A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That – Florence, OR
When I last left you Paul was frolicking practically in the buff in the waves at Newport. It’s a rare view here on the coast (water frolickers that is) and we were reminded why just a few days later by 3 days of GUSHING rain. Pounding, crashing, crazy torrents of the stuff with massive gusts of wind to boot (a true test for our leaky window fix, eh?). This pretty picture followed us to Florence and kept us locked mostly indoors (apart from a few brave spurts to play with pooch on the beach) with Red Box movies and warm beverages for our first few days here.
But patience is a virtue, or so they say, and this rings particularly true on the Oregon Coast in summer. Once the rain had it’s say, quite as suddenly it cleared up thanks to a push from the high pressure system that is currently baking the entire southwest. Whereas most of our winter RV sites are now seeing temps of 100+ degrees, we’re happily sitting at in a sunny and pleasant 75 °F (24 °C) with just the right whiff of breeze. Ahhhhh! It’s the very reason we have wheels, and well worth the sacrifice of a few days of rain.
But I digress. We’ve made the most out of our few days of goodness in Florence revisiting some of the spots we saw as part of our “trifecta of perfectness” two years ago…and even seeing one new one. Here ya go:
The Most Photographed Lighthouse On The Coast
As I look back at our RV travels I can tell you the exact moment I got truly interested in lighthouses, and it happened right here at Heceta Head. I’ve always liked lighthouses…kind of. But I never really loved lighthouses until I saw this baby. Perched on dramatic cliffs 205-feet above the ocean floor with gorgeous white-washed walls and cute pink tiles, she’s not only the prettiest lighthouse on the coast, but she’s also the most haunted. A perfectly special lady with all the qualities to enthrall even the biggest doubter. What can I say…I fell in love at first sight and I’ve been “bitten” ever since. Heceta Head just underwent a 2-year restoration so we jumped at the chance to go back and tour her sparkling new look. She just as lovely as I remember and we enjoyed a fabulous afternoon taking the tour, hanging by the cliffs and playing w/ Polly on the beach. Perfection! (P.S. Pooch is welcome everywhere except inside the lighthouse)
Feeeed Me, Feeeeeeed Me
I’ve always been a huge fan of quirky B-movies and one of my all-time favs was “Little House Of Horrors“, a hilariously macabre musical where a man discovers a carnivorous plant that grows so large it forces him to kill people to feed it. Yum, yum. So when I heard there was a small, albeit practically unknown garden dedicated to a carnivorous plant on the Oregon coast I was all over it! We stopped for a gawk at the Darlingtonia State Natural Area where bog conditions are just perfect for the insect-munching Darlingtonia Californica, a rather unusual and interesting-looking plant. Pretty cool little spot, especially if you’re into these things. And no, no digits were taken. (P.S. Pooch is welcome on leash here)
And We Were Published!
Coincidently to our stay at Florence was the first release of the magazine MERGE which featured a full-length interview with several nomads including ourselves. It’s an innovative new mag about full-time travellers and they used several of my photos too! Super fun to see our mugs in actual print, and rather cool to see my pics in there too. Check out a FREE issue of the first release at this site, and if you get so inspired as to subscribe do so here.
That about wraps up our short stay in Florence this time around. We enjoyed several days of very nice sunshine the last few days we were there, a good few plays on the beach, plus we had an excellent evening with blog readers Peter & Janice (sorry, forgot to take pics) who came around to see us. Cheers for the visit guys! We’ve got a veeeery short stop at a super-secret hidden waterfront gem and then we start our summer jobs in Bandon.
That’s where I’ll see ya next….
While Rich was alive, we managed to see every lighthouse (except Terrible Tilly) on the Oregon Coast. We, too, had decided that when we traveled we wouldn’t miss lighthouses, wooden silos and barns, and covered bridges. I wonder, many times, how many we would have seen by now. I’m glad he got to see the ones on his beloved coast of Oregon.
