Wednesday, October 7 - Day 6

What a great day. My words are inadequate to describe the Oregon coast we saw today. We started out at 9 am, heading South on 101 toward Northern California about 100 miles away from Coos Bay. The previous five days of our trip have been unusually bright and sunny and warm for this time of the year here. Today the weather got back to normal, cool in the low fifties, windy and overcast even foggy in the hills. Nonetheless the seacoast was magnificent. Cliffs, hundreds of feet high, dropped nearly straight into the sea. Beautiful white or black sand beaches, laced with frilly surf, filled the bays between the cliffs. Just off shore stood gigantic black rock teeth, the iconic vista of the Oregon coast.

Numerous pull offs along the highway beckon the driver to delay. I would say we got to get along and then another view appeared and we would say, “Oh wow!” and pull over again. It took five hours to go 100 miles and we could have taken longer. Lisa will add a few photos but you need to see our album to get the real picture.  One side trip gets special mention. We drove six miles West of 101 on a side road to Cape Blanco lighthouse. It is the farthest point West in the continental USA. We have now made it to the farthest West and farthest East at Quoddy Head, Maine.

We arrived in Crescent City, CA in mid afternoon, took a break, and then took a walk toward the sound of seals in the harbor. On the way across the large commercial fishing harbor we found display boards with information about tsunamis. All along our trip down the coast we have been seeing blue and white tsunami warning signs and evacuation route signs. I assumed that population centers have siren warnings and I wondered how remotely located people got the word. My question was answered at the display boards. If you feel an earthquake, go to high ground immediately. Do not wait for a warning. You just had the warning. The two most devastating tsunamis occurred in 1964 from a 9.2 quake in Alaska and in 2011 from the quake in Japan. Both times, the harbor was wiped out with surge up to 20 feet. This is from quakes thousands of miles away.

We ended up going back to the hotel and driving over to the seals since they were just outside the restaurant, Chart Room. The seals rest on long floating docks they have taken over. I don't see how they ever sleep since there is a never ending cacophony of their quarreling and jostling.

The dinner was a bit disappointing even though the Chart Room was recommended highly. The seafood was good but the preparation was heavy. The batter was the old, thick kind. I ended up taking the batter off and eating the good scallops, shrimp and cod. I gave Lisa a fried onion ring. She took the batter off and ate it and I ate the onion. Had a good laugh.

Tomorrow we experience the giant Redwood trees and head toward Berkeley. We don't intend to drive the nearly 400 miles but maybe make it half way (maybe not :-) )