9-1-2024
H: 62ºF L: 55ºF
Thousand Trails South Jetty, Florence, Oregon
We started our day with a surprise visitor: a banana slug! I read that they eat poop so I’ve been asking Daniel if we can keep a banana slug ever since. We found this guy in our fenced in area next to… dog poop. We moved him to a safe spot and then watched him for the next couple of hours. (FYI: we don’t believe in keeping wild animals so we would never really keep a banana slug.)
We went to Darlingtonia Wayside to see the cobra-orchids (darlingtonia californica) which are carnivorous pitcher plants. There were so many of them! We learned that they thrive in very specific environments where other plants don’t grow well.
We stopped at two thrift stores, one of which had a 50% off sale on clothing. Can’t beat a $2.50 shirt! Daniel and my dad like brag about the good deals they find. We found a 6 for $1 deal on underwear! I’m pretty sure they were unused but we passed on that particular deal. It was fun to brag about though!
We went to Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area during the evening low tide to see a shipwreck but it don’t think the tide was low enough so we are going tomorrow morning.
9-2-2024
H: 62°F L: 54°F
Thousand Trails South Jetty, Florence, Oregon
We got up at 5:30am to go to the beach during low tide to see the remains of an old ship. We had the beach to ourselves and the boys loved it! We did not see the shipwreck of the Bella but we did see some sea lions swimming close to shore.
We explored Florence, OR some more. We went to Bridgeport Marketplace and listened to Shaun (the previous camper of our campsite) play music with his friends. We also saw a seal in the marina.
We liked the artwork throughout Florence. This fish is made out of recycled chrome vehicle parts.
We loved looking at the Siuslaw River Bridge in Florence, OR. This draw bridge was completed in 1936 and has four Art Deco-style obelisks which housed mechanical equipment and living quarters for the bridge operator. The bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places.
9-3-2024
H: 71ºF L: 53ºF
Thousand Trails South Jetty, Florence, Oregon
We scheduled the pick up for the Cybertruck! Daniel spent most of the day on the phone getting things in order. We had insurance for the truck through Geico but, when he called to adjust the start date, we were told that the policy should never have been written because they don’t cover Cybertrucks. So we had to call around to find new insurance.
He also fixed our 8 quart pressure cooker which had stopped working due to a loose soldering point. I’m so glad we don’t have to buy a new one!
9-4-2024
H: 79ºF L: 53ºF
Thousand Trails South Jetty, Florence, Oregon
We went to another thrift store run by volunteers of the local humane society. I’m really enjoying getting ideas to help the animals back in Tennessee. Our area in Tennessee doesn’t have a county run shelter and there are a lot of stray animals.
We took the Hobbit Trail to Hobbit Beach. There were multiple streams emptying right on the beach. We love that a lot of the land right on the ocean is accessible by the public.
Next we stopped at Heceta Head Lighthouse. There was a pullover spot off US 101 where you could see the lighthouse and see and hear sea lions swimming in the ocean.
We also had fun watching this seagull taking a bath in a stream on the beach.
9-5-2024
H: 72ºF L: 57ºF
Thousand Trails South Jetty, Florence, Oregon
Today is the day! We pick up the Tesla Cybertruck today!
Our first stop was lunch with one of Daniel’s brother’s childhood friends, Joe. Dave (Daniel’s brother) had such a big effect on Joe as a kid that he is setting up a charitable fund at Michigan Medicine to help kids with heart disease in honor of Dave. Joe is such a great guy and we feel fortunate to have him as a new friend/brother. We had lunch at Acorn Community Cafe, an all vegan restaurant which provides free meals if you’re unable to pay.
9-6-2024
H: 65ºF L 57ºF
Thousand Trails South Jetty, Florence, Oregon
This morning, Daniel went outside to move some things from the Model X into the Cybertruck while I was in the shower. After my shower, I went outside and found Daniel literally surrounded by a crowd. Anyone who knows me will know this is my worst nightmare. I like flying under the radar and interacting with others on my own terms. Luckily, Daniel is a lot more extraverted than I am so he doesn’t mind all the attention one bit.
We drove to Old Town Florence to go back to the Humane Society thrift store because they were part of a community wide garage sale. I had heard that a lady donated a lot of rocks. I got a bag of rough opals.
Next I got to drive the Cybertruck to a hiking trail. We pulled in a parking spot and sat in the car for a few minutes playing with the display screen which is different from the one in our Model X. A lady came up to our window and said “Come on! You can’t just pull up in something like this and make people wait to see it.” We looked behind us and found a crowd.
We hiked the Siltcoos Lake Trail #1333 which was about a 3 mile hike. It was very pretty and peaceful.
We saw a cute squirrel with a pine cone who got sick of us taking pictures and yelled at us.
We met a guy hiking with his very friendly dog who showed us a Bleeding Blue Tooth (hydnellum cyanopodium) fungus.
We also saw these really cool fungi with what looked like flowers. We later learned that they are called Ghost Pipes and grow as parasites on other fungi.
Stats
Expenses:
- Tesla Cybertruck fuel: $0
- Tesla Model X fuel: $0
- Campsite: $0
- Camping memberships: $22.38
- Food: $262.77
Tesla Cybertruck miles driven: 181 (67 kWh)
Tesla Model X miles driven: 364.6 (104.4 kWh)
Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 1
Contact Happy Vegan Campers!
Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment at the bottom of the page or send us an email: happyvegancampers@gmail.com
