Instead of driving miles to camp in Northern Alaska and Canada this summer, we are trying an experiment. As CAMPGROUND HOSTS in the small town of Bay City, Oregon (pop., 1300), we are staying put in “the pearl of Tillamook Bay”, for three months, 1000 yards from the Bay. We are camping by Patterson Creek, loving this huge public “back yard” (that doesn’t require any yard work, thanks to the Department of Public Works who also clean the bathrooms😃)…and playing tennis on the courts across the creek. Nearby golf courses are calling as well.

Across the highway is a fresh fish market and restaurant on the Bay, and a block away are a 24 hour market, funky sports bar, and organic produce market and cafe with wifi. With the help of City Hall, we obtained library cards too.

Whatever else we need we can get on the way back from our coastal explorations. We toured the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast at Cape Meares…

…enjoyed meeting these 6 older riders in our park on Day 2 of a 3 month long cross-country bicycle ride…

…took our own short rides up above the park for views of our little Bay City, below through the trees…

…and we will catch lots of haystack and ocean views, of course, as we explore up and down the Coast.

All this beauty, and our only job is to collect campers’ fees at night and hand them over to City Hall every few days. With only two groups here for an overnight in the week we’ve been here, this is an easy gig, leaving our days free to explore.

So, send us an email so we can pin down one of the 5 sites in Bay City for you, and get thee on the road to the Oregon Coast this summer!

–Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location: Bay City, Oregon

 

To celebrate Steven’s Belated Birthday, I planned a week of surprises among the Finger Lakes as we planned to attend our son Jacob’s graduation from Rensselaer in nearby Troy NY the following weekend.

Daily, near Ithaca NY, we hiked up a variety of fern filled gorges to duck under tall waterfalls…

…admiring the beautiful 1940s, WPA built masonry bridges and stairways crisscrossing the gorges. Most outstanding was Watkins Glen State Park gorge…

…followed by soaks in deep tubs en suite or out of doors, or enjoyed post-hike naps in serene surroundings.

After a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown NY, Steven said he felt like a kid again visiting his childhood heroes all afternoon. He emerged as hungry as a kid exiting the ball field, so Chef Mel created a Farm-to-Table birthday repast at Mel’s 22 stopping by the table for a chat with the Birthday Boy. Never embracing the All-American Sport, I visited the Cooperstown circa 1800 graveyards…

…and created a candy wreath for our graduating computer scientist…

We got to meet the East Coast families that have hosted Jacob
for holiday meals in their homes over the years, and enjoyed a family reunion with our East Coast Martin Family, staying together in a big house in Troy for the three day Memorial Weekend.

A wonderful way to send off Steven on his 62nd year, and Jacob on his job in Seattle with Microsoft.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:WATKINS GLEN STATE PARK