Tag: buying fish off a boat

“Why it ain’t no bigger than a bar of soap!”

Spring Trip to the Redwoods in concert with Daydream Believer, day 1

Last night was First Friday, but we bailed out early (about 10:30). Jess and Mark said the last folks left by 11:30, so they got some sleep too.

We hooked up Brave Horatio and were on the road by 7:30, having breakfasted on muffins and lattes. 

Beautiful morning—we traded a few texts to keep track of each other and met for lunch in Cottage Grove.

Brave Horatio parking with the big boys at a rest stop on the way to Cottage Grove

As we drove in I realized that Opal Whitely grew up in Cottage Grove. Brave Horatio was, kind of, home.

On the way out of town we passed an Opal Whitely mural. Next time we’re going to try to get a picture of Brave Horatio by the mural.

Highway 38 through Drain was still very much showing signs of its struggle with the big snow last winter. It was clearer than when were through a month ago but there were still many trees down across every single slope and ample evidence of all the slides.

The weather started to cloud up on the coast side but it was beautiful as usual all the way down. I love the McCollough bridges on the Oregon Coast and always like the approach to my home town—Bandon.

Low tide at Sunset Bay

We didn’t quite go that far today. We stopped for the night at Sunset Bay State Park. Very small campsites and close together—nice nonetheless. The campground is tucked on the land side an easy stroll from Sunset Bay—my favorite beach.

I’ve enjoyed picnics and other day trips to Sunset Bay, but, since we lived less than 20 miles away, I’d never camped there.

I took off immediately to check in with my folks. Dad was at the beginning of treatment for esophageal cancer. They couldn’t join us for the campfire dinner we’d planned months ago, but I was happy to be able to exchange hugs and deliver soup.

While I was gone, Mark napped and Jess and Bill went into Charleston and bought delicious lingcod fresh off one of the boats. We had amazing fish tacos for dinner.

Mark, Jess , and me eating pistachios around the campfire

The Sunset Bay Campground host was an elderly lady from a southern state. She did a double-take when she saw Brave Horatio and exclaimed, “Why it ain’t no bigger than a bar of soap!”


  • Brave Horatio is sporting the custom knife rack Bill made to hold our marvelous knives.
  • “Why it ain’t no bigger than a bar of soap!”

Another comfy night cuddled up warm in Brave Horatio.