Day Two Hundred and Eighty-Three

ROAD TRIP!!

Item #20 is now officially off the list. Buddy, Boo and I set out on Tuesday afternoon (a bit later than we intended, but oh well) and started off down I-5. Our first stop was at the McDonald's in Cottage Grove, where we drank sodas, played on the toys, and Boo learned to play checkers. (Photo compliments of Buddy)




At the recommendation of my friend Christine, we stayed in a tiny little nowhere place that's not even on the map - which is fine by us, because it meant the awesome little hotel we stayed in was cheap! Adorable little A-frame cottages with one bed on the ground floor and one in a loft, pretty view out the back, bathroom, fridge, microwave, and plenty of floor space, for $55/night = WIN.




Sunset ... ahhhh.




On Wednesday morning we headed south again. We'd never been to Roseburg and we needed a bathroom and a RiteAid, so we stopped. We parked in the little downtown area, and among other things we visited the utterly delightful Country Lady Quilt Shop. We asked for and received a tour of the back half of the store so that Buddy could see the machines - a few antique sewing machines, the machine quilting apparatus, and the huge quilt frame that was currently displaying a quilt top of a king-sized quilt in the Log Cabin pattern. Boo picked out a few fabrics of her own - that's my girl!



Wednesday's main event was a trip to the Wildlife Safari in southern Oregon - what a treat!













We stopped at a bridge over the South Fork of the Coos River. We got barked at by a very enthusiastic dog and decided that it was time to get going again.



We spent a quiet half hour on the porch and in the side yard of a country store in Bridge, Oregon. It said it was a town, but I am starting to suspect otherwise since a list of the smallest towns in Oregon (including Green Horn, OR, pop. 3) does not include it. Anyway, it was a perfect afternoon and stands out in my recollections of the trip.


We drove a little too far on Wednesday night in a frustrating search for a hotel (they all disappeared about the time we wanted to stop), but finally found one just outside North Bend. Thursday morning we walked from our hotel partway over the Coos Bay Bridge (built in 1936 and about a mile long). It was amazing!!







The rest of Thursday we drove back up the Oregon coast in no particular hurry. It was cold and windy, but beautiful as always.

My sweet girl.

There was a lighthouse somewhere under all that fog.

Look! Sea lions!

This covered bridge (built in 1926, a replacement of the original structure which was built in 1893 for the railroad) was a lovely surprise on the side of the road.




Boo snapped this of me when I was sitting on the railing of the bridge. It was such a beautiful, perfect evening that I hated to get back in the car!




And one last shot on the side of the road crossing back through western Oregon. This state never fails to amaze me!