Pop and Meemee on the road: Coos Bay

We have been at the Charleston RV Marina Park since Wednesday and has been a different experience to say the least. First let me say, the park here is clean with excellent utilities and friendly neighbors but is not your average RV park. The area is very much geared up for fishing,fishing and more fishing. There is even an odor of fish in the air due to a fish cannery nearby! I don't know that we would stay here again, given the choice, but was the only available park with decent reviews. Let's just say it's been different.

Yesterday we decided to check out local attractions in Coos Bay due to the weather and we were getting low on supplies and needed to make a Walmart run. There's a local business here named Cranberry Sweets that is well known and highly recommended. The business is a candy factory that uses cranberries to flavor and enhance candy in an unusual, but delicious way. They have many different flavor combinations and samples of each are available free. There's an observation area in the store where you can watch the candy being prepared. Cranberries are locally grown here in coastal Oregon. My favorite was the Cranberry Pate. We also checked out the House of Myrtlewood here in Coos Bay. This business offers a variety of wooden products manufactured in house by skilled craftsmen. The Myrtle tree dates back to Biblical times and are very common in this section of Oregon. It's well known for its wide variety of beautiful colors and grain patterns. Their furniture, bowls, and gift items are very attractive, but also very expensive.

Today (Friday) we decided to check out the Shore Acres State Park and the Cape Arago State Park that are very close to each other and is without a doubt, some of the most scenic areas we have seen on the Oregon Coast. Shore Acres has an area of unparallelled beauty with coastal cliffs, bluffs and beautiful rock formations in the ocean that produce all type of surf when hit by pounding waves. There's a glassed in observation area at the top of the cliffs where the entire seascape can be seen, and is commonly used for watching for whales. There's also a beautiful garden on the property with flowers and plants from all over the world. Cape Arago State Park is home to the Cape Arago Lighthouse and has an area frequented by huge colonies of seals and sea lions. We hit the jackpot today on finding the seals and sea lions! There were literally hundreds there today sunning themselves on the rocks and letting out loud barks. The barking was unlike anything I've heard before and could be heard quite a distance away. It was way kool!

Tomorrow it's goodbye Oregon and hello California as we journey to our next destination at Chinook RV Resort in Klamath, California. This area is in northern California and is in the middle of the Giant Redwood trees. We've been looking forward to visiting this area for quite some time.