The Road to Nowhere...At First Anyway

So.  Mom, the boys and I hit the road bright and early this morning.  All systems go, and excitement in the air.  We drive for nearly an hour, several times passing a neon highway sign that advises us the road is closed at milepost 45, but we can use the alternate route.  Okay, fine, good to know. 

We finally reach the infamous milepost...to find that the alternate route is back where we started, at I-5.  Oh no, no no no no.  I have a very heated discussion with the moron asswipe highway guy who keeps arguing that the signs were very clear.  I have to disagree; "alternate route" does not in any way tell me that I shouldn't have taken this road for any reason, and will now have to retrace the entire 60 miles I have already driven.

Whatever.  Back we go, all the way back to Roseburg.  Two hours now wasted and we're right back where we started.  Without going into all the gory details of having to drive north, then west--another hour and an half gone--we finally reach the Coast Highway, though are over 100 miles north of where we should be.  Sigh.  Groan.  Whinge.

It took us over 6 hours to make a simple journey that usually takes just 3.  You really don't want to know how cranky I got toward the end there...it wasn't pretty.  I make no apologies.

Along the route west to the coast (second attempt), we saw this wonderful herd of elk off in the distance.  I was driving pretty fast at that point, trying to make up for lost time, but as no one was on the road at that point, I stopped, and backed up until I could get some shots.

I see so many deer on my mountain that I've gotten a bit jaded, but wow, elk?   They're so big and majestic, and such cool animals, it was a treat to see this herd just out and about, walking in this field.

Eventually, after a grueling drive, with a short stop for the boys to have food, water and a nice long walk in a little park, in a small village I don't know the name of, we finally came out of the woods...to this:

Honestly, the Oregon coast is just so beautiful. When I took these photos, we were about 30 miles from our destination, and I was so happy about that.   Left the house at 9:30am and near the end of the trip at 3:30pm.  Cripes. 

Anyway, half an hour later, we check into the hotel--which is right on the beach with a great view.  After getting all the gear out of the car, we took the trail to the ocean to see things.  Ozzy has a thing about the noise of pounding surf, so needless to say, it was a short trip.  I was standing on the beach, and turning back, I snapped this shot of our hotel.  That odd little white building in the foreground is the spa area with several hot tubs and a pool.

Mom and I drove around town for awhile to get a feel for things, then went to dinner.  Back to the hotel, and now the dogs have collapsed in apparent exhaustion from such a fraught day--if they only knew.

Time now for my turn to collapse, with the sound of waves crashing outside the window.  It might have taken most of the day to get here, but I'm thinking it just might have been worth the effort...