Breezing through Florence (Day 8)

We left California today, driving north on 101, the highway that runs all along the coast of Oregon. It was a breathtaking drive. I decided to get behind the wheel today because I don't get dizzy on the winding roads if I am driving. That, and I thought Will might like to be the passenger for once, allowing him to look out the window all he wants. The views of the ocean, often from high up on the edge of the Cascade mountains, was beautiful. A lot of the first part of our trip really did run all along the coast. Other times, we were a little inland, but then we would peak out at the Pacific pretty often. 

Our ride today was about 3 1/2 hours, and it went by pretty quickly. We did stop for one extended break in Port Orford. We had been in the car for over an hour when I saw a pull off on this lovely stretch of coast. It was the site of Battle Rock, seen here on this website: http://www.enjoyportorford.com/battlerockpark.html

We hiked down to the beach, which was very pretty with many large rocks jutting out of the water. And the kids loved that it was full of smaller pieces of driftwood. They would have stayed there for hours, making furniture. As it was, we only had time for Ethan to construct a table before we had to pull him away. People were climbing Battle Rock, and Will took Ethan up part of it. When we arrived, it had looked like you could walk right out onto it, but we realized it had to be climbed from the bottom. I had a minor anxiety attack when I saw Ethan high up on this rock. One wrong move and he could have fallen over the side. Will realized, too, that it was likely bad news and had him scoot down on this bottom. 

On our drive, we also finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on cd. It was three, hour long disks. We have also listened to hours of Encyclopedia Brown and Nate the Great. We only have one longer book on cd left. We need to start looking for used book stores for more books on cd. The kids would likely listen to them again, but it would be better for us all if we didn't have to. We have a few more longer drives to get through. The kids do amazingly well. Because of the mountain driving, they are not reading, using an iPad, drawing, or even watching the dvd player. They either listen to a book on cd, or we listen to music (not many stations come through, and when they do, it's mostly Christian Rock...). They get mad at each other every so often, but, mostly, they have been very good.

We got to Florence, our destination for the night, around 2pm. We were able to check into our place, an inn at the top of a very steep hill. We let the kids watch a bit of tv while we figured out where to go next. Then we left to find a beach. The first one we went to was so windy, we got back in the car. The sand was whipping around and hitting us in the legs. We drove a ways to another access point near the dunes. Guess what? It was still windy! Very windy! But it was fun walking through the dunes to get to the beach. We hung out for a while and then Will was able to find a spot that was sheltered. We were along a jetty, so we went inland to a small beach area. It had water from over the jetty, and the kids played for a while. 

From there, we went into Old Town Florence to look for a place to eat. We finally found a place with a variety of food, including Mexican, American, and seafood. I wanted seafood because we were on the coast, but the Mexican food looked so good. I got chicken in mole, which was delicious, and Will got a burrito, I think. Kids went American, so whatever they got came with fries. 

We introduced the kids to Seinfeld back at the hotel. They are fans. We also showered a pound of sand out of our heads/bodies. Now, it's bedtime. For the first time this trip, the kids are in the same bed. So far, it's not going well. It doesn't help that it's 8:30 but looks like noon in this place. We have a wall of windows facing mostly west, and most of the windows only have mini-blinds. Only the biggest window has a blackout curtain. So, sadly, the only person sleeping in this room is Will right next to me, as I type with the sun in my eyes through a hole in the mini-blind. 

More coastal byway is on the docket for tomorrow. We will drive to the northern coast town of Seaside. This time, though, we stay two nights. We have a one bedroom condo with ocean views, I believe. There will be some fun places to stop along the way, like Tillamook (hooray for cheese!) and Depoe Bay, where a scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was filmed.