First Day in Oregon

After three days of rain in Crescent City, the sun debuted briefly this morning before the clouds rolled back in. I went to say goodbye to the sea lions and to catch them under the sunshine for my first time. The extra light felt delicious.

I went to sleep at night to the distant sounds of the sea lions in the background. 

We then got packed up and headed toward Oregon after a pharmacy stop for a month's supply of my mother's many medications. Then we gassed up (it took a dozen tries with my credit card to activate the pump) and went in search of  propane. One location only filled small bottles. I find that out after parking and then waiting in line. The next location was very busy, but after about a half an hour we got it filled. I forgot that in Oregon people are not allowed to fill up their own vehicles with gas and instead must use gas station attendants.  

Then it was a hunt for a grocery store. I found a discount market with one RV parking spot left, but I couldn't find one vegetarian item including soup, or just plain vegetable soup, that didn't have meat. Even the baked beans had meat. That was disappointing. But I got food for Cooper and my mom. I can get by until the next stop in  a few days. Then we found a place to dump the gray and black water. And it was free! What a sweet find! It was at an Oregon state park where we're staying the night. It's our first park stay (with fee) but it's not crowded and the views are beautiful. We don't have an ocean view (those go fast) and we don't have any services. We're paying for a tent camping spot to save money.

California parks were all completely booked and always crammed bumper to bumper. And they would not allow drop in campers. Everything had to be done online and way in advance. That doesn't work for the winging kind of traveling we're doing. The park attendant today said Oregon is having issues with people "boondocking" like we are because some are dumping their black water (sewer) on the ground, so Oregon is trying to shut down all free overnight parking anywhere. More disappointment and this time it's with the human race. Sigh.

 It was foggy and cloudy, but  dry today. Coop and I went for a nice walk high above the coast. Three more days of heavy rain are to start tomorrow and the winds are to be record breaking in some areas. Oh, joy.   

Surfers in Crescent City, CA

Below are pics of the beaches in Brookings, Oregon.

When we crossed over into Oregon from California I saw a road sign that said something about needing an Invasive Species Permit. I quite literally laughed out loud as I thought about the human race. Yep, we are definitely an invasive species. Not sure what purpose the permit would have, but Oregon would be the state to figure out that! (Upon googling, the permit likely was to do with boating.)

With back to back rain starting tomorrow for three more
​days, we may stay put. We'll see how we feel in the morning.