Lakeside, OR

30 June, Thursday (White Rabbits - there today, but not here till tomorrow)

Sunny again this morning and cool.  We get organised pretty smartly, Kim has a shopping list to deal to. We drive north along the coast o US 101 for about 25 miles and it is still windy.  We stop and check our Coos Bay and North Bend, which is quite a big city so there is a Walmart, RadioShack, AutoZone etc. and Kim's shopping list get ticked off.  Fire works are for sale everywhere - bring o the 4th July Independence Day celebrations - woohoo!

We try a couple of options for camping over the long weekend, to no avail.  We’re not really worried – yet! Anyway it is so windy along the coast we bail and look for somewhere a little more inland, so try the North Lake RV Resort & Marina – and they have a lovely site for us for the whole weekend. 

We are all stocked up with food and Kim has most of his shopping (LEDs, bulbs, screws, wire), which he wants to use over the next few days.  We are here for four days which will be the longest we have stayed in a camp without having a rental car or other extramural entertainment.  They do hire boats (tin boats) here and fishing is a biggie.  There are hiking and biking trails, good WIFI, phone coverage and cable TV – what more could we want!  The sun is shining but there is still a breeze even on the lake.

We find out the Independence Day celebrations are held on Saturday night, not on the actual 4th July.  Our camp is hosting a Pot Luck Dinner and fireworks for the campers to celebrate. 

Friday, 1 July dawns (White Rabbits in NZ) and it’s another cool morning but the sun is shining and the wind hasn’t come up and doesn't for the whole day.  We grab the bikes and do a recci around the camp and the marina, then suss out the boat hireage - $35 for half day and $60 full day so we think about half a day for Saturday morning.  

Prolific waterlillies encroach on the lake edge but the water looks good!

Then we bike into town, about 10 blocks.  There is all sorts of stuff happening – there seems to be a county park, which is now full of RVs.  They are having a market day and one street is closed off - we get growled for riding our bikes through the market, but seriously there is us and two other people right now!  There is a restaurant and a beer and burger place in town, a food market, but not much else.  We ride back checking out the RV parks on the way - one just down the road has a Pizza & Beer, but our camp is much nicer!

We sit around our picnic table, have a read in the sun, chat to the neighbours, the place has filled up since we left and we now have an RV on our previously empty side - Kim's new BFFs!

The sign reads "Hunters, Fishermen and other Liars gather here".  Should add boaties!!

I hope to see a real bear at some stage, but would prefer to be a little further away then!