At long last...wi-fi...

Click the photo for a slide show. 

I have missed a couple of days of blogging due to unacceptable wi-fi connections in the last couple of parks we visited.  Now we have a great connection, so I will attempt to catch up.  

We spent the last two days and nights in Bandon-by-the-Sea, OR, commonly known as Bandon.  Originally the town was named Averill, after one of its leading families, but later an Irishman, whose name I can't remember (after all it has been a couple of days!), renamed the town after his hometown in County Cork, Ireland. 

The history of Bandon is well documented in the local historical museum, which we visited. That was, perhaps, the best $2 we spent on the trip!  Bandon has been around since the 1880s.  It has been home to such diverse industries as fishing, dairy farming, cheese manufacturing, coal mining, logging, lumber milling and others that I am sure I missed.  

The town was wiped out by fire on two occasions; once in 1914 (a kitchen fire gone wild) and again in 1936 (forest fire that could not be contained). Logically, it now has one of the biggest fire stations I have ever seen.  The Old Town section of the city is lots of fun with many shops and eateries.  We shopped there, but were able to resist the temptation to come home with typical tourist stuff.  We did make one purchase of a gift for a person who shall remain nameless in this blog.  

We stayed at the Beach Loop Village, which is an RV park with several park model trailers that are rental cottages.  They are also for sale for around $110,000.  The park is not remarkable, except for its quiet nature, friendly staff and the sound of the ocean surf coming through the trees. 

The highlight of the stay in Bandon was, of course, the food.  We had clam chowder for dinner on our first night and then went back to the waterfront yesterday for what we agreed was the best fish and chips meal we've ever had.  

There are numerous parks to explore in and around Bandon.  The ones we visited were Face Rock State Wayside, which has beautiful 180 views of the rocky coast line; The Devil's Kitchen State Park, which has access to the beautiful rock-studded, sandy beach south of town; Bullard's Beach State Park, which has a large campground, boat launch in the Coquille River; and is home to the Coquille River Lighthouse, the newest of the remaining lighthouses on the Oregon coast, dating to 1896.  

We were  a little sad to leave Bandon this morning, but we had a lovely drive through Coos Bay, North Bend, Reedsport and ended up in Florence at the Heceta Beach RV Park.  The Park is lovely (pictures to come) with lots of native plants dividing the spaces.  Jill has been out picking huckleberries from the bushes between our site and the next one!  Mmmmm... huckleberry pie...mmmmm!

So, stay in touch, there will be more stuff to come.