October 27-28, 2017
Bullards Beach State Park
It was chilly when we woke-up! 44 degrees outside and only 52 inside of the trailer. Brrr! We do have a heater, but we don't like to run it all night since it's a little noisy.
We enjoyed another lazy morning, which typically involves coffee, showers and breakfast at a very slow pace. It usually means we're ready to greet the day with whatever outings we have planned by 10:00 a.m. Such a difference from the days of waking up at 5:00 and rushing out the door by 7:00!
After breakfast, I left Rod to work on an editing job and went into town to explore the shops. It was so nice to wander around for a couple of hours, going at my own pace, finding some gifts and greeting cards. I discovered a couple of restaurants that I'd like to try next time we're in town. The first is a new brew pub called Bandon Brewing Company and Pizzeria. It has both indoor and outdoor seating and the menu looks great. There's also a place called Bread & Wine that has a nice little patio/garden that might be fun to try.
I stopped in a cute bakery and wound up returning at the end of my shopping trip so I could buy a bag of freshly ground coffee to take back to the trailer. I had a sample cup of the blend and it was amazing! I wound up buying two bags, as well as an herb biscuit and a couple of cookies for our dessert. The shop is called The Rolling Pin Bake & Brew and the woman who owns it runs it with her daughter-in-law, Kayleigh. We chatted for quite a while and if I lived closer, I know I'd quickly become a regular customer!
I enjoyed my little shopping expedition and found some Christmas gifts, as well as a new travel journal. I wandered over to the fishing docks and popped into the Farmer's Market (indoors, rather than on the docks), which was nice, but not as good as the one in Newport.
The sun was shining and it was getting warm. What a lovely morning!
After lunch, Rod and I headed over to Rocky Point so he could do a little fishing.
A pipe, a cup of coffee and an Ace Hardware bucket. What more does a guy need?
While Rod was fishing, I made a return visit to Bandon Dunes in order to hike the Woodland Trail, which includes a labyrinth.
I wasn't quick enough to get a photo, but as I passed this pond a beautiful egret flew out of the tall grasses and right past me. It was stunning!
I headed out toward the labyrinth and once again, I was completely alone. It was a little unnerving since I was in the woods. Alone. Thankfully, I didn't encounter any weirdos or bears. It was actually very peaceful.
The labyrinth is comprised of a series of 11 circles (modeled after the one in Chartres, France), with only one way in and one way out. Again, I was completely alone and walked to the inner section very slowly and calmly, trying not to think of anything but my steps and my breathing. I'm not very good at meditation and once I got to the center, I was too impatient to walk back through each circle and wound up just stepping over the lines and back to the trail. It would be easy to blame my impatience on wanting to get back to Rod, but the truth of the matter is that I didn't really feel what I thought I might experience by walking a labyrinth. Maybe it's like meditation and it takes practice.
Back to the trail and through the woods...
I returned to Rocky Point and while he didn't have any luck, Rod said he did enjoy fishing from the dock.
Just as we were getting ready to leave, I spotted an eagle perched high in a tree! I took a few pictures with my phone, but they weren't very sharp. I'm learning that I really need to carry our 35mm digital camera (which has a nice zoom lens) with me at all times!
We returned to our campsite and listened to another game of the World Series, while eating our dinner by the fire. It's a lot of fun listening to the play-by-play, rather than watching a game on TV.
The Astros won again.
October 28, 2018
Bandon to Depoe Bay
132 miles
3.25 hours
Saturday morning and time to hitch up and head home. It was drizzly and 54 when we left our campsite.
We decided to stop for lunch at our favorite restaurant in Florence. Nice end to another great road trip!
I love that Woodland Trail - love it! Walked it several times. And I did that labyrinth twice. I was listening to music, though I will say that the first time I decided that Taylor Swift's Shake It Off was probably not very meditative (although, maybe in a weird way). The second time, I was listening to calmer music. I do know what you mean about the woods and being alone. Yes, you are really alone. The pond picture above (without the egret) is pretty much a duplicate of the one I use on my phone as wallpaper. Great minds think alike!
ReplyDeleteKay, I think the labyrinth would have been a better experience for me if I'd been listening to so soft music. As I recall, I was probably listening to an audio book. Great trail, isn't it? All the trails at Bandon Dunes were wonderful. I'm so glad I read about them in a regional magazine.
DeleteWhat a lovely day. It would be so nice to have a good coffee shop nearby. I'd be there every day, I bet.
ReplyDeleteI think this must have been in October of 2017, as that's when our Astros won the Series.
Deb, it was a wonderful day and a great trip. You're right. It was October 2017! Fun Series to listen to. :)
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