| Feb 2 @ 4:44 PM |
The Weekend Date Report.
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custis
Posts: 1,890
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I had a date over the weekend with an awesome lady. On Saturday we cruised the southern Oregon coast in gorgeous weather, hiking beaches and gazing at the ocean before having an excellent Mexican dinner. We got up early Sunday morning and went to the North Spit, a deserted seven-mile long penninsula of mixed shorepine forest, beachgrass plains and sand dunes that separates the town of Coos Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On the bay side we met up with my great niece and her hubby. We then proceeded to hike to the end of the Spit in temps that were almost summertime normal in bright sun. Near the south end of the Spit we came to a cove where intact sand dollar shells are numerous. You can also find live ones at low tide. These odd, flat creatures are actually just sea urchins who are modified to live on flat sand bottoms rather than in rocks. At this time my great niece and her hubby turned back in order to get home in time for the super bowl. My date and I continued around the point and hiked back on several miles of completely deserted ocean beach. On this shore a cool wind blew off of the ocean with just enough of a chill to counter the heat generated by hiking. We found large numbers of intact sand dollar shells before we came upon the highlight of the hike, a sea monster washed up onto the beach. It was the weirdest looking fish I have ever seen, a slender eel-like thing with a huge sail fin on it's back and inch-long needle-like teeth that looked like they could do bad damage to anyone or anything that this creature bit. Some Inet research revealed this five-ft monster to be a long-nosed lancet fish. You can see a photo of one at this site, http://media.canada.com/133a26b3-7939-4ba4-b93e-0c570ecf1751/60891-20188.jpg.
When we had gone far enough down the ocean beach, my date and I climbed up over the seawall and crossed a fascinating landscape that I have been exploring since my childhood. The interior deflation plain of the North Spit is a flat landscape of wild cranberry, strawberry, sala and other shrubs dotted with low sandy hummocks and clumps of weather-dwarfed willow and shore pines also shaped and carved by this natural sort of bonsai gardening. It is called the krumholtz effect.
Beyond the deflation plain lays an intimidating field of huge sand dunes, dotted with islands of trees. It took some life out of us to cross these mountains of soft sand to get back to where my truck was parked, but we loved it. A good long hike is a great way to spend time together.
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| Feb 2 @ 5:16 PM |
The Weekend Date Report. |
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willowy1
Posts: 9,181
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weather-dwarfed willow  
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| Feb 2 @ 5:24 PM |
The Weekend Date Report.
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missliss78
Posts: 5,189
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http://media.canada.com/133a26b3-7939-4ba4-b93e-0c570ecf1751/60891-20188.jpg
There ya go, Custis...a live link for your pic.
Now...was that thing really real or were y'all holding some kind of a toy?
Oh yeah...sounds like you & your date had a very nice time! 
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| Feb 2 @ 5:39 PM |
The Weekend Date Report. |
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adrian555
Posts: 1,622
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That's a mother in-law fish if I ever did see one.
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| Feb 2 @ 6:01 PM |
The Weekend Date Report.
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custis
Posts: 1,890
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Well I do not know the guys in the pic holding the fish. I found it on the Inet just to show you what the fish looked like. Thanks for fixing the link. I guess these things are fairly common, but in a lifetime of living and fishing the coast I had never seen one before.
The North Spit is perhaps the greatest hiking experience available on the entire Oregon coast, but as of yet it is largely undiscovered. Great expanses of it's interior as well as the ocean beach have now been put off limits to motorized vehicles, which is fine by me. Inconsiderate quad riders have torn the holy hell out of a lot of formerly beautiful and pristine territory in the Dunes National Recreation Area. I do not want the quads outlawed, but the riders should get stiff penalties for not keeping them on the sand where they belong instead of all over areas covered with fragile vegetation.
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| Feb 2 @ 6:34 PM |
The Weekend Date Report. |
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Gallows_Humor
Posts: 13,645
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yeah...yeah..yeah........
but did you kiss her??
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| Feb 2 @ 6:35 PM |
The Weekend Date Report.
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pamdemonium
Posts: 17,347
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Probably everywhere...until the police came.
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| Feb 2 @ 6:37 PM |
The Weekend Date Report. |
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willowy1
Posts: 9,181
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I bet he just talked her ear off! 
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| Feb 2 @ 6:40 PM |
The Weekend Date Report.
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pamdemonium
Posts: 17,347
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While she was speaking into his microphone.
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| Feb 2 @ 9:35 PM |
The Weekend Date Report. |
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Winnie4010
Posts: 2,641
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 Pam 
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| Feb 2 @ 9:40 PM |
The Weekend Date Report.
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Kenn159
Posts: 4,402
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Pammy you bad girl you. 
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| Feb 2 @ 9:52 PM |
The Weekend Date Report. |
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Mischief484
Posts: 679
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I had a date over the weekend with an awesome lady. On Saturday we cruised the southern Oregon coast in gorgeous weather, hiking beaches and gazing at the ocean before having an excellent Mexican dinner. We got up early Sunday morning and went to the North Spit, a deserted seven-mile long penninsula of mixed shorepine forest, beachgrass plains and sand dunes that separates the town of Coos Bay from the Pacific Ocean.
Wait...
This was an overnighter?!?
On the first date?!?
Custis...
We're not worthy!
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| Feb 2 @ 10:24 PM |
The Weekend Date Report.
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Winnie4010
Posts: 2,641
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...Custis reels in the women I tell ya 
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| Feb 2 @ 10:27 PM |
The Weekend Date Report. |
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signme
Posts: 12,578
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Just wanted to point out that sand dollars are not shells. They are the actual skeleton of the animal.
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| Feb 3 @ 2:35 AM |
The Weekend Date Report.
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custis
Posts: 1,890
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"This was an overnighter?!?"
Sorry my curious friend, you shall recieve no fuel for your vicarious visions from me. Just remember to buy your very own autographed Custis doll next time you are in Walmart.
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| Feb 3 @ 1:29 PM |
The Weekend Date Report. |
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sweet5red
Posts: 9,692
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the legend of the sand dollar
http://my.homewithgod.com/mkcathy/inspirational/sandollar.html
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| Feb 3 @ 4:37 PM |
The Weekend Date Report.
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redhairNfreckles
Posts: 4,688
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I made it clickable for you sweetsis  .....
http://my.homewithgod.com/mkcathy/inspirational/sandollar.html
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| Feb 3 @ 5:07 PM |
The Weekend Date Report. |
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thor22
Posts: 3,350
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I can't believe custis spent the whole day with some dumb womans rather than watch the super bowl 
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| Feb 3 @ 7:17 PM |
The Weekend Date Report.
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uab_5
Posts: 4,759
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Now now...that's how me and my best girl started dating.
I still don't know who played in SB42, all I know I won. 
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| Feb 4 @ 4:10 PM |
The Weekend Date Report. |
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thor22
Posts: 3,350
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well, uab, ask scorpiogirl...she knows who won sb42
(pssst, it wasn't tom brady!) 
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