Wanda and Ernie really kept us busy! One day we went to Florence, OR to go on a dune buggy ride. We had more people than could fit on their big, slow dune buggy, so some of us (moi included) got to ride on the fast dune buggy for no additional charge.
We were bouncing up and down so much it was really hard to take pictures, but WOW, what fun!
Here's a short video showing how fast we were going. One tip - do not take your favorite camera! You will get sand in it! Fortunately, I have 2 backups of the same model, because the one I took ended up in the trash.
After the ride, Phil and I headed up to Heceta Head lighthouse, just north of Florence.
We did the short hike up to the lighthouse, and saw lots of nicely posing Cormorants along the way.
The lighthouse is 205' above the ocean. It is the brightest one on the Oregon coast, with a first order Fresnel lens.
We got a close-up of the lens on the tour. It is visible 21 miles out to sea. The only reason it isn't farther is because of the curvature of the earth.
On our way down to the parking lot, the cormorants we posing even better!
The next day we went on a tour in Albany, OR where they are making 52 animals for a new carousel.
It takes over a year to create one of these animals, all carved by hand.
Here's a serval that looks almost done. I feel close to servals since my grandcat is part serval.
From there we went out to the museum, where the finished animals are being placed on the carousel.
There are only a few done, but we were allowed to test them out.
We were even allowed to climb up and view the historic carousel mechanism from 1909 that was restored and will run the carousel when it is completed.
On another day we had a bus tour of the covered bridges around Cottage Grove.
We even got a historic tour guide in the deal.
Most, if not all, have been restored.
This one was still in process.
After the tour of the covered bridges, the bus took us to a couple of wineries for tasting. You might guess that we really enjoyed our day!
And on yet another day, we went on a tour of the manufacturing plant of Marathon Coaches. These are very expensive rigs, so needless to say, we didn't buy any. But they did have Paul Newman's former coach for sale for a pretty reasonable price.
We did lots of other things, but these were the highlights. Thanks, Wanda and Ernie for a really great time!
You were busy ... but it all looks like great fun. I especially like the photo of the lighthouse from a distance.
ReplyDeleteYou have to define "reasonable price". I can just imagine the extra cost for that MH because it belonged to Paul Newman and has a '"Star Factor" attached to it.
ReplyDeleteI guess you passed on it because it is a bit large for your style of boondocking, eh? ;c)
Well that's it. I want you to plan my fingers crossed next June trip to Oregon. Seeing a carousel being created is a big WOW for me. Covered bridges and lighthouses too. I agree with Paul, Dahl that is. How many million is Newman's coach going for??
ReplyDeleteno wonder you are worn out!! I know I would enjoy all of the above, especially the light house, really a beauty!
ReplyDeleteWell, believe it or not, Paul Newman's rig was only $175,000. I think that was because it didn't have a bedroom - it had a party room instead. Apparently, he stayed someplace else. (this was from his racing days)
ReplyDeleteIf Sherry's going to Oregon in June then I'm coming too! Every blogger who posts has something different and it all looks amazing. I've been eyeing their pollen map and that looks incredibly clear too
ReplyDelete