Winchester Day 2

Still at the campground in Winchester Bay and Mr. Mallard is doing his morning stretches next to the Musemobile


So the Marine Corps Marching band is in town and we are hanging out at Keel Park. The park is surrounded by small business establishments. It's a quaint fishing village setting. There is Kitty's Kitchen where it is Christmas Forever............... oooops! Here comes the band


........and the Thai Cafe (the band didn't stop there)


The band was brought to Winchester Bay by the owner of the Sportsman's Cannery an ex-Marine...


If you like to fish there is the Salmon Harbor Tackle and Marine Supply Charter Office (What a mouthful) I liked the barrel, net and oar display.


The Portofino Market place where Scrabble Queen bought her rod and reel last year on sale.


Rhythm Hot Dogs had a cow skull...


My personal favorite name was the Fitzpatrick's Crabby Cafe.


then there is the "floating" residents like the Wet and Wild........


...and the band is still marching back from the Oyster House toward Keel Park past the Strike Zone II - I'm pretty srure there is a Strike Zone I and III maybe even a IV.


Best grape vine display went to the Anchor grill (one of my awards)


...and there is the band again walking past the Musemobile


Ed and Sharyn at the park discussing the metaphysical value of quantum liquidity in the cyclical sphere creation of a boiled egg....... or maybe something else


Other floating oddities included this House Boat complete with Mermaid mannequin and it's for sail mmmmm wait! I think that's sale. I liked the Ferret Crossing sign.


Looking West toward the Pacific Ocean from the dock - it was a very nice day.


Even this Blackbird stopped to enjoy the view as we drove along the coast.


From the Whale watching lookout next to the Umpqua Lighthouse we got a great look at part of the Oregon Dunes recreation area and the ocean.


As you can see in this picture Oregon has had a lot of rainfall lately.


The lighthouse is always worth a picture.


A little further along I took this one of the lighthouse from another viewpoint higher up the hill.


Finally we stopped for a picnic at Tugman State Park where Ed took some pictures. It was a nice Memorial Day Holiday.


Scrabble Score Scrabble Queen 351 - The Contender 353

Quote of the Day

And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. ~ Kahlil Gibran

Memorial Day - Winchester Bay

Memorial Day is a special day of remembrance for our soldiers from past and present conflicts and for those who we loved that have passed on. Michael Tritico from my days at Holy Name was lost in Viet Nam the first time I remember war really affecting me personally. There are so many more I never knew and I'm sure some I knew but never heard the news. There are others lost in my life but none as personal as my parents (Margaret and Paul), aunts, uncles and my mother-in-law (Virginia). Of course that is not all those I remembered today but I could write until the middle of June and not mention them all.

So today we took off from home to go to Winchester Bay/Salmon Harbor to hear the Marine Corps Band and to get some seafood BBQ. Of course just before we get to Reedsport there is the Elk viewing area that was lush and green today. Unfortunately the elk were at the east and west ends of the viewing area so I got no pictures.


After a nice lunch at the elk viewing area we arrived at Winchester Bay. Ed was a little tired after the drive and took a nap in the sun in front of the RV overlooking Salmon Harbor.


A little later a Jet Boat with some tourists snuck by slowly. If you want to book a tour you can call 541-271-0231 and the boat is the Miss Leta I think and their web page is http://www.jetboatodyssey.com


I took this picture through the shades on the window of an Oyster place across the bay. Thinking about how much Virginia loved oysters.

Panning across the Harbor from north to south..........

North

... Northeast

...East (nice boat isn't it)

.... Southeast (Cool Pier)

South


Northwest (Yes that's the Musemobile with Satellite up and tucked in for the day/night)


I really liked the ripples on the mostly placid safe harbor.


They even reached the pier south of our campsite.


Sharyn and Ed stopped for a pose after a nice walk down to the pier.


As the sun set and darkness began to fall Mr. Mallard surveyed the lights of Salmon Harbor Boat Docks and the town of Winchester Bay


There is a touch of magic in the twilight at this beautiful sea coast town.


Scrabble Score - last 4 games Scrabble Queen 1 - The Contender 3 (I've had really lucky draws lately.)

Quote of the Day

"“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."

Arthur Ashe quotes (American social Activist and Tennis Player, the first black winner of a major men's singles championship. 1943-1993)

Covering the baby.....

Well I'm starting this blog with a rather weird picture I like (although I have no idea why) of the moon half hidden behind a tree and having an out of focus Clematis leaf in the foreground. Nothing special about the picture and it off topic but I like it.


Today we went to the storage facility we use for storing the Musemobile since out friendly neighbor filed a complaint with Creswell City Hall. Would have been nice J if you had just asked.

Well anyway here is Andrew atop the musemobile trying to determine front from back and left to right.


He really didn't have a clue since this was the first time.


So he made a guess this was the front.


Then her started to unfurl the 50lbs cover,


Things started to fall into place - It looks pretty scary and I think it is something great care is required. There are lots of bumps on the roof he could have easily tripped on with the cover over them. Megan helped when necessary.


I even got into the act holding a strap.


As the cover opened it really started to drape easily over the sides.


Then with a flip of an edge and a few pulls of the straps we were almost done.


In the storage facility there were some interesting vehicles. Some obviously were towed *LOL*



There were lots of old buses I suppose Ken Kesey had a huge influence on this area.

Ken Kesey, born in 1935, was raised on farms in Colorado and Oregon. At the University of Oregon, he participated in wrestling and theater. He married his high school sweetheart and they had 3 children together. In 1959, when he volunteered to be a subject in experiments with hallucinogenic drugs, his life underwent a dramatic change. Near the end of the experiments, he began working the night shift in a mental ward. He started to feel that the patients were not really crazy after all, just more individualized than society was willing to accept. Parts of his novel (Cuckoo's Nest) were written while he was under the influence of LSD and peyote.

Note the bus

Kesey's specialty at the time was green Kool-Aid laced with LSD. In 1964, promoting his new book, "Sometimes a Great Notion," he and his friends, dubbed the Merry Pranksters, drove from San Francisco to New York in a psychedelic painted bus (paid for with the proceeds of Cuckoo's Nest.) His bus, Further, was immortalized in the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and On the Bus. Kesey hid 6 months (with his bus) in Mexico to avoid imprisonment for possession of marijuana, then gave himself up to authorities, and was jailed for 5 months. His writing changed from fiction to autobiographical prose, although in later years he returned to fiction with Sailor Song and Last Go Round.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may have had more influence on society than society had on Kesey. The book was widely read by college students just as the baby boomers began to challenge authority. It is considered a masterpiece. Until his death in 2001, Kesey resided in Oregon where he had been active in the PTA :-).

So there were busses ...........


......and busses.......


.... and more busses


The next thing we were done and the crew posed for a picture. Sleep well under your cover dear Musemobile - out baby..... (after the boys of course)


Scrabble Score --- Scrabble Queen 287 - The Contender 289 Whew!

Quote of the day

“When people ask what my best work is, it's the bus. I thought you ought to be living your art, rather than stepping back and describing it.” ~ Ken Kesey

Ken Kesey was a wonderful story teller and here in Eugene there is a wonderful stature memorializing "The Storyteller"