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Ridiculous at Sunset

By Suki on 2011/02/08

Along that stretch of state parks southwest of Coos Bay, the first one you hit is Sunset Bay State Park. With the name in mind, RV and I drove in to catch the sun setting after filling our bellies with delicious crab.

Sunset Bay State Park

The tide was LOW, so we walked out to check out the tide pools. I gave up going all the way out though because the rocks were slippery.

Low tide at Sunset Bay State Park

The water had made interesting patterns in the sand. I’m not sure if you can see them in the picture, but there were a few holes in the sand. Clams! I saw a few families out there with their clam guns and buckets, but I didn’t check to see if they actually got anything.

Sand at Sunset Bay State Park

I’ve subsequently read that there are yurts that one can choose to stay in at this park. If we’re in the area, I want to stay in a yurt the next time!

Anyway, I let the jumping photos get out of hand. Thanks to RV for putting up with me!

For dinner that evening, we stopped by the lounge of The Hilltop House after our first choice, Coach House, turned us down. No reservations. We have learned our lesson.

Next time – yurt and Coach House reservations!

Crabbing in Charleston + Fishermen’s Wharf

By Suki on 2011/02/04

After our morning at Cape Arago State Park, I got to meet Katherine Hoppe, the woman who made the entire Coos Bay trip possible! She was out catching crabs on the Charleston docks, so we decided to join her.

with Katherine Hoppe, Coos Bay - North Bend VCB

Katherine lent me a crab cage, so that I could get in on the crabbing action, while RV used one of the snares that he brought from home. We used chicken and rockfish carcasses as bait. One of my first catches of the day was this rock crab.

Rock crab - first catch of the day

We let him go near the end of the day.

I also caught this ugly thing. It’s a kelp crab. It’s true when they say “you are what you eat” because this crab only eats kelp, and it certainly looks a lot like kelp, doesn’t it? We threw him back in, so it could be food for the fish, birds, octopi, and sea otters.

Ugly kelp crab

As it turns out, it wasn’t a good day for catching Dungeness crabs. All the ones we brought in were too small to keep. So we headed over to Fishermen’s Wharf at Dock D for some fresh crab. They have a tank full of lively crab for the picking! Water is pumped into the tank from outside to keep ‘em fresh. The Dungie we picked out was still fighting and pinching on its way to the crab cooker. There are clean tables in the back for enjoying the crab.

Fishermen's Wharf

There’s nothing like eating fresh crab right off the dock!

Ready for some crab-eating action

This was definitely the highlight of our trip to Oregon’s Bay Area. Imagine that – leaving one Bay Area for another! Fishermen’s Wharf is located at the D-Dock in Charleston and is a must-visit if you’re in the area.

Their mission statement: Our business depends on fishermen, we will not under pay them or overcharge you for their product.

Matt LaDoux packing up our box

Matt, Mike, and Cathy Jo were extremely personable and full of information re: fishing/crabbing in the area. We couldn’t get enough in one day, so we revisited the next day to use up the rest of our gift certificate and to pick up some fish/scallops for the road!

Goodies from Fishermen's Wharf

Cape Arago State Park + Surfing Everywhere

By Suki on 2011/02/04

Yikes, no updates for days! And when I return, it’s all about a trip that I took more than a week ago?! You’ve been forewarned.

We spent Saturday morning hiking around Cape Arago State Park. Put this on your cool free stuff to do in Coos Bay list! Cape Arago State Park is located at the end of the road about 15 miles southwest of Coos Bay and offers spectacular views of the ocean [big waves and sea life]. You can’t really miss it.

view from the top of Cape Arago State Park

Super easy hiking, but definitely worth it for the views. There is a south cove trail and a north cove trail.

view at Cape Arago State Park

And of course, crazy waves.

view at Cape Arago State Park

We even caught a sea lion sunbathing down below. During our weekend, we saw a LOT of California sea lions in the area. I guess Oregon is a popular vacation spot!

sea lion at Cape Arago State Park

What surprised me, which probably shouldn’t have, was that there were surfers out in the cold ocean!

surfer at Cape Arago State Park

As we were hiking down towards the beach, this guy actually ran past us with his surf board and gear. I don’t think it was even 50 degrees when we first got to the park.

surfer at Cape Arago State Park

We could tell he was really excited to get out on the water because he was down at the beach in just minutes while we were still making our way down.

At The Chef’s Table

By Suki on 2011/01/31

Coos Bay is the home of the Oregon Coast Culinary Institute. Every Friday, OCCI opens its doors to the public for lunch and dinner through the externship program, The Chef’s Table. When Katherine heard that RV and I had both taken Friday off to make the drive up to Coos Bay, she made reservations for us!

The culinary school is located on the Southwestern Oregon Community College campus, which is nearly a straight shot from the hotel up. It’s very easy to get to and easy to find, even in the dark.

OCCI appetizer

Trio of Stuffed Phyllo Triangles – our favorite of the three was the one on the left – caramelized onions! Three seemed to be heavy for an appetizer, especially since RV and I each had our own plates.

OCCI soup

Vegetable Beef Barley – I was pretty full after the soup course! The portions were quite generous, and I don’t think my stomach was prepared for it. The beef barley was hearty, perfectly seasoned to my taste.

OCCI entree

Roasted Cornish Game Hen – more meat than I can eat in one sitting… It came with a rice pilaf and veggies, which I went right for. The game hen was very tender – the meat came right off the bones.

OCCI dessert

Raspberry Pear Galette, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with a Raspberry Coulis – I ate the insides with the ice cream and took just a few bites of the crust. By this time, I really had no more room for more, but it looked too delectable to resist. Yum!

Honestly, if RV and I had shared all of the courses, it would have been the perfect serving size. There was just so much food!

Our meal was comped, but lunch and dinner are normally $15-$25 per person. Reservations for The Chef’s Table are currently limited to 30 people, so if you know you’ll be in the area on a Friday, call ahead to reserve a space! It’s a pretty relaxed/casual setting. Most of the other guests the night we dined there were family/friends of the students.

Pictures of Us

By Suki on 2011/01/27

I have a tendency to take photos of scenery, food and THINGS, but not so many photos of us. Our attempts resulted in less than a handful of arms-length self portraits.

Suki and RV at Sunset Bay State Park

At Sunset Bay State Park on day two.

Suki and RV at Shore Acres State Park

At Shore Acres State Park on day three.

Suki and RV on a dune buggy

In our dune buggy on day three.

I think they turned out quite nicely. The angle isn’t terribly unflattering, and we don’t appear to be leaning way back and stretching our arms out as much as possible. I deleted the ones that looked like that – hooray for digital photography!

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