Elkton, Oregon Monday, June 16, 2008

Not much time to post right now, but it's been a while.

Last Friday I drove down to Coos Bay, about four hours from Portland on the southern Oregon coast, to shoot a graduation at Southwestern Oregon Community College. For the first time in far too long, it was a nice, warm, sunny day. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to enjoy it.

The fastest route to Coos Bay passes through Eugene to Curtin, where you take OR-38 across the Coast Range to Reedsport, then another 30 miles south to Coos Bay.

I stopped for fuel (auto and human) in Elkton, about 25 miles off I-5 on OR-38. I bought the gas first, and asked the attendant where the best place in town was to eat. I was looking for something quick and not too expensive. "Well that narrows it down to Arlene's," he said, one block away from the gas station.

"You can eat in a booth or at the bar," he added, "but I wouldn't eat at the bar if I was you. The bartender's the ugliest SOB you've ever seen, more chins than China."

I said I'd be sure to tell him you said that. It's probably your brother, I joked.

"No, my brother-in-law. It probably wouldn't go over too well." I decided to sit in a booth and not say anything. Turns out that the girl at the bar was a cute blonde teeny-bopper, so it probably wasn't the same person. I ordered a hot roast beef sandwich. It was fast—on my table in less than 10 minutes—and edible but not particularly good. I took a couple of photos of the main drag, and headed out of town.