They were everywhere! I don’t know if we had accidentally ventured into prime mosquito breeding grounds but there were masses of them swarming around us. In fact, there were even some that were hitching a ride on the back of Matt’s sweater. *barf* It was seriously disturbing. We were glad to get onto the beach where their numbers dwindled down to nearly nothing. *feeling all itchy* The beach was pretty with the waves rolling onto the shore. We walked along it for a while before braving Mosquito Land to get back to our tent.
We had bagels and cream cheese for breakfast before breaking up camp and heading out for the day. We had been on the highway for a little while when we spotted Green Salmon Coffee Shop so we stopped to grab a cup of coffee for Matt. I think I was the lucky one because I got one of the BEST chocolate croissants I have ever had in my entire life. *drool* (Don’t worry, I shared!) We hopped back in the car and ventured further down the coast to Heceta Head Lighthouse. That’s when I noticed that this morning’s venture through vampire territory had not left me unscathed! Mosquito bite count: Matt – 1 Jen – 6!!!
(Exceedingly unfair, in MY humble opinion…)
The lighthouse was very pretty, whitewashed with a red roof, but the area around it was simply gorgeous. There were flocks of white gulls wading in the shimmering shallows while two huge rocks broke the view of the horizon with their magnitude. Off to the left was a bridge used by cars continuing down the highway but the graceful curves of the concrete arches were impressive in their beauty. And the greenery was resplendent in its lush abundance.
There was a short half mile hike up to the lighthouse. *out of breath because I am SO out of shape* (And those extra pounds I packed on in Korea didn’t help either! *shakes fist angrily at my own gut*) We were about to head back to the car when we were approached by a man who had been conversing with the volunteers setting up in preparation for the morning tours. It seemed that he was hoping we would stick around so that the tour guide wouldn’t have to wait for more people to show up before starting. (Ok. So SEEM might not be the right word since he blatantly asked us to stay. *laughs*)
Right off, we deemed him a lighthouse fanatic. (I guess the huge lighthouse emblazoned on the front of his shirt was a dead giveaway.) The lighthouse was named after a Spanish explorer who had settled the area. The tiny entry way used to be a schoolhouse although I couldn’t imagine being able to fit more than a couple kids in there. The ‘library’ was a few books on a desk bookshelf. The guide told us it was the only contact that the children had with the rest of the world. *mind-boggled* (Would that be the correct form of mind-boggling?!?)
The interior used to be white washed (most lighthouses are as we learned from the t-shirt man) but because of lack of funding, the red brick was starting to show through. We started up the spiral staircase that was NOT bolted into the wall. *shaky legs* Sadly, all the windows along the way to the top were boarded up due to vandalism. We stopped just short of the uppermost floor which was a little disappointing but the view was fantastic. We learned a lot, equally from the volunteer tour guide as well as the fanatic who insisted everyone has a lighthouse keeper somewhere in their family tree. *a little scared*
We took to the road again and kept ourselves amused by shouting out street names. (We entertain ourselves well, no? *laughs*) We went through a stretch where all the names were States with a random Knoxville thrown in. Then it started in on the fish: salmon, perch, halibut… (To be honest, I don’t think halibut was one of them but I know there were three. I just can’t remember the third one!) The next stop was the Sea Lion Caves down in Florence but after a quick look through the gift shop, we decided to pass and headed out again in search of a good place to have lunch.
Matt’s definition of a good place to pull over for lunch: a tree graveyard. *thrilled, I think* But it wasn’t that bad and we WERE hungry. So we scarfed down some sandwiches while gazing at the blackened stumps around us. We headed on down the Oregon Coast and were in California before we knew it. No, really. We didn’t know we were in California because there was no SIGN. I had wanted to take a picture of it. Oh, well. *shrugs*
We stopped at the visitor center in Crescent City to see about getting some brochures about the area but it had been closed for all of fifteen minutes by the time we got there. *SO CLOSE!!* We had wanted to figure out where we should spend the night. So we went by the tried and true method of “Hey! This looks like a good spot!!” and pulled over at the first place we came across. It was a superb campsite. No joke. We had a quick dinner while being carefully monitored (by a blue jay sitting nearly above our heads) and then it was bedtime.
Mileage: 259
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