We packed Shirley up and headed for Sunset Bay SP just a few hours up the beach. It was extremely foggy, kind of surreal. For some reason this was Airstream day and we saw lots of fellow rigs on this stretch of Hwy 101. We stopped in the town of Bandon for lunch and to look around. It’s one of the more quaint towns in this area.
So far, this coastal area has been much different than our trip up the Maine coast last fall. Maine had a rocky, rugged, and beautiful coastline as well, but it had much more of a resort feel. The towns were pristine and picturesque and there were unending inns and b & b’s, lots of shopping, etc. Really cool towns, but also the kind of towns where you get the feeling few people are originally from there. It wasn’t crowded, but it felt busy. Touristy.
Here, the towns have much more of a working class feel. They are nice but grittier, and everyone seems to be a local. They’re friendly, working people. It reminds me of midwestern towns like so many in Indiana, although here there is a hippy element that’s evident. Kind of an Elkhart meets Bloomington kind of feel. While many of our towns are struggling with the transition from a manufacturing to a knowledge economy, here the transition is away from fishing and timber. It’s the same transition that drives so much of our politics both domestically and in other western countries. I also wonder if public ownership of the entire coastline stunts private investment. Regardless, for visitors it’s all about the overwhelming natural beauty and the fresh food-fish, fruit, and veggies. Huge expanses of breathtaking coastline, amazing forests, and no people. We’ve decided we’ve done each area right. Maine is made for staying in inns in quaint towns. Here, an RV perched in a natural area feels right.
In any event, we had a fantastic lunch at Tony’s Crab Shack in Bandon. Kari had a delectable smoked salmon salad, I had a simple fresh crab sandwich on grilled sourdough. A couple cold Corona’s, some chowder, a half dozen oysters, and we were good:)
After lunch we drove on to the park, set Shirley up, and headed to the beach for the sunset. As always it was spectacular, including a lone harbor seal frolicking in the bay.
Today’s podcast was a Hacks on Tap episode with NYT political reporter Maggie Haberman, one of my favorite reporters. I think I’ve turned Kari into a political junkie, if not, she is kind and humors me. I’ve been a current events junkie since I was little. As my mama Shirley liked to remind me, I learned to read before I started school by reading the newspaper (the Ft Wayne News-Sentinel) in search of the latest news. For anyone interested, there are no better political commentators than the hosts of this podcast, Mike Murphy & David Axelrod. They’re two of the most prominent strategists in each party. This is the smartest look you’ll find at the politics of the moment. Not the policy, not pundit pontification, just a really smart look at the political realities from two guys that have run the highest level campaigns for decades. I mused to Kari that we were likely the only two dweebs in the campground listening to Hacks on Tap…
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