Grandma Goes Sand Boarding!

If two weeks ago you would have asked me if I thought Barb and I would be flying down a sand dune on a thin piece of laminated wood I would have said you were crazy! But that is exactly what happened last week as we visited the Oregon coast with Forrest, Somer and Lily.

We arrived at Jessie M. Honeyman State Park just outside of Florence Oregon about 5:00pm on a Sunday on a grey cloudy day. If fact grey and rain were to be theme for the next several days there. The majority of the over 350 sites were occupied. Site #221 was large enough for both our camper, Forrest’s tent as well as both of our vehicles.

Forrest went and got a tarp on day #2 to help keep his area dry which helped a lot. We were not at our site a lot but when we were we got to enjoy loud music from our neighbor which was really enjoyable. After they left another family moved in who argued more than anything. Apparently the husband forgot either their tent or sleeping bags as they were yelling at each other about having to sleep in the truck. He tore out of there and was back 30 minutes later where they were setting up again. Next thing you knew they were yelling again as he forgot the "F'ing pillows!" If it was not so annoying it would have been entertaining! 

Lily being annoyed as Somer brushes her hair

After getting set up we headed into town for dinner. Although it was Sunday night and everyone should have been heading home to work the next day we found every restaurant packed with up to an hour wait for a table. We walked down the street and finally found a restaurant with immediate seating. We later found out it was for good reason. If you happen to be in Florence and are hungry, DO NOT stop to eat at the Bay Street Grille The food was bland and underwhelming.

One of the things were looking forward to was having clam chowder each day to try and find who has the best chowder in the area and this place came in dead last.

Our final list is as follows: Mo's Restaurant 

                                            Novelli's Crab and Seafood

                                            Krab Kettle

                                            Harbor Light Restaurant (Reedsport) 

                                            Bay Street Grille

So if you are in the Florence area and have a hankering for chowder you cannot go wrong with any of the top four!

Other highlights of our trip included a short trip Jeeping in the dunes.

Clamming in the mud flats.

Somer looks a little muddy!

The clamming was good but muddy. Somer was the lucky one who fell backwards in the mud and got her pants soaked! We got 30 or so clams which we took back, cleaned and made some tasty clam strips!

And no trip would be complete without crabbing on the docks. 

Somer and Lily setting up a crab basket

We even had some visitors while we were there when Foster Lake Frenchies  Zoey's birth family drove the hour and a half down from their hometown to visit Zoey!

Eric, Amy and Kaitlyn

Zoey loving up Kaitlyn

Amy getting her hugs in!

Although it was still raining, we found a covered porch that we could take refuge and visit for a couple of hours while playing with Zoey and two of their 4 Frenchies. One of the two that they brought was Zoey's dad. One has to wonder if Zoey remembered these two. Kaitlyn even bought Zoey a nice "Ruff Hippie" bandana that she is sporting in the last picture in this post. It was so nice of them to drive down!

On our way over there we drove on highway 58 along the way and stopped by Salt Creek Falls. A  spectacular waterfall of almost 300' and best of all, it is only 1/4 mile from the parking lot so it is a nice easy hike that even Dino could make!

But back to the sandboarding…something we have never done before but Forrest, Somer and Lily had. You can rent Sand Boards or Sand Sleds for $16/24 hours. We hit the dunes ready to fly! 

Each of us took a few turns going down on the slide. You had to drag your hands otherwise you went way too fast and out of control. I took a few videos and almost got run over by Barb!

Forrest is a big snow boarder so he stuck to the sand board. 

Not to be outdone I had to try the sand board. After all, I can waterski without a problem so sandboarding cannot be that hard. Although it is not a good video you can get the gist of the result. I learned one important lesson; sand is not as forgiving as water. That was my last run of the day and now, almost a week later my backside is still a little sore when I sit. 

Forrest and family departed on Tuesday as it was time to get back to work. Barb and I moved to a more secluded and quieter campsite for the night. The next day we packed up and headed north towards Winchester Bay. We checked in at the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park Campground and did some exploring. 

We found a secluded section of beach where the dogs could run free and explore. What is it about beaches that makes dogs love to run in the sand? Every dog we have had loved the beaches on the ocean. 

Do I have something in my teeth?

The dogs just ran and ran and ran. We finally had to pick up Zoey as we were afraid she was going to overheat. 

Last but not least Forrest and I got one day of fishing in on the Williamson River,

 Forrest managed to catch and release this monster trout!

Barb and Lily came along too and waded in the shallows....

Thanks for stopping by!