Oregon's Coos Bay delivers food, fun, forests and lovely water

Yorkshire terrier Nick enjoys the sun on a late-summer hike with us near Coos Bay, Oregon, a splendid retreat.
This quiet but active corner of Oregon offers fine food, a paradise for nature lovers and a pampering hotel casino.

If you are fascinated by bridges, make a drive through southwestern Oregon. 

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS
PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

OREGON HAS a special place in my family's heart.
And, like memories of family, Oregon's coastal towns have a timeless quality.  Coos Bay evokes happy memories of a bygone time. It's retained that small-town charm that means the cafe waitress greets you and knows how you like your coffee.
Yet it has big-city attractions and amenities -- a lovely resort hotel staffed by friendly folk, proud of the area and eager to share their knowledge. Fine shopping. Nature.

Mill Casino Hotel is a beautifully built, handsomely
 landscaped get-away in southwestern Oregon. Thumbs up!

PEOPLE GREET one another on the street. Yards are neatly groomed.  Pets are well behaved, there's an active artistic life. The scenery is lush.
We'd heard from writer friends about the Mill Casino Hotel and loved our gorgeous bay view from the hotel's pretty tower. There's also a cozy lodge with lovely woodworking.  My half-amphibian partner particularly enjoyed the water life, for the harbor is the largest deep-draft coastal harbor between San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound, and is Oregon's second busiest maritime commerce center after Portland, four hours north.

A variety of water activity unfolds from a room at Mill Casino Hotel. Pleasure
boats, freighters with lumber, sand, gravel and other goods provide activity.

The hotel offers free shuttle, parking and valet services, an attractive fitness room and welcoming spa, arcade and business center. We felt pampered with comfy pillows and some of the best hotel coffee we've had in hundreds of hotel stays -- Red Wagon Organic Coffee.  Were it not for my gambling penchant and desire to try a few of Coos Bay's fabled seafood restaurants, we'd have little need to leave the room, but we ventured downstairs to squander some fun money in the pleasant casino, and check out the hotel's excellent eateries -- one casual, one more formal.
THE VILLAGES of North Bend, Eastside, and Charleston cluster together near Coos Bay. You can satisfy your seafood yearnings in this picturesque part of southwestern Oregon.  It has more fish restaurants than one can

 Captain's Choice Family Fish House
offers pleasant, homespun ambiance,
friendly service and delicious seafood.

shake a pole at. Blue Heron, Shark Bites, Fisherman's Grotto all serve tasty fare and we made a second trip to Captain's Choice for its superb fish and chips. 

Keller, here, and Cookie, hiked
around and under several bridges. 

What we appreciated 
 about this pretty, quietly busy
part of Oregon was the mix of
sophistication and "laid back".
Oregonians, like my fellow 
Montanans, enjoy a lovely meal, and a top hotel.  They also love  nature.  Hiking, biking, birding are favorite hobbies in this little corner of Oregon. We also noticed posters for art and jazz festivals, and sampled many homemade goodies, from a fantastic berry pie to gooey cinnamon rolls. And, like my native Montana, there's no sales tax, so bring home a piece of Oregon's famous handmade pottery -- and some of her delightful wine and beer! www.themillcasino.com; coosbay.org

Keller and Cookie celebrate his rebound from liver transplantation
aboard Hornblower, a favorite outing when they are based in San Diego. 

NEXT UP:  Answering the request of more than 5,000 readers, we bring you up to speed with our transplant saga.  All systems are go, including the green light to visit Montana this year, and make our  

autumn trip to southern Europe.  Remember to explore, learn and live, and catch us Fridays

when we post our novel look at travel, nature and the arts. And

click this link to refresh your memory of the transplant story: 

http://www.whereiscookie.com/2017/06/transplant-tale-into-light-with-merging.html