Each bundle of wood came with about ten pieces of kindling

I set them aside and used charcoal briquettes and fluid to start the big pieces on fire

Now that the big pieces are mostly gone the kindling is working well to give me another 20-30 minutes

#CampingWithJeff

Yesterday was gale force winds here in Astoria Or, I almost didn’t come this way today

Morning report showed chance of rain but no high wind advisory

Was dry and sunny all day

The Columbia River was flat and no wind on that giant bridge

Now at 1020 51F and I can see stars through some holes in the clouds

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Frogs

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And the roar of the surf less than a kilometer away

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The friends I stayed with in Olympia not only fed me well but I got to watch them decorate the tree and we put Yule Kitties on the TV

Cats and carols

They sent me off with a gift bundle including wine, premium snacks and most fortuitous a stocking cap with a built in rechargeable head lamp

I can’t find any of my headlamps plus it keeps my ears warm!

#CampingWithJeff

The power just came on

That means I can use my small electric heater instead of burning propane

Fire is almost out too!

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I tended the fire down to the last smolders

The electric heat has been on for about an hour, time to go inside

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Drove south for a few hours and found a spot at a private marina

The waves are lapping against a small sea wall 15 ft out my door

Their store has a crab shack out back cooking until 4

https://maps.apple.com/?ll=45.668753,-123.924990&q=Kelly%E2%80%99s%20Brighton%20Marina&t=m

Not enough signal for pictures right now though

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We’ve got seals!

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We’ve got Grebes!

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Also: Herons, Cormorants, a few types of gulls, Bald Eagles and probably a few others I don’t remember

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Sideways rain, whitecaps, winds up to 30mph from the south

My back door is pointing west so I’ve kept it open since it’s not blowing right into the camper

Also have the electric heater going

The whole truck bounces around!

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I’m the only one here

No campers no employees and no houses within 1000 ft

I wish I had a loud stereo!

I only have a small cd boombox with 4 inch speakers and the little telescoping antenna

I have about 100 CDs when no radio is available

I need new Bluetooth speakers to listen to music from my phone

Often when camping streaming is not an option but saved music from phone to speakers works

Currently listening to 93.3 “The Rock” rocking Seaside and Astoria signal 4/5

#CampingWithJeff

I only recently got my totes of CDs out of storage and still in jewel cases

I need to find a couple of those binders with sleeves for my collection

We bought a lot up until about 2000

Probably 400 at home and 200 DVDs

No TV installed in the camper yet but a small disc player and I have room for a mid 20s inch TV would work

I have my Chromebook when WiFi is available

#CampingWithJeff

I finally thought to search for WiFi.

The park has no password unsecured connection. I’m getting 4/5 bars and pictures are back on the menu!

An overview of the empty lot and marina.

Very near the mouth of the Nehalem river

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I enjoyed watching the river for a few hours today and I plan on doing it all day tomorrow too

I have no particular place to be until Christmas so why not

Great bird watching!

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The store has a crab shack out back with outdoor seafood cooking and seating

The host mentioned crab and oysters, might be some clams and fish too

I didn’t go back there today but chances are all three meals of the day may be shack related

#CampingWithJeff

I haven’t used the camper since summer

I left everything in a jumble then. While taking inventory and organizing I found some freaky fungus I was gifted at a party

About 3/4 gram. I don’t like going full trip dose these days, but a slow roll munching a few caps throughout the day can lead to new insights

#CampingWithJeff

The wind and rain have eased up

I still have the door open

52F outside and 62 inside with the electric heater going

A sweater and a stocking cap is all you need to weather the storm

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Here is the website for the marina/park now that I figured out how to log in to their WiFi!

It’s crabs, all the way down!

https://kellysbrightonmarina.com/

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I got the tripod out now that the rain left

First shot is to the east where the the sky is partially clear

The second shot is to the west where the cloud cover shows light pollution from there

Not that bright to my eyes but the camera never lies

#CampingWithJeff

The friends I just visited gave me a gift box with premium snacks, a bottle of wine (just finished) and this stocking cap with a built in rechargeable headlamp

#CampingWithJeff

Now that I have WiFi I feel the urge to watch TV, but it’s just like smoking, once you quit for a week you are part way there

But

But

But

Star Trek is RIGHT THERE!

#CampingWithJeff

Now that it is 1 am, I wish I had some loud fireworks

Just to show the locals who’s boss
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Tonight’s episode of #CampingWithJeff is singing off air at 01:48

Stay tuned for further hijinks

I’m up! It was a long night talking to you animals

Each of those posts equals about two cocktails so I’m glad I’m not driving anywhere today

#CampingWithJeff

Merganzer!

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Bufflehead!

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Coots!

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Kingfisher!

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Kayaks!

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Kayak man is towing a large inner tube with a big crab pot on it

Plop, there it goes, into the drink!

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People on the dock are pulling up pots now too, I see crabs!

I’m just going to go to the cook shack for my crab needs

Got a day fire started even though it is almost 60F

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Breakfast beer!

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Got chased off the fire by rain

The wood they have wasn’t burning very good anyway

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There WERE NOT cucumber seeds in this envelope when I found it while cleaning the camper

Taking 1/2 right now

Edit: took the 2nd half a couple hours later and had a wonderful afternoon with a mellow buzz

#MagicMushrooms
#CampingWithJeff

The steam pots are running all day

Site is $49, dock access is 17 per ring more

Cleaning stations and boiler is included

Rings for rent if needed

Buy a cooked crab for 18.50 lb crabs weigh 1.5-2 lbs each

Buy oyster for 19 doz

Clams

9.50 lb

Only the steam pot so good for crab and clams

Haven’t tried oysters that way but would get them hot

#CampingWithJeff