Skip to content

Random Connections

A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Photos
  • Resources
  • Other Voices
  • Post Archives
  • Home
  • Family
  • Tech Support in Coos Bay

Tech Support in Coos Bay

Posted on June 10, 2018 By Tom 1 Comment on Tech Support in Coos Bay
Family, Photography, Travel, Washington Sabbatical

Bandon Lighthouse-002

This past week we took the opportunity to visit Laura’s Aunt Ellen in Coos Bay, Oregon. Ostensibly we were there to help her with some tech support issues, but it also gave us a chance to reconnect, review some family history, and see some incredible scenery along the coast.

On our last trip we took a rather leisurely route down and back. This time we drove straight down. It was still a lovely drive, especially drive from I-5 along the Umpqua River to the coast. I kept looking at the water longingly, as I always do when I don’t have a kayak with me.

We pulled into Coos Bay late afternoon and arrived at Aunt Ellen’s house. We went out for a nice Mexican dinner then settled in for the evening.

Tech Support

Our first day was spent on our intended purpose. Aunt Ellen’s laptop had died and she needed a replacement. She also wanted to upgrade her old flip phone to a smart phone so that she could take and post photos. Monday evening we looked online for options available locally. Tuesday morning we had a great breakfast at the Pancake Mill while plotting a strategy.

Laura and Aunt Ellen

We were successful in our endeavors. We found Ellen a suitable laptop and a new Android phone. Getting a phone set up is always more tedious that we expect, but we survived. The rest of the afternoon was spent learning about all of the new features and getting things configured properly. We figured we had succeeded when Ellen took this photo of me at Bastendorf Beach and posted it to Facebook.

Tom at Bastendorf Beach, Coos Bay, Oregon

We brought one of our Amazon Echo Dots with us to see if Ellen might like it. She took to it immediately, much to our surprise and delight. I connected it to her Dish TV and she was able to change channels with voice command. It looked like things were going well, so we bought a full-sized Echo and a couple of smart switches so that she could turn on lights. We also left her with the Dot so that she could control things from anywhere in the house.

Aunt Ellen just turned 80 last fall and is in great health. However, at that age falls are a constant hazard, especially living alone. We thought that Alexa would be a safety measure, allowing her to call if she couldn’t reach a phone.

Coastal Adventures

As previously mentioned, we made headed for an evening walk on Bastendorf Beach after tech shopping on Tuesday. The tide was out, but there were enough waves for surfing (which we didn’t do.)

Bastendorf Beach
Bastendorf Beach-002
Bastendorf Beach-005
Bastendorf Beach-003

We didn’t stick around for the actual sunset. There was a bank of clouds on the horizon, so it would have been somewhat obscured.

Wednesday was our day for exploring. We headed down to the town of Bandon for lunch at Ellen’s favorite spot, the Minute Cafe. After feasting on fry bread salads and a Reuben for me we did a bit of shopping around town, then headed over to the Bandon Beach. There were great views of the sea stacks as well as the Bandon light house. I walked out onto the jetty to get better shots, but we didn’t take the stairs down to the beach.

Bandon Beach
Bandon Beach-011
Bandon Beach-015
Bandon Beach-019
Bandon Lighthouse-003
Bandon Lighthouse-004
Bandon Beach-004

We continued south along the coast on Beach Drive. There were several overlooks along the cliffs. Our next stop was at the Face Rock overlook. On top of the rocks were lots of seabirds. We hoped to see some puffins.

Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-005
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-004
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-007
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-009
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-012
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-014
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-016
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-017
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-026
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-030

At one overlook we found a sculpture of a puffin that had been made entirely of items that had been washed up on the beach.

Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-023
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-024
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-038
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-039
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-040

So far we had just walked along the cliff edges. There had been stairs and trails down to the beach at each stop, but these looked like they might be difficult. At the Devil’s Kitchen overlook the trail wasn’t as steep. We made our way out to the beach. It was quite windy and the waves were crazy. One surfer walked to the edge, hesitated, then walked back. Don’t blame him.

Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-058
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-059
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-060
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-061
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-063
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-067
Oregon Coast and Sea Stacks-068

Our next stop was further down the coast. We drove down Highway 101 until we reached Cape Blanco. The road to the cape led through some gorgeous farmland along a river. At the end was the Cape Blanco State Park and Lighthouse at the westernmost point in Oregon. We made it just in time to catch the last tour of the day.

