The drive from Coos Bay to Neskowin covers a section of coast that Big E and I visited often in the fabled "Time Before Children".
We stopped briefly at the Umpqua River Lighthouse.
Big E had plans, and we didn't want to wait for a tour,
so we just cruised through the museum before continuing
our northward path.
As we drove, we talked about the historical bridges and
shared stories of previous adventures we'd had on this
section of the coast. Naynay was delighted to hear tales
about our Dad eating a pound of fudge in Depot Bay or
jumping logs in a river.
We drove into old town Florence for a quick look around
and lunch. They were having their Saturday outdoor
market, so we looked at the stalls before settling on
a restaurant.
After lunch (and a quick swing through two fabric shops,
we drove to Big E's must-see location.
Sutton Creek is an area that Big E and I have hiked
many times over the past twenty years. It had been
at least 4 years since our last visit, and we were
intrigued by the changes that had happened in that time.
This area used to be just river (wide and shallow) and
sand dunes, with just tufts of grass and a few willow
bushes, but this time the river was deeper and more
narrow and the greenery has increased dramatically.
I was still a lovely place to hike, and full of wildlife.
Big E found bear tracks and we saw lots of scat from
smaller creatures.
But this trip, we did no wading. The wide ankle deep
water was now knee or thigh deep, and the wind was
too chilly to get that wet. It was a beautiful day
for a hike.
After our hike, we thought we'd drive for a bit, but then
we came upon another favorite spot from the old days.
Bob's Beach. Or Bob Creek Wayside, as it is more
officially known, is a rocky beach with tide pools.
What initially started as a "lets just get out and look"
turned into 90 minutes of exploration and fun. We
had to drag ourselves back to the car.
This was one of the few places that the girls wished
we'd had more time for.
Sweetheart G listed this beach as her number one place
she'd like to return to from the places we visited on our
road trip.
Little e was a bit groggy for this stop. Since we had
planned to drive for a while, and she'd already been
sick once that day, we had dosed her with dramamine.
I stayed close to her, and she still had a marvelous time.
Can you see the faces in this rock she found?
And then we did drive. There were a few additional
stops for fabric and for coffee and carmel corn
(you know, the necessary stops. The ones a doctor would
give you a note for), but our adventures were done for
the day. The girls were (shockingly) tired, and we
had a destination on the horizon.
We arrived at the beach house (our rented home for the
next two weeks) in plenty of time for dinner.
I have to say that this trip, when I think about it,
was magical. The distance we traveled felt like nothing.
There was no point where I felt like we'd been driving
for days, instead we just appeared at our destination
as if by magic. Poof! We are here.
Our car, Sparkly Blue, was a trooper as well. I spent
much of this trip in the backseat keeping Little e
company, and I have to say that it was quite
comfortable, even with three people in the backseat.