Tourists and Crashes

Coming to you live from Florence Oregon.

Okay, not so much live. We've been touring and playing so there have been some delays in getting this posted up. Today is actually going to be a traveling day as we head off east to Coburg to see the motor home doctor and get a check up. Nothing wrong, just some minor tweeks and fixes before the 1 year warranty is out. Our goal is to have this rig in A-1 working condition before tackling the rockies and our hosting gig at altitude. In the meantime, we enjoy the old forest growth and a quiet, private parking spot at the South Jetty RV park. (Good grief, I'm sounding like a travelogue!)

Not all fun and games though. Yesterday was a total wake-up call when on our way to Coos Bay to check out a potential camp host job this fall, we observed the aftermath of what happens when a class A motorhome gets slightly off the road and into a soft shoulder. The victim, a beige Sunova whose driver made a valiant and ultimately successful stop without any obvious injuries and the rig still upright, straddling a ditch. The motorhome didn't fair as well having suffered a broken front spindle (axle?, whatever, the tire shouldn't point 90 degrees out) on the driver's side and some serious fiberglass damage all along the driver's side basement. No idea of the passenger side as it was flush into the hillside. What's the phrase; “There but for the grace of God go I”?

No idea what caused the accident but once in the soft, sandy shoulder there's not much else to do other than ride it out as best you can. You know the phrase, all seats and tray tables to remain in the upright and locked position until the vehicle comes to a complete stop.

Old Florence is a bit like Newport but without the heavy fisheries processing. The boat harbor is much smaller, and less commercial with a good mixing of sail and motor boats. The main street is filled with small shops tailored for the tourist and take up the older buildings making the three block walk a feast for the eyes as well as for the being with some nice restaurants thrown into the mix.

Since we're on the tail end of that rainy storm the breeze was more like a darn good wind whipping down the street combating the warm sun; encouraging stops at the fresh roaster coffee shops and unfortunately, avoidance of the decadent double bitter chocolate ice cream cones. (I did manage to get one before we left and oh my, imagine a double chocolate truffle fudge with bitter chocolate chips.)

We ended up in Florence for two reasons.

First was to try a place we haven't been to before and second is its proximity to what could be our November/December camp hosting gig near Coos Bay. I took a panorama shot of Sunset Bay which is just outside the main gate to the park. With the fog rolling in from the sea this place was simply mystical and I'm sure my lousy photography can not do it justice. If they'll let us, this will be where we roast a turkey this coming fall.

As I mentioned, today is a traveling day. We've offered to make a logistics run for a fellow RV'er whom we've followed since 2012. Nothing heard yet but it would sure be a treat to actually meed RV Sue and her canine crew.