooked me forever. It wasn't a pretty day, weather wise. On the contrary, I drove all day in a wild wind and rain storm and wasn't phased by it in the least, other than the effort of keeping my car on the road because of the wind. I simply didn't care -- the coast was/is so beautiful, weather didn't matter. I thought then -- and agree now -- that this has to be one of the most beautiful stretches of highway that exists anywhere. Simply breathtaking between the California border and the town of Port Orford. Beyond that, the road travels inland much of the time up to Florence, but down here, you're right on the water, with all the surf and rocks and nature anyone could want.

Lets start this day at the beginning, more or less. I realized when I hit the little village of Mapleton, just inland from Florence on the Siuslaw river, just how much I really love coastal river estuaries. They sing to my soul, call me toward the peace and beauty that is so natural to them. It wasn't a new realization, merely one I tend to forget until the sight is before me. This photo is Florence, from the Old Town area.

If this is a trip for seeking, for soul-searching -- and it very much is that -- this was the first inkling that I was on the right track. Every inlet, every glimpse of the ocean afterwards simply built upon that inkling. By the time I reached Brookings the anticipation was incredibly high.

I stopped at a variety of towns with ports and river estuaries and thought I'd remember which was which, but I'm afraid that's not the case. I'm pretty sure this is Bandon, but I wouldn't swear to that. Bandon was about where the weather changed from showers to blue skies and warm weather. Well, warm by Oregon standards, anyway. According to my car, the outside temp here in Bandon was 49. The highest I saw it all day was 55, but it felt much warmer, even outside on the beach. The banana belt lived up to its reputation today. I do realize that might all change tomorrow.




I know this is Bandon -- I took a little scenic route from the port area and found this incredible beach. This was definitely the high rent district, and there was a 'for sale' sign on the road where I stood to take the photo. One of the beauties of Oregon is that every mile, every foot, every inch of beach along it's 350 or so miles that front the Pacific Ocean is public property. You can lay out a small fortune and buy a beachfront property such as this, but no amount of money will buy you that beach, or give you the right to control access to that beach. I don't remember which of several far-thinking governors brought that particular legislation to pass, but I'm forever grateful he did.

Not sure where this is. Gold Beach? It was after Bandon and before Brookings, and that doesn't leave many options. That would make this the Rogue River estuary.

I didn't take many photos of the inland side of the highway, seen in the background here. Rolling green hills dotted with sheep or cattle, cranberry bogs around Bandon, lots and lots of farming and living off nature in this part of the world.

And of course, fresh seafood everywhere, for sale right on the docks.



This is the Port of Brookings -- no doubt on this one. I'm really impressed with the overall charm of this little town, particularly with it's waterfront area. There's a lovely boardwalk area with shops and restaurants, a public fishing and crabbing dock, and the lovely beach in photo one above.

Many of the little towns I passed through weren't all that charming. Beautiful natural settings, absolutely, but without the personal, man-made charm of this town.

I could live here. Would like to live here. Now I just need to figure out how. I looked at one place to rent today and was ready to take it sight-unseen just because of the yard and view. Unfortunately, the inside was butt-ugly (think 1960s era Harvest Gold appliances, for starters). It was tiny, with almost no living space and no closet, but it had a shared laundry room with the house in front and I could have gotten creative and made the space livable. I think. There was a nice fenced yard with plenty of space for a garden, a large deck, a fab view of the waterfront/port area below, even an outdoor but glass-enclosed area that would have all kinds of possibilities, year round. So what, you ask, was the problem? Aside from the tiny, butt-ugly inside, I am not enamored of the shared utilities aspect of the place. I've lived in that kind of situation before, and one has absolutely no control over utility cost or usage. I don't use much, but if the other unit does, then I end up subsidizing their usage. I'm not fond of that. Plus, the total utility cost was incredibly high, almost totally offsetting the low price of the base rent. I'm still considering it -- possibly only as a place to land, short-term.

I also looked at a senior housing complex which might be doable. There is an apartment available, although it's at a higher rate than I'd like. The manager wasn't there, and I knew in advance she wouldn't be, but she invited me to go inside, check out the 2nd floor library and 3rd floor rec room, which I did. Both are lovely -- the rec room has an ocean view, large TV, lots of cushy seating, a big kitchen and a couple of exercise machines. I have filled out an application for this one and will drop it off tomorrow. This may be my best bet.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to drive down into California and see the little cabin in the redwoods, which sounds wonderfully romantic, but not overly practical. Still, I'll have a look at it and hug a redwood or two along the way. My heart is pulling me to the coast -- not sure I'd be happy for long in a lonely cabin, even if it is in the redwoods!

I think that's it for now, folks. It's been a long day and I'm crashing but totally happy. And to think -- when I woke up this morning I'd pretty much decided against the trip but an email conversation with a friend in Florida seemed to turn me around. I resisted because of money -- then realized I really needed to do this or I might regret it forever. And I would have done just that!