SF/Napa/Oregon/Olema Trip 2016 - Day 16

We slept in a little this morning and did some paperwork before traveling a mile up the road to Sandland Adventures for our dune buggy ride this afternoon. 

It was a wild ride. When we signed up the lady asked we wanted the "bus ride" or the "sports car ride".  Not wanting to be confused with stoddgy old people we opted for the "sports car ride".  The dune buggy had seats for 7 people plus the driver, was low and sleek and looked like something out of a Mad Max movie.  We were all tightly buckled in with shoulder and lap harnesses and the other people in the vehicle were return customers, mostly middle aged, with one teenager.

The ride started slowly enough as we accessed the high dunes.  From there, the driver accelerated and we were "off to the races" - lots of twists and turns, up and downs, and straight away speed.  At points we were going up to 60 mph in soft sand.  We eventually made our way to the beach and drove near the water before heading back inland and through the dunes back to where we started,  The ride lasted an hour and by the time we got back we were thoroughly " folded, spindled and mutilated". Despite wearing goggles we still got sand in our mouths and felt like we had been through a wind tunnel.  One saving grace was that the weather was almost perfect - no wind and clear skies as the marine layer remained off shore.  Well, we scratched that experience off of our bucket list and if we do it again it will be on the "bus ride".

After decompressing a bit took a short ride out to the South Jetty where the Siuslaw River runs into the sea then looked around the rest of Honeyman State Park.  They have a series of day use areas that access several lakes within the park. The main one accesses a swimming beach and a canoe/paddle boat concession. One on  the other side of the lake accesses the dunes as well as a fishing pier and another swimming area..  There are also several lakes across Highway 101 with boat ramps, day use picnic areas, and group campsites.  This is a very nice state park and offers a lot of different outdoor recreation options.  

We then went back into Old Town Florence for an early dinner at another waterfront restaurant   Halibut fish and chips and grilled salmon on a bed of Caesar salad were the specials.  Both were excellent.  We finished the meal with another ice cream cone before heading back to the RV after a busy, but enjoyable day.

Day 16 Pictures

SF/Napa/Oregon/Olema Trip 2016 - Day 15

We slept in today, had a late breakfast and traveled to the local laundromat to do the laundry.  As noted yesterday, the laundromat also offers individual showers for $3.00 for an eight minute shower (towels included).  We haven't seen this anywhere else except for perhaps a truck stop and never associated showers with a laundromat.  We did see a bar and laundromat in New Orleans, so the concept of individual showers for sale may not be that uncommon.  Anyway, the laundromat was O.K., no one was using the showers and our laundry was done for another week.

After the laundry was done it was time for another late lunch/early dinner.  Since we were in the north end of town we went north looking for a restaurant. We found one at a seaside resort in Heceta Beach, a couple of miles off of US 101 on the ocean.  We had a nice lunch but couldn't really see the nearby ocean due to the afternoon marine layer moving on-shore.

On the way back to the RV park we stopped at the local Fred Meyer store, very similar to a super Walmart or Target for a few supplies.  We skipped dinner again and relaxed in the RV before going to bed.

We are going on a dune and beach ride on the Oregon Dunes tomorrow.  We chose the smaller "rail" vehicle with driver instead of the larger bus vehicle.  The tour company said the "rail" is more like a sports car ride compared to the other which was described as a "bus ride".  We did a dunes ride in our trip here in 2009, so we'll see how we do this time.

Day 15 Pictures