(Events of Thursday, April 30th, blogged Tuesday, May 5th)

So I’m in the homestretch now, and it’s looking like it will be hard to string together multiple energy days in a row. For any day that I accomplish a lot, I am wiped out the following one. I woke up in the campground that had been so lovely and inviting only a few hours before, and I just wanted to get out. It was cold and damp, and even though it had working showers, and they were not that far from my campsite, the idea of walking there, and then back with a wet head, was exhausting. As was the idea of boiling water for a simple bowl of oatmeal. Impossible. I dozed a bit, and then decided that perhaps if I drove to a cute little cafe and treated myself to a real breakfast, that would lift my spirits and energy level. (You guys-as I am typing this now, Annie is snuggled next to me in Marigold, and she is making the cutest little snuffly snores. I can’t even tell you.) Anyhow. I located two prime looking candidates on Yelp, and set off. A few miles down the road I found them. Across the street from each other. One with a For Rent sign, and the other with a For Sale sign. *sigh*

So I continued on, and seeing as how basically everything is clustered along Highway 101 along the Oregon Coast, I hoped to just stumble upon something promising.

Hmm… or maybe not. We drove further. Annie seemed stricken by the same malaise I was…

Finally, we happened upon the quaint little village of Bandon. Although it was near deserted early on a Thursday, it was right on the ocean, and filled with cute little shops and restaurants. Including the wonderful Bandon Cafe, where I enjoyed something called an “Egg Mitt” which is basically a fried egg on your choice of bagel (I chose cheddar bacon) (Side Note to the Food Police: I only blog about 1/4 of my meals, so while I am not eating as healthily as I might have hoped, I am eating more fruit and protein and healthy thing than it appears. Also, you all give conflicting advice). They even had Diet COKE! But despite these culinary delights, I still felt like crap on a cracker (or maybe a mitt). I decided it was time to take drastic action and just find somewhere halfway decent I could crash, take a shower, and use the WiFi. (Not having WiFI, or even enough cell service to use my MiFi has been the hardest thing for me to deal with this trip. Not being able to blog, or even just reconnect with the world, is a major frustration.)

On the way back to the car to plot my next move, I passed this cool art exhibit featuring faces made out of trash salvaged from the ocean.

I hit the Jumbo Jackpot when my efforts yielded up Windermere on the Beach. Ridiculously cute little cottages steps from the beach, with ocean views from the bed, kitchen, or dining area, AND I was there on the least day of their low winter rate season! AND the older dude running the place let me go ahead and check in at 11:45-so I’d have almost a full 24 hours to recuperate!

Did I mentioned his assistant was a little black and white terrier named Booker T Washington? Who roamed the place freely and never uttered a peep the entire time I was there? Hmmm…

I gave my own terrier assistant a little treat and then flopped on the bed exhausted, only to scroll the internet for the next hour or so because I was too tired to actually sleep.

Later on I rallied enough for a short stroll on the beach, but it was too windy to linger long.

And still later, I drove into town and got some amazing clam chowder and Dungeness crab (proteins!) takeout from this little hole in the wall. And enjoyed it on my personal patio watching the sun set over the ocean. If this won’t cure me, nothing will.