Day 23: Oregon Dunes and Florence

In the morning it's drizzling and it's chilly. Oh great, a day at the beach in the rain. We take our time, have a leisurely breakfast, tidy up a bit, and leave the yard shortly before 10 o'clock. We skip the roundabout around the small lake. The rain has taken away our desire. It's amazing because suddenly the weather changes and the sun is shining. Maybe there's a weather border there. More time is scheduled here on the coast. For the kids to play. We drive 30 minutes and reach our destination. It's the Oregon Dunes National Park. A large dune landscape with unique fauna and flora. I've never come across a dune landscape like this before. There are lakes with many water lilies and forests behind them. It's a bit like a jungle. Some sections are closed, not to disturb the bird breeding grounds. We walk in one direction first. It's just beach for miles. It's all the same and because of the nature reserve, there are no buildings on site. We walk in the other direction again. Same picture here. There aren't many visitors either. We settle down near the car and relax a little. The kids dig in the sand. The wind blows, but the sun is shining. We all wear jackets, so it's comfortable.
Then we climb back over the dunes to the car. Hanging out at the beach all day is too boring for us. We visit Florence. A small town nearby. The travel guide doesn't write anything good, so we are positively surprised by the little town. We stroll through the promenade street and treat ourselves to an ice cream. Here, ice cream costs almost $5 for one scoop. Expensive price. However, one scoop for us is three scoops. It tastes delicious. On the way back, we stop at Sand Adventure. Buggy tours in the dunes are offered, but not until tomorrow. Renting a buggy costs $35 for half an hour. David is not allowed to ride along. So we pass on it. This means one of us has to stay with David. Erik and Rene ride a small round boat on a pond and then go-karting. Erik wants to play mini golf, but we don't want to make David wait that long. We want to go to the campground now and miss the entrance. Only after a few miles do we realize our mistake and turn around. We thought the name of the place would be signposted. At least David can still sleep. Our site is large and has grass and sand. I think it's beautiful. The kids are in bed at 8 o'clock and we chat animatedly by the campfire.