Just Coasting and Russ is the BIG winner!!

Thank you all for the nice birthday wishes for Russ.  His sense of humor – and our marriage – are still intact so I guess no permanent damage was done!  To make up for my poking him, I told Russ we would do whatever he liked on his birthday yesterday. 

We started out with breakfast on the road and then headed to the coast.  Decided to make a quick stop at the casino in Florence for a free soda.

We were surprised to see their fountain was tinted a bright blue – don’t know what that was all about.  Inside, Russ stuck a ten dollar bill in the Fishing Derby machine while I went to fetch the sodas.  By the time I got back with the drinks he was finishing his game and to my surprise, he cashed out.  We walked away with $113.95!!  Paid for the entire day.  Now that’s a deal that can’t be beat.

We drove out on the South Jetty Road at the south end of Florence.  The weather was partly cloudy but the wind was ICY!  There is a $5 day use fee for this area but it is free with the America the Beautiful pass.
There are several places to stop and climb over the dunes to the ocean but it’s a bit too steep for us.




It can be dangerous out near the end of the jetty.


But not so much today!!

Still, we were careful to stay back from the edge.

There is a crab fishing pier along the jetty that gets a lot of use in season.


But the biggest attractions are the OHV staging areas.  We stopped at one of the steepest just in time to see this fella make a run for the top.






That run is almost straight up and down.  Sure don’t want to lose your nerve and let up on the gas halfway to the top!!
From Florence we drove south on 101 to Winchester Bay.  We stopped at the Bedrock Café for lunch.










I couldn’t really recommend their food.  It looked great but the fish was greasy and tasted less than fresh.  But so what, we were at the coast and sitting with with a good view of the bay.  It was great!


I caught a quick shot through the window of this little Merganser having a bit of lunch too.


Of course no trip to the coast is complete without the feeding of the seagulls.  We had leftovers so the gulls were the happy recipients of our remains!  I tossed crackers and french fries into the air while Russ clicked the shutter. ( no PhotoShopping of the sky this time!!)


I love the look on this guy’s face – ATTITUDE!!


Mouth open ready to catch his food on the wing.


We’re lucky no one “bombed” our car.


We wanted to see the elk herd at Dean Creek but they were not close today. No bucks in sight, just mommas and calves and they were all pretty far away and being lazy in the field.



 
 
When we visited the area last August, the bucks were plentiful and they were almost close enough to touch.


We made a short rest stop at the Elkton City Park.  This park is right on the Umpqua River, a popular fishing destination.


There’s the birthday boy enjoying his day.


After that it was short drive home – and we were ready to rest!  A little over 200 miles was covered today.  To make up for the nekkid picture in yesterday’s blog, I allowed Russ to ride shotgun ALL DAY!  He got to see all the good stuff that is sometimes missed from the driver’s seat.  Poppy did fine but was also happy to get home.

I snapped this at the dog park the other day and just had to include it.  Poppy looked like this for a millisecond and then she discovered there were other dogs in the park and she was ready to get back in the car!!  

I think I’ll forego any “The End” shots today!!  You can thank me later.