Oregon Coast 2011 Day 7 Reedsport to North Bend

Today was a short day-only 21 miles or so, and less than 800’ elevation gain. Winds were light, and there was only one significant hill to get us up and over into the Coos Bay area. The hill was another long grind at 6% or so-maybe a couple of miles.
After a fun downhill, we soon were approaching North Bend, and dreading the crossing of the McCullough Bridge into North Bend, with its prohibition of delaying traffic on the bridge. This ordinance is aimed at keeping bikes off the bridge and onto the sidewalk, where cyclists have to awkwardly walk their bikes the full mile across Coos Bay. When we arrived at the bridge, we realized that our hotel was on the north side of bridge, and we wouldn’t have to cross the bridge until the next day!
We waited for Janet to meet us at the motel, The Bay Bridge Motel, and had some coffee from the nearby espresso stand. Janet was touring the Umpqua Lighthouse Museum.
Once Janet arrived, we spent the afternoon exploring Sunset Bay Beach, Cape Arago and Shore Acres State Park. Shore Acres used to be the home of the Simpson family. Mr. Simpson found a bride in NY and brought her to the west. To make her more comfortable, he built a beautiful house surrounded by gardens with plants from all over the world and their own private beach. The house has since burned down but the location it sat on has wonderful views of the ocean and the gardens are now maintained by the state for visitors. At Simpson's Reef, there was a colony of Sea Lions making quite a racket. A strangely dressed lady with the pigtails asked "Is that a recorded sound?" We said "No, its Real Sea Lion Noise!" I guess some people don't get out that much.
Once we got back Jo went to check in, and she met the owner of the motel, “Bay Bridge Betty”. To say that Betty is talkative is a huge understatement. Jo spent probably 30 minutes with her when she went to check in. She heard stories from Betty’s 37 years as owner of the motel. When another customer arrived at the office, Jo grabbed the opportunity to get to the room, and quickly left. Betty did recommend dinner at the nearby Hilltop House, where we had a great dinner overlooking Coos Bay and the tail end of the Oregon coastal sand dunes.
Later, I had to go to the office to get the WiFi password, and spent close to 30 minutes chatting with Betty. She told me of growing up in Shelton, WA, her son who has performed on Broadway with Donnie and Marie Osmond, and all kinds of other stuff. Betty’s husband passed away a few years ago, and seems quite lonely. But she seems full of life and if we had more time, we probably would have taken her out to dinner. She’s quite a character. And, she runs a nice, clean motel with nice views of the bay. We would stay there again.