purple room vents: TWO BROADS AND A JEEP #5

Well we changed our mind! We decided we should really finish the Oregon Coast, afterall thats what we came to do.

So about face and we headed for Brookings and the California border. We were told that this final part of the trip was by far the best...majestic and wild and the road stuck to the coastline...enabling us to actually see the ocean.

Well, maybe. We didn't really find that we were able to see the ocean all that much more and what we saw in Bandon was actually much better. But we were still happy we completed the coast. We came to the California border, and as we both were eating an apple, he asked if we had any fruit with us. Hahaha! But apples he didn't care about. He was looking for mangos and blueberries (?).

We decided to head down towards Crescent City Calif. then cut up towards Grants Pass. Half way along was a place called Cave Junction. I looked it up and it had eight hotels/motels. Sounded good so we decided we would stay there. We wound our way through the redwood forest and as we left the coast the balmy 70 degree temperature turned to 100 degrees. Seriously! 38 degrees.

We eventually arrived in Cave Junction. It seemed like a fairly typical small town with a main strip full of little restaurants, businesses, saloons and nail and tattoo salons. We started looking for hotels immediately. And guess what? There weren't any. Dammit!!! I did not feel like travelling further to Grants Pass, about fifty miles and for sure by the time we got there all their hotels would be full. And we would have no choice but to SLEEP IN THE JEEP.

So we asked a girl at a gas station for hotel advice. She told us to NOT stay at the one motel that we had not seen and driven past but to go to another one a further two miles down the road in a suburb (hahaha) called Kirby.

Off we went. Found it. Followed about ten signs that said "office" with arrows around buildings and houses and down lanes until we came to the actual office. A young lady came out and said sorry but they were renovating and had no rooms. But we should go back a mile to the Holiday Motel. We had passed it and it had looked a little dicey so we didn't consider it. But she added, "Under no circumstances stay in Cave Junction. Its a bed of drug dealers and they deal them at that first motel." Well gee!

While we were dining on lovely (read sloppy) mexican food in a mexican cantina, I tried to make reservations at the Motel 6 in Grants Pass by phone. Clearly we were going to have to drive there tonight. Yeah well that wasn't going to happen. Grants Pass is full. So back to the Holiday Motel and hope for the best.

They had room! (not surprised) 85 bucks. The guy who signed us in lives here with his wife and nine, count em, nine foster kids! There is really only one word for this whole dog and pony show...dogpatch. They actually have a video store in town and each room here has a dvd player. I know what kind of videos they are mainstreaming.

The room is roomy, as old motels are. But boy can you say sixties? The room is a dull tan. The tv is huge, no flat screen here. The headboards are not attached to the beds so every time you move they bang the wall, and yes, we do have neighbours...they are looking at us strangely and coming to WRONG conclusions. The room is full of flies, annoying, cloying, cheeky little buggers. I have already killed one and have left it lying close to me to warn the others. Little bastards.

But ironically, they have put a keurig in here. Out of all the places we have stayed this one has the most modern coffee maker. I thought for sure there would be a ring element and a pot and coffee grounds. I haven't looked in the bathroom yet.

It was actually a really nice day. Not much to report and didn't take too many pics. Its been kind of fun watching poor Cookie get a little dirty. She just isn't the type that that sits well with. But when you picnic on bread, butter, mayo, sliced tomato, roast beef and cheese, its gonna happen. But she is a real sport and takes the teasing.

Well tomorrow we are off to Roseburg. We plan to get a room by four. Hopefully the jeep won't be violated tonight, and I mean violated. People here are odd and different. No wonder the couple that work here ended up fostering nine kids. I think there are only nine kids in this town and they have them all.

Gotta bounce. Cookie is showing me funny videos about farts. Way more fun than writing. And I have a Plethora of sky raisons to kill. TTYL (oops....forgot to hit post last night)