Thursday, July 31, 2014
We had arrived in Coos Bay, Oregon and checked in at our hotel. Now it was time to visit Laura’s Aunt Ellen. Ellen is Laura’s mother’s younger sister. Upon retirement, Aunt Ellen and Uncle Larry sold their home in the desert in California, bought a large RV and spent several years traveling around the country. We were privileged to have them stay with us for awhile. When it was time to settle down from that adventure, they chose Coos Bay. Uncle Larry passed away two years ago, and this was the first chance we’d had to visit Aunt Ellen.
We found the house with no trouble and spent a good bit of time catching up. We had an early-ish dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, then set out to see what we could find. It was still early evening, but since it was now clear I asked if there was a spot we could watch the sun set over the beach. Ellen had the perfect location.
The town of Coos Bay is on the eastern (inland) side of the peninsula along the bay. Like a mutant amoeba, it expanded and swallowed up the surrounding communities into its city limits, including North Bend and Empire. Aunt Ellen lives near the Empire area, which is closer to the coast. This put us in a good position to reach the beach before sundown.