Outstanding! You must have done the trip while Cape Arago was still open? I actually met one of the folks who delivered the newspaper to the old keeper at Arago. Sadly that lighthouse is in disrepair/limbo at the moment and not open.
NIna
Congrats on being published. You’ve certainly put together a wealth of info for the RV set.
Now, welcome to my neighborhood. I’m not liking this current heat spell one bit. Hope you’re not to blame for bringing it down here. 🙂
See ya indeed!
Now only a coastal Oregonian would call 75 “hot”…LOL. Looking forward to seeing you in Bullards. We start work on Tues. not sure which shift yet.
Nina
Congratulations on being published. The magazine picked a wonderful couple to feature in their first magazine:)
Looks like a fabulous time along the beach for all three of you. Glad the rain stopped and gave you some sun to enjoy your time. I love Darlingtonia State Park and that awesome meat eating plant. Great find!
Enjoy your last few days until you begin your workcamp post.
Yeah, I totally dug that little place. You barely notice it from the road too. Just looks like a small pullout or parking area. Can’t see the plants until a few hundred feet in on the trail and then you’re literally surrounded by them! Really weird how they concentrate in this teeny little spot.
Nina
So glad you got to enjoy some of our GOOD Oregon coast weather. It can be fickle but the good days are worth hanging around for.
So true Donna, so true.
Nina
Congratulations on being published!
Love the photo of that meat -eating plant but i wont get near it.
Weather wise, except for the humidity, we also have our share of rain that comes and goes.
I love the Oregon Coast so. There’s a favorite (and inexpensive) restaurant in Florence that I just love.
http://www.thewaterfrontdepot.com/
Oh darn, we missed it. Will have to add it to our never-ending “list” 🙂
Nina
Congrats…will have to check it out when we get situated in Cuenca next month….love the report and of course the photos….
Cool! Looking forward to your Facebook pics of Cuenca. Settling down for a month there should be a really fun experience!
Nina
Oh my gosh, the HEAT!! We were loving the temps in Colorado and Wyoming….and then we hit Idaho. We spent one night in Twin Falls, and were planning to spend a couple nights in Boise (at the riverside park you liked), but the highs were over 100 in Boise. We spent one night there, canceled our 2nd night, and ran like mad for Oregon. We’re in Baker now in a lovely shaded site – and the high is “only” 90!
Congrats on the magazine! Going to check it out right now!
Yeah, we avoid that summer heat like the plague. Got stuck in it our first year RVing (in the Midwest no less!) and vowed never again. Now we plan to be either on the coast or up high in the mountains as soon as that heat hits. You’ll get some heat inland OR too, but the coast remains pretty moderate all summer. Never really goes above around 75 here.
Nina
Sounds like the NW coast is the place to be right now – maybe next summer.
I’d say yes. The is our 3rd summer here and we love it. The best summer experience is either here on the NW coast or up high (above 8000 ft) in the mountains somewhere (CO, UT, MT etc.). We can’t stand the big heat anymore.
Nina
I second the Waterfront Depot recommendation! Spent Dave’s birthday there this year and it didn’t disappoint! Where did you stay in Florence?
Love to you and Paul and Polly,
Sue
We ended up staying at Harbor Vista. Kinda mixed feelings on it. There were some things we absolutely loved about the park and others that we didn’t like. I’ll put up a review soon.
Nina
Traveling with you and Paul and the pooch is a wonderful part of my retired life and continued inspiration to get on the road fulltime. Seeing your pics and comments in the new travel magazine gave me such a sense of pride – silly I know. Your photos were every bit as spectacular as any in the whole magazine – congrats on the recognition, it is well deserved. Of course your readership is likely to really explode now with thousands more joining you and the rest of us on your journey…….and you wanted to travel light? Enjoy your hideaway, looking forward to Bandon down the road.
Thanks for the pics of Haceta Head as she was shrouded as if in mourning when we passed through Florence. I read the first issue of Merge and saw your lovely photos and mugs, which put a smile on my face. Safe travels! 🙂
We were super lucky too. The lighthouse *just* opened up a few weeks before we arrived.
Nina