One of my favorite places! They just changed ownership this summer, and it's not quite the same. By 2008, it should be perfect again!

The lighthouse store and Deli. Good greasy food!

This booths set up almost every day during the summer. Lots of good things, some junk Always fun to look anyway..They are about 3 miles from Charleston on the Cape Arago Highway

Always something for the tourist, or the locals! This place has been in business for a long time..

Looks like the skipper hit a rock and just left it there!

Just another colorful quick stop on the Cape Arago Highway on the way to Charleston.

Cheryl has ridden this bike that she put together out of pieces, as far as Port Orford (55 miles south) and clear over to Eugene (120 miles east) She made this trailer to replace the one she used to carry her two girls in. She designed the lights on this one, uses a solar panel to charge a laptop battery, and powers some low amp LEDs for lights. She builds all her own equipment. A very competent lady with a hight IQ, but just likes to do her own thing. We've know her for years. Some folks think she's a little crazy, but she's not!

A trailer that Cheryl made. She uses it to haul her sticks. For years, she had another trailer that she carried her two girls in. They traveled all over in that little trailer with Cheryl pulling it. They are both late teen agers now, and are on their own.

Some local color. This is Cheryl, she's lived in Coos Bay for many years. You can find her here almost every day now. She gathers limbs and makes walking sticks, that she sells for $5 each. She has made enough to support her family, and even saved up enough to buy and old pickup. She's a very interesting lady. Makes all her own clothes too.

The Plain View motel. A mile from Charleston. Good rates, smaller rooms, and lots of "full timers" stay there. They fill almost every night because of the price and the fact that they don't have a lot of rooms to rent.

A DQ! This is the Pigeon Point Dairy Queen, about a mile from Charleston, back towards the city.

The side of Davey Jones Locker. Gas Station, store, and a wonderful deli!

There are 2 large commerical oyster farms in Coos Bay, and a few smaller ones. They are very good!

That old red barn used to be a very good restaurant for many years. The owner retired a few years ago, and just closed it up. Next door to it was Red's Tavern. A real "bucket of blood". Weekly fights between the loggers and fisherman...a rough place..Only the Coasties were liked by all. Red's burned down a few years ago, the end of an era for sure!

The General Store. You can find almost anything you may need in here. But..remember...Wal-Mart is about 6 miles away!

The display case at Chuck's Seafood. One of the nicest Seafood stores, but also the most expensive.

She's cooking crab. You can buy it already cooked and cleaned, or..bring yours in. They will either just cook it for you, or, cook and clean.

One of the ladies working away on fish and crab. Notice the beer mug on the table behind her. Someone just brought them a large pitcher of beer. She may end up with a few bones in that Tuna filet!

She looks like she knows what she's doing. The Tuna are in season, you can buy them whole or cleaned. Make very good canned tuna, but are getting more expensive every year, because of the fishing regulations.

These crabs were caught by someone this morning. They brought them to this place to be cooked and cleaned.

On the back seat of the bike is a 1 pound tub of small salad shrimp, and, one of their very nice shrimp coctails. Total cost of all was $5.34. I ate the coctail, took the shrimp home and made "melts". Mixed the shrimp with tarter sauce, put a heavy layer on good bread, layered some thin slices pepperjack cheese on it, buttered the outsides and grilled it until the cheese was nicely melted.. Yummmmm. Just finished eating it.

A nice dinner house.

A new fitness center in Charleston. Pretty Basic. The Club I go to with pool and good exercise room is 4.5 miles from here.

Good ice cream, generous scoops too! Everything she makes in here is tasty! My Grandson had a birthday party in here several years ago.

Just about everything in Charleston is within walking distance. These shops are about a block away from Capt. John's.

A couple of charter ads. There are others too. And, 25 miles north in Winchester Bay, there are jet boat rides and other charter companies. I'll put some pics of Winchester Bay later on.

I went in and talked to the owner again. They are all for us having the rally there, and will do their part to make everyone happy that stays there. There were some nice fresh flowers in the Breakfast room, it's part of the lobby. Nice homey touch.

This is the newer Charleston Inn. The rooms are nice, they have kitchens, and are a little more expensive than Capt. Johns. I think there are only 8 unts in this one.

Red building is another part of Captain John's. The Blue unit is a little nicer place,

Some of the Businesses that have paid to be put on this sign.

A Pelican sitting on a piling..This is an excellent restaurant. A little on the high side price wise, but you pretty much get what you pay for. There are LOTS of others near by to choose from.

Parking lot of the Beach House and over flow for the Portside. Capt. John's motel is right over the red pickup. At least one of the room units. They aren't all in one building.

This is the beach house. It rents very reasonable, and could be split up between 6 or 7 couples, or 6 couples, and 2 singles. There are 6 bedrooms with a double or queen bed, and one bedroom with two twin beds. Has a huge common room with wood stove and all the wood you want, as well as a nice kitchen. There is a deck on 2 sides, and a small beach down to the bay.

This is next to the Beach House. I think they put this stuff her to burn..so...maybe this could be used for the VROC camp fire. Easy walk from Capt. Johns. About a block is all.

Another land mark. This house is about 4 miles from Charleston, right on the Bay.

The "Silver Dollar" has been a local hang out for years. It's in Empire, right on the corner to go out the Cape Arago Highway to Charleston.

They make candy here, and have lots of free samples..Go easy on the sugar free stuff, it has a strange effect on your tummy. Don't ask me how I know. The main store and factory is 30 miles South of here in Bandon.

This sign is on the Cape Arago highway, on the way back to Coos Bay from the sea port and boat basin of Charleston, OR. It's about 9 miles from Highway 101 to down town Charleston, maybe 3 through town, then about 6 on the Cape Arago Highway, along the Bay and the Coos River.

One of the several nice gift shops located in Charleston. There are a couple of laundomats, because of the transient boats and RV's that come here.

People fish off the Jettys. You can catch all sorts of good eating fish, depending on the level of the tide and the wind. This is about 1/2 mile from both the campgrounds pictured later.

The entrance looks larger in this picture. As the blog progresses, you see it from another angle. "Red Right Returning" is the rules of the road here. Check out the entrance bouy.

A nice little cove inside the bay.

The Helix at the beach. This is near Charleston, the beach is called Bastendorf. Note the big ship coming into the harbor.

This big freighter is coming in to Coos Bay. He has a narrow entrance to get through.

This is the entrance to Coos Bay. And the Mouth of the Coos River. Although windy today, the Bar is very quiet. It's amazing how large some of the ships are that come through the Jettys. The New Clarissa went aground 1.5 miles north of here 3 or 4 years ago, in a bad storm. It's still on the beach.

The beach and end of the South Jetty, from the hill by the entrance to the County Park.

Entrance to Bastendorf County Park..Nice place.

This County park has very nice campsites. It's up the hill from the private campground. Very nice, the sites are mostly cut out of the underbrush, making them seem private. All the road in the park are nicely blacktopped. Same distance from town as the private park. 1.5 miles.

Nice to find a campground with WiFi! There are tent sites as well as RV spots. This campground is located one and a half miles from Downtown Charleston.

The little store and office for the Campground. This is private, and has some advantages over the County Park.