Never Get Tired of Watching the Surf

Yesterday was beautiful, and I finally got some good coast time in. I wasn't the only one to enjoy it - Charley's at his happiest when he's off the leash, allowed to run unrestricted, ears bouncing up and down as he bounds away. It was a sunny day, and it's funny how the low 60's can seem so warm in the winter, but unacceptably cold in the summer. I can verify for all my hunter friends and family that all the elk are in protected areas along the highways. I've seen so many beautiful huge ones the last couple days, all alive and well.

It's not all ideal, though. I was in Coos Bay late Tuesday and was planning to drive another half hour to a beach campground, when I was rear-ended as I was stopped at the exit of a parking lot, waiting for traffic to clear. There were a lot of things that could have been worse. No injuries, the damage was relatively minor and didn't include the brake lights or taillights, the responsible party and his insurance company all seem to be on the up-and-up. I duck-taped the broken fender and corner upright back into place and looked for a location to limp to to stay the night. Fortunately there was an RV service shop (that had closed about the time the accident occurred) and a decent RV park within about 8 blocks. In the morning, the RV place told me that it would probably take them a month to get the parts and fix it. I decided to have them just bolt the broken pieces in place and got stronger tape to hold everything down at highway speed. :-(  It's holding together, but it sure is ugly. I'll get it fixed when I get to southern California and can find a Winnebago place.

Last night I stayed outside of Arcata, CA. My years of being in the emergency preparedness business have apparently turned me into a food hoarder. When I was preparing to leave and clear out anything perishable from my house, I realized that I probably could have survived a couple years on what was there. I brought as much of it as was reasonable, and my goal has been to eat at "home" and clear the inventory. However, I couldn't pass up the fact that the RV park was next to a Mexican restaurant that smelled good from a distance, and had the most wonderful hand-made chile relleno and margaritas for dinner. Glad I stopped!