We slept a bit longer as we had an easy driving day. The Jot’s Resort we stayed at is a sportsman resort right on the mouth of the Rogue River and the Pacific. You can hear the breakers on the bar crashing. Matt packed and read his phone while I wrote the blog, and then he cleaned up and dressed. Packing was only a few minutes as we only planned one night here. I took a few pictures of our balcony/deck. Lovely. I will be back to use this place again!
We checked out without issue and soon looked for breakfast, but we did not want to backtrack, so we did not find anything on the north side of the Rogue. So, we decided to find something on the way northbound on Highway 101. I eventually spotted a cafe on my iPhone, and we had to backtrack a few lights in a Veronia, Oregon: The Blue Moon Saloon & Cafe. I had my favorite when you are at these old school breakfasts, the cheap canned hash fried until crunchy, poached eggs, hashbrowns (which I did not finish as the steroids are raising my sugar levels), and an English muffin with jam (which will raise my sugar level against the rules but was sooooo good). Matt ordered The Full Moon and had a huge breakfast, handing over his 1/2 ham steak. We skipped lunch as we had treats and were very full. It was an excellent meal and what we were looking for.
The thrush infection in my mouth is gone. Bell’s Pasley is not getting worse and seems less pronounced on my face. My speech is still slightly impaired, and my left eye still does not close all the way and blinks slowly and not enough. The left side of my mouth is still dry, and food gets stuck there. There has been no improvement in that area. I am optimistic that most of that will return in a month or less. The numbness in my left-hand pinkie has improved but is still pronounced. This was caused by the artery line (I had four other lines!). I have a cough in my lungs that I treat like a summer cold. It has not improved much, and I will have it checked out at a Ready Care-like place if it does not improve soon.
Winchester Bay on the Oregon Coast was our next stop. Our navigation took us on private property! We turned around and followed the local signs and found the Umpqua River Lighthouse, our first really approachable lighthouse. We decided not to pay $8 each for the museum. I was looking for my usual blueprints for gaming and model building. Matt V found one laminated in the museum, and he asked if they sold it; no. Matt got a photo. I liked the look of the lighthouse and got a kitchen towel with its image on it.
Matt V and I discussed that the books and trinkets were not really about lighthouses or the Oregon Coast but the usual junk made in China and India and generic books. I was expecting a good book collection, models of the area and lighthouses, and more local artist stuff. Plans sell well, as folks like to frame them, or they are gamers or modelers like me and look for this kind of stuff. They did sell good, locally-made baked goods, at least.
Aside: Charts, Maps, & Graphics sells the plans online, and for just over $16, I have one on the way.
Again, the navigation led us to private lands and then to Dune City, which is apparently built over dunes that are now hidden below grass and trees. Years ago, the various governments declared war on the dunes near Florence, and this battle inspired Frank Herbert’s image for his book Dune: see here. Matt and I had to see them. But the Navigation was sending us to many poor options. We saw a sign, literally the last stop for dunes, and found the Honeyman State Park, an excellent local to visit, day only. There is a small freshwater lake, and the dunes all but appear to climb out of the lake and fit, ignoring an actual interloping bush, which looks like my mind’s image of Arrakis! We climbed up one side as it was hard going in the fine yellow sand, unlike any sand I have seen on Oregon beaches, and looked out to see the huge hills further out. I wanted to get a bucket of that sand to use on models.
We tried to climb without a pattern. Just trying to be the wind blowing across the sand with no pattern. It was impossible! For campers who want a reason to swim and have a picnic, see the site: Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park. Maybe bring a copy of Dune with you.
Next, Navigation led us astray again, but we did find Heceta Beach, and I did get a picture, but I was growing tired, and the coughing was more pronounced. Time to slow. We drove to the Lighthouse by the same name, but it was an uphill hike to get to it, and I missed getting a photo. I did take one of the bridges for 101 that you drive under to get to the base for parking to reach the lighthouse. Not store to get plans or anything (but are available online from the same source I used for Umpqua River Lighthouse).
Our last stop was Depot Bay, where we looked for whales. None were out in the afternoon in the Depot Bay area, and I have only seen them here in the mornings. I will have to check where the whales are, but fall is coming, and then they will be easy to see and ubiquitous on Highway 101.
The tide was coming in, and soon, the tourist water would begin when the waves hit the rocks and highway walls. The Salmon River Highway is an easy, mostly straight drive out and my favorite. It passes through McMinnville and the wine regions. I plan to return soon to the Evergreen Aviation Museum and also see if I can get a few friends to do the water park with me, where you jump out of a 747 onto a slide in the fall.
With no issues, Air Volvo returned to the Volvo Cave with Matt V following a slightly improved path as 209th is closed, and the navigation assumes it is open. Matt unloaded for me, and we said goodbye. It was an excellent trip with only minor issues.
When Corwin returned, I had given him some cleaning and picking-up directions. I had already done the dishes, some from before my trips. Corwin took the directions without complaint or surprise. He was happy not to be alone again; the house can get lonely if all you do is work, sleep, and eat there. You must find happy things to do, or it will seem empty. You will also find that you are missing something, Susie, who was always here.
We did not eat much of the treats on the trip, and Corwin was happy to have all the cookies and goodies. I will not eat them to keep my weight and sugar levels down.
I watched some Black Sails on Netflix, a strange Doctor Who episode from this season, Dot and Bubble, and read A Dreadful Splender by B.R. Myers. I showered and went to bed late, after 11 (23:00), and continued to read. My coughing was out of control for a while but soon slowed.
The book is a mixed bag, but I think it has wonderful storytelling that keeps you going. It is always in the first person, something I dislike but that is still interesting. The story wraps up in the last thirty pages and goes down a path I thought was possible but so ridiculous that I did not think it was going to happen, but it did. It seems to work for me, fits the story you read better, and shows you all you missed. So I like it much better. I would say A Dreadful Splender is recommended as a brain cookie set in England around the Victorian times with a young gal charlatan spiritualist trying to make a crooked living suddenly unprepared to be thrown into a Sherlockean or Scooby Doo mystery without the detective or the gang to help. I will finish it soon and comment in the next blog if the final resolution is good.
I soon was too tired to sleep, but the special eye stuff in my left eye and slept. I woke a few times and proved hydration.
Thanks for reading.
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