Most of the fisherman in our section of the Newport Marina RV Park left for a few days this week. They went home in their trucks but left their fifth-wheel trailers, gear and boats here. Although they pay for six months of RV site and dockage, I guess they have to go home and take care of things from time to time. They’re a very friendly group of guys with a great sense of humor as evidenced by the trailer one of them has set up to vacuum seal and freeze fish filets.

I expect we’ll see the guys this afternoon. Donna made zucchini nut muffins for them yesterday morning.

Tuesday we drove a short distance to the Hatfield Marine Science Center. It’s a research center operated by Oregon State University and various fish and wildlife agencies. It’s an interactive museum of sorts with most of the interactive displays designed to be educational for children. Admittance is free – $5 donation suggested – and it was a worthwhile visit.

A yellow submarine is on display in front of the center. It’s a 4,000-pound, two-man submarine that can dive up to 350 feet and stay submerged for up to four hours. This electric-powered sub was used in 1985 to search for the steamship SS Governor which sunk near Port Townsend, Washington in 1921. It was able to locate it and provide video footage.

We left the Hatfield Marine Science Center and took a drive down Ferry Slip Road to the Wolf Tree Brewery Taproom. We looked for it once before and missed it. Donna found it on one of her walks and I needed to wet my whistle. It’s in a new building off the beaten path a bit at Wilder Corner. They had a nice amber ale that I enjoyed.

We took a side trip through Aquarium Village to have a look around and found it to be sleepy with a few small businesses and a cafe. I thought there would be more to it.

Wednesday morning we woke up to wet surroundings. It wasn’t really raining, but a heavy mist was in the air and moisture collected on the coach, the covered Midget and on the ground. By late morning, it had burned off and the sun came out, drying everything. We walked about three quarters of a mile south to the South Beach Fish Market right on the west side of US101. This is a small market and cafe – it was highly recommended for fresh seafood and great chowder by the guys in the RV park.

We’ve noticed the place looked busy every time we passed by. Tuesday was no exception. We got there a little past noon and there was a line waiting to get to the counter inside to order food.

There was a cook shack outside where a guy was boiling crabs. Inside, behind the fresh fish case, they take orders at the counter. A guy was working a fryer non-stop trying to keep up with the volume of orders. We stood in line for about 15 minutes. I ordered the fish and chips – made with the catch of the day – ling cod – and a cup of chowder. Donna had the fish sandwich, also made with the catch of the day. All of the fish was very fresh.

We waited another 15 or 20 minutes before our order came up. They had tables inside as well as several outdoor picnic tables. We decided to dine al fresco at one of the roadside tables. The fish and the chowder were both excellent – far better than what we had in Depoe Bay. The ling cod was obviously fresh and lightly battered. Donna discarded the bread from her sandwich and had a tasty fish filet. It was worth the wait.

Last night we had another seafood dish. Our neighbor, Les, gave us filets of smoked salmon and smoked steelhead – a little over half a pound of each. Donna made a pasta salad with garbanzo bean rotini and grilled peppers, onions and zucchini, then added chunks of the smoked fish along with capers and a ginger white balsamic vinegar. Tasty!

All of the rich seafood I’ve been eating is starting to get to me. I feel a little bloated and need to watch what I eat in the new few days.

Today looks like another partly cloudy day with the temperature reaching the upper 60s. We need to run a couple of errands and buy some groceries this afternoon. I’ll pack the grill and chairs and prep for travel. I’m hoping it’s not too misty tomorrow morning. I’ll hook up the trailer, load the Midget and we’ll continue south on US101. Tomorrow’s destination is another small coastal Oregon town – Florence – about 50 miles from here. We have a reservation at the Elk’s campground north of town – 50 amp service and fresh water but no sewer hook-up.

UPDATE – Wow, did I ever screw up. Right after I saved the draft of the post above, a few minutes before 11am, the camp host stopped by and asked Donna what time we were pulling out. Wait, what? Donna said we would be out Friday morning. He said his list shows us leaving today. I checked my receipt and calendar – sure enough, we were due to leave today, Thursday. Check out time is noon.

I called the office to see if we could extend a day – no go. The site was already booked. This is the first time I’d ever made a mistake on a check-out date. We quickly packed up and pulled out of the site at 11:55am. It took another 20 minutes to load and secure the Midget and we were on our way. Like most of US101 along the coast, the drive was scenic. The road gets twistier once we were south of Seal Rock. Many of the curves have 30mph speed advisories.

We arrived at the Florence Elks RV park about four miles north of town at 1:30pm. We were directed into a site in what they call their overflow meadow. It’s in a sandy clearing in a forest of cedar and other conifers. The sites are only roughly delineated and we have more than enough room for the coach without dropping the trailer and can park the Midget alongside. We also have 50amp electrical service and fresh water, no sewer hook up. Our Verizon signal is fairly good and the Dish satellite has good reception. We’re booked here for a week but we may be able to extend.

*Just so you know, if you use this  link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!