Our Mini-Vacation

We had received permission to join Laurel and family in Cannon Beach for a few days last week but changed our plans a bit when we found the Medford Temple closed last week and our mission zone was doing a session in the Portland Temple on Friday.  We decided to drive up the coast on the way to see them rather than down on our return.

Our Chinese class was cancelled last Tuesday night so we made a quick decision and decided to drive as far as Florence, OR and spend the night there.  We stayed in a fine little motel right near the old town and the river.  It was interesting to walk into the room and the first thing you saw as a Tsunami Warning Card.  (Note that the dial on the "old" phone had buttons.)

We unloaded our things and then walked over to the old town to find a place to eat.  Unfortunately most everything was closed by that time of night but we did get a table in the old Mapleton Train Station called The Waterfront Depot.  It had very much the old depot feeling--old wood floors, etc.  As you went in the door you walked up three steps right past the cooks to the old depot waiting room.

When we got up in the morning we walked down to to street again and saw the famous Siuslaw River Bridge.   There are pilings left from the original ferry landing there.

We grabbed a donut from the office and headed out to see more of the coast.