Pacific Coast Driving

   We started out around 9:00 AM and the weather was completely different from yesterday; the sun was shining without a cloud in the sky. Driving the coastal route in Oregon is a plus and minus thing, there are glimpses of great scenery but the road is mostly one lane and goes through small towns. September isn't as crowded as summer, but there are still big campers lumbering up the hills and the occasional logging truck to try and get by. There are also quite a few long haul bicycle riders with packs bulging out from the fenders. I don't know if I should feel sorry for them with all the peddling, or feel good for them because of all the scenery slowly going by.

   My much anticipated golf emergency happened today; we drove by the main gate of the Bandon Dunes golf resort and the sun was shining. Mary graciously smiled, dropped me off at the bag drop (no pun intended) and went to find a place to get her hair cut and do some sight seeing.  The course starter wasn't sure he'd let me out on the tee box, he said my golf shoes were too ratty. When I told him I drove from Pennsylvania, he let me go.

   The course was easily the prettiest I have ever played but it was a bit of a shock to find out there were no carts; it was a walk-and-carry round. I loved every step, and there were lots of them up and over dunes on every hole. There were strong winds off the ocean but I still finished in 3 1/2 hours. The round was a little pricy for every day golf, but today was worth every penny!

   Just outside of Bandon, Mary found an wild animal park where she could walk close to (and even pet) some of the animals. She said it was an ok place but she felt bad for the animals kept inside of cages.

   We continued down Rt 101 afterward and caught a pacific sunset from a road pull off. The sun was so pretty we stayed and watched for almost a half hour; I'm always hoping to catch a green flash at clear sunsets, but it wasn't included with today's program.

   We called it a day in the town of Brookings, Oregon close to the border with California. We have a room with an ocean view (when the sun comes up) and the ocean waves to put us to sleep tonight. We had another meal back in the room from Daryl & De De's Asian left overs, chicken curry on rice was a yummy dinner.

   Night all ......