Florence, OR
The campground was pretty nice. We had some great views and Scylla definitely enjoyed the forest from the comfort of her kitty condo. Our spot was private and quiet.
We ate at three restaurants while in Florence and two of them I would eat at again.
One of the first nights we were there we got take out from The Hukilau, a Hawaiian restaurant. I had a Maui Wowie sushi roll which was made with ahi tuna, avocado, mango, cucumber, furikake, and guava glaze. Very delicious and so fresh.
After work when we were running errands we stopped at a Tahi restaurant called Best Thai Cuisine. And it was some of the best Thai food I have had in a while, it really lived up to its name. I had regular iced tea to drink and it was so good. I wish all the ice tea I ordered tasted like theirs. They had Ginger Honey Duck on the menu so I had to get that. I also got some mango sticky rice for dessert, perfect dinner.
The last place we ate was The Firehouse Restaurant. It was fine. It was your average pub style restaurant with very little on tap. Not a lot to say about this one. In case you couldn’t figure it out, this is the restaurant I have no desire to return to.
Darlingtonia State Nature Site
On our Saturday adventure we kept it short, sweet and to the point but still had a really nice afternoon.
The first stop was Darlingtonia State Nature Site, a small park dedicated to preserving one species of rare carnivorous pitcher plants. The Darlingtonia Californica, or cobra lily, are the only native pitcher plants to Oregon. I have had a carnivorous bog for a few years and can really geek out about carnivorous plants in general. For my bog, I made sure to get carnivorous plants that did not exceed 12 inches because they would be living in a smaller container. But these babies were like 3 feet tall. I had never seen pitcher plants as large as these. It is really difficult to show the scale with my photos. They were still recovering from winter so there were a lot of dead pitchers visible and no flowers yet. But it was still super cool to see these guys in person and I look forward to checking out more carnivorous plants in their natural environment.
Hececta Head Lighthouse
After the carnivorous plants it was time for another light house. It was opened in 1894 after taking years to build. It is 56 feet tall and supposedly the strongest light on the Oregon coast.
Overall Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Stay Duration: 2 weeks – April 12, 2025 – April 26, 2025
Weather: Sunny but chilly – Temperature Range: 38-69 – Average Temp: 50
- Site 162 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Full Hookup, 15/30/50 amp, Back-in. Sites were a mixed bag. Some had really bad drainage and had standing water. There were a lot of really nice large sites but only a few of them had sewer. The first site we were assigned was the perfect length for us but was too tight a turn for us to back in. They were able to move us to another side that was not as long but was wide. It felt very precarious backing into it since it was right in front of a ravine. There were two boulders that looked like they were placed to ensure you would not back off the cliff. They provided a little comfort.
- Once we were settled I liked the spot. We had a great view of the forest and it was private and quiet.
- Picnic tables and fires allowed in provided firepit.
- Campground ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Staff was helpful and kind. We did not have any packages delivered and instead used ‘The Shipping Shack’ to receive mail. There was still a $5 fee/package. The lodge was super pretty on the outside but not a lot going on inside. It was still early in the season but mosquitos were already starting to get wild. I can only imagine how bad they would be in the middle of summer.
- Lots of little paths throughout the campground for walking Cazic and easy access to dog bag/poop stations. Also had dumpsters throughout the park which made trash disposal easy.
- Not a ton of wild life outside of some squirrels but I did see a turkey while walking one morning.
- Other People/Pets ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- This campground was much more chill than the previous, we did not run into any off leash dogs and because they provided poop stations people seemed more inclined to pick up after their pets. It was fairly quiet the entire time we were there, no complaints.
- Internet Connection ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- We were finally able to use T-Mobile, which is the easiest and least expensive signal for us since it is also our cell phone provider. I did need to put the antenna up on a pole but once it was set up we had no issues. Satellite would not have been possible, no view of the sky with all the trees.
- Vibes ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Florence was a fairly small town but had what we needed while we were there. The weather was also nice and it only rained two days.
- I really enjoyed my morning walks with Cazic and how quiet the campground was. The vibes were not immaculate but I do not have anything bad to say.
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South Lake Tahoe, CA
Midlife Millennial Adventures 