Oregon's Bay Area

When we hear the words "Bay Area", we think of place in Northern California we used to call home. But, in these parts, The Bay Area is about 50 miles North of here. It's the area around Coos Bay, North Bend (which is nowhere near Bend) and Charleston. With Gordon and Juanita as our guides, we joined Sue and Doug for a very fun tour of this very scenic region.

Our first stop was just up the road at Misty Meadows Jams in Bandon. Before we stepped inside, we noticed several bees heading into the store near this sign: The Office of the Queen. (Yes, I was intrigued.)

Inside, we took a look at the inner workings of this busy hive. 

But, soon our attention was drawn to the variety of jams on the shelves. I picked up a small jar of Oregon-made strawberry jam. I can't wait to make a PB&J sandwich with this stuff!

With our purchases complete, we headed back outside where we saw several members of our party in caching mode. The cache was called "Got Jam". That was enough of a clue for this group to make it a very quick find.

This truck followed us all day!

Oh, look! It's Tucker.

After cruising through Coos Bay and fog shrouded Sunset Bay State Park, we headed for Shore Acres State Park. With five acres of formal gardens, this park was something to see, even in the fog.

There's always something in bloom at Shore Acres. Today, the roses were in their glory. This was one of my favorites.

If you don't count the roses, this was my favorite.

I can have more than one favorite, can't I?

The 100-foot lily pond was just beginning to flower.

Lava Glow was Juanita's favorite.

Just down the bluff from the gardens is Simpson Beach. 

Back on the bluff was the perfect place for six friends to capture a picture.

If this picture had sound, you would know what was out there in the fog at the Simpson Reef Overlook. Even though we couldn't see them, we could hear the thousands of California sea lions, harbor seals and northern elephant seals barking from their rocky posts.

Simpson Reef is located south of Shore Acres in Cape Arago State Park. We appreciated the beauty we could see (and hear) and look forward to visiting on a sunny day in the future.

Sue, Doug and Tucker paused for family photo. Don't you think this should go on this year's holiday card?

Here's another lookout at Cape Arago. The sun was trying to come out. Really, it was!

The lookout provided a perfect spot for Gordon, Juanita and Bodie's family photo. That's another holiday card keeper! 

We wrapped up our sightseeing with a very scenic tour of North Bend and Coos Bay as we searched for the perfect spot for some very tasty old fashioned burgers and shakes for lunch. On the way home, we searched unsuccessfully for some key ingredients for our dinner tomorrow night. (We'll find them tomorrow!) We quizzed Gordon and Juanita about places to park in South Texas over the winter. They gave us great ideas, which we need to hop on soon. Before we knew it we were back to our rolling homes, ready for some rest, relaxation and heavy duty blogging.

Many thanks to Gordon and Juanita for being such perfect guides on our wonderful tour of this better Bay Area.