I started booking camp sites along the Oregon coast in March. And in March, when I tried to book a state park, on the coast, for the 3rd and 4th of July, everything was already booked. Oh no! What to do? We had been traveling along the coast from south to north; so after having spent a week at South Beach SP near Newport, ideally, I would have liked to head north. I also want to stay as near to the water as possible. I searched and searched and finally came upon the idea of staying at a marina. Why not? I found a couple of possibilities, checked all the reviews, and settled for one 14 miles south of South Beach SP, where we had been staying. I was able to reserve a lovely waterfront spot with full hook ups for the two nights at McKinley’s Marina near Waldport. Then the plan was to move north again to Nehalem Bay SP, where I was able to get reservations for the 5th through 9th.
We left South Beach SP excited about our new adventure. What will it be like staying at a marina? It was going to be a nice easy short trip. I was jumpy thinking something had to go wrong. Would they have lost our reservations and not had our spot for us on this crazy busy holiday weekend? We were driving through Waldport about 2 miles from our destination, and another truck pulled up next to ours at the red light and the driver says, “I think your trailer brakes are on. They’re making a loud noise.” And, boy, did it stink!
Well, we continued to the marina, registered and got settled. No, they did not lose our registration. The whole time the brakes were screaming. Opa tried making calls to figure out what to do and got no answers. Friday July 3rd, duh! He stopped the power to the brakes and they stopped screaming. Then we tried calling road service, who also could not get anyone to answer. Since we were safely in our RV site, we decided that we will deal with this on Monday morning. The problem was that we were only reserved for Friday and Saturday night. We asked if we could extend our stay in the site but that was not going to work since someone reserved it for Sunday night but she did have some other openings not on the waterfront. We had some time to think about things. As we took the dog for a walk, we noticed the dry camp area. It was flat and grassy, and when you set your chair out you could actually see the water. (At the waterfront sites in the RV area, you could see the water from inside your RV, but not from your chairs in the patio area because they had lovely bushes blocking the view.)
Hmmm. Decisions. Okay, we need to call the brake dealer on Monday to make a plan with them and we really don’t want to drive much without getting those brakes fixed. So we should stay here and that dry camp area is beautiful … and we have solar panels. What a perfect opportunity to try them out and be green and enjoy the view on the water. Settled! Next, cancel our reservations at Nehalem SP. That hurt. Not only did we give up a stay at a wonderful campground but the first night and reservation fee were nonrefundable. Bummer.
Friday night and Saturday, I made sure that all of the laundry got done. We mostly sat in the RV because that’s where the view was the best. We did step out to watch the fireworks though. Then on Sunday, we moved to our new spot on the river. We set up our chairs by the waterfront and enjoyed the peaceful view. Now that’s the way to do it! Monday we made our calls and made a plan. We would stay here until next Sunday and then move on to Cape Disappointment in Washington, then into Portland to replace the brake actuator (under warranty) on Thursday. So we took a couple of days to slow down, relax, and enjoy the views. I think a few days of rest was long overdue.
After a few days, we ventured out to explore Cape Perpetua and the new neighborhood. Cape Perpetua is beautiful scenic area in the National Forest with spectacular shoreline views and a very rugged coastline with some special features like the Devil’s Churn, the Spouting Horn, and Thor’s Well. Spectacular and unique beauty. There are many beautiful hikes through the forest as well. We spent a few days exploring and checked out the local seafood restaurant, Luna Sea Fish House, in Yachats. Once again, we were eating great seafood! I had salmon and chips and the owner just fished the salmon a few hours earlier. It doesn’t get a whole lot fresher than that!
We had a few campfires here and even had friends to join us. New friends and fun stories sharing our life experiences. The Saturday before our departure date, I even joined my new friend and went to the farmers’ market in Newport. What a great time! I bought too much fresh delicious pastry, some fresh berries, and organic vegetables. Then we got some fresh coffee and started on the pastries without the guys. We had a wonderful fun time!
Sunday was moving day. We had a wonderful nine days at McKinley’s Marina. I really loved the dry camping area with its beautiful water views and spaciousness. Although we could see the RV’s in the adjacent area, we were pretty much alone in the dry camp area most of the time. And don’t get me wrong, I thought the RV waterfront sites were fantastic. I would be happy to stay at the RV waterfront sites again sometime. We just enjoy being lonely sometimes!
My only regret is that we didn’t try crabbing. I just wasn’t feeling up to it this time and now I have another reason to go back!