Cape Blanco Coast and Lighthouse
Cape Blanco Coast and Lighthouse-009
Cape Blanco Coast and Lighthouse-008
Cape Blanco Coast and Lighthouse-003
Cape Blanco Coast and Lighthouse-010
Cape Blanco Coast and Lighthouse-014
Cape Blanco Coast and Lighthouse-015

On the way back we spotted some rather unusual wood sculptures.

Oregon Wood Carvings
Oregon Wood Carvings-001
Oregon Wood Carvings-002
Oregon Wood Carvings-003
Oregon Wood Carvings-004
Oregon Wood Carvings-007
Oregon Wood Carvings-008

Family History

Thursday was a day for hanging out at the house and practicing with all of the new gadgets. We had also brought several things from the house – jewelry, photographs, and some old documents. We were hoping that Aunt Ellen could shed some light on some of these items.

Untitled
Untitled

Aunt Ellen helped us identify some of the individuals in photos, including a few lockets. One double-locket had a great photo of Laura’s parents at a young age, probably right after they got married.

Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled

There were knives and pocket watches, including some from Masonic and other organizations. As each was pulled out I would try to find some information online to go along with what Ellen told us. In some cases I was successful. In others, not so much. This piece looks like Knights of Columbus, but has only three segments instead of four. The skull and crossbones is also odd.

Untitled

NOTE: I just found out that this is from the Knights of Pythias. There was enough interesting stuff in just this one box to keep me researching and writing blog posts for years.

We found a couple of land deeds. I didn’t recognize the name of the owners, but these had presidential signatures. One was from Abraham Lincoln and the other from Grover Cleveland. Very clearly these were not their actual signatures, but were signed by a secretary. Still interesting, though.

Untitled
Untitled
Untitled

Friday it was time to head back home to Samish Island. Once again we retraced our steps. However, from Olympia all the way to Marysville traffic was backed up and we were only able to drive 20-40 mph. What is normally an eight hour drive turned into a twelve hour drive. We were exhausted when we got home.

It was a great trip down to see Ellen, though. We’re going to have to make sure we get back down there at least one more time before we head back east.

Bandon Lighthouse-002

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Random Skagit – Volume 8, Two Months to Go
Next Post: Family Scoundrels and Overcomers ❯

One thought on “Tech Support in Coos Bay”

  1. Ellen says:
    June 11, 2018 at 8:29 pm

    I love almost all of the pictures. I wish I had some skills with my new phone.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Categories

  • EdTech (200)
  • Entertainment (202)
  • Family (121)
  • Gear (115)
  • General Technology (99)
  • Geocaching and Maps (208)
  • History and Genealogy (266)
  • Internet (144)
  • Local (451)
  • Miscellaneous (550)
  • Music (196)
  • Paddling (248)
  • Photography (779)
  • Podcast (6)
  • Rambling (227)
  • Rants (161)
  • Recipes (34)
  • Religion (48)
  • Restaurants (165)
  • Science (48)
  • Things Overheard (29)
  • Travel (411)
  • Uncategorized (129)
  • Washington Sabbatical (113)
  • Weirdness (60)

Recent Posts

  • In Search of the Road Builder
  • The Phoenix Riots and Dr. Benjamin Mays – An MLK Day Ramble
  • An Obsession with Steak Knives
  • An Epiphany on Patriotism
  • Kayaking Bates Old River and Running Creek

Recent Comments

  • Elizabeth on The Temple of Health: Ground-Truthing in Antreville
  • The Bay Area Basketball Fan’s Guide to March Madness on FU All the Time!
  • Why You Should Root For This March Madness Underdog on FU All the Time!
  • Gregory Davis on Ghost Towns of the Pee Dee – Part 2, Centenary
  • Ivo Otto Deron on Seeking Music in Upstate SC

Tags

blogging cemetery Christmas Columbia Edisto River edtech Entertainment family Flickr Florida Furman Furman University gear Georgia geotagging Ghost Town Ghost Towns Google Earth Google Maps GPS Greenville Greenville Chorale history Instructional Technology kayaking Lake Jocassee LCU Lowcountry Unfiltered maps Music North Carolina Paddling Photography rambling restaurant Restaurants review singing social networking South Carolina time-lapse Travel video Washington Washington State
March 2023
S M T W T F S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Jan    

Copyright © 2023 Random Connections.

Theme: Oceanly by ScriptsTown