Here, There, and Everywhere: Corvair road trip: Les Schwab continues to fix my flats and I get up early for golf

07 April, 2012

Corvair road trip: Les Schwab continues to fix my flats and I get up early for golf

Washing Walter c. 1999

Did you know that Les Schwab offers free flat-repair for users of their tires? I did. In high school, I experienced their free flat-repair service first hand following the decision to take my 1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 called Walter mud bogging on the flooded dirt road between our llama pasture and the onion field.

What I did not know is that our Corvair has Les Schwab tires.

Okay, so I lied ever so slightly in my last post when I said we had no car trouble. We had the most minor of troubles keeping air in one of the rear tires, but admitting as much would have ruined my title. Never mind though, it was just a matter of topping up the air now and then and ultimately getting a nail puncture repaired at the Crescent City Les Schwab--for free. Who knows where we picked up the nail, but I can assure you there were no flooded roads involved.

Having completed our redwoods checklist, fixed the flat, and given the car a bath, the M & M road trip turned back to Oregon, this time continuing up the 101 along the coast. The Corvair was running like a champ on full tires, and the weather couldn't have been better.

Port Orford

If you are ever driving through Port Orford around lunchtime and aren't sure where to eat, just take my advice and go to The Crazy Norwegian's Fish & Chips. We went on advice of the man in the information center are were not disappointed. We got seats even though the small dining room was packed, and the lone waitress busted out order after order of tasty fish in an amazing display of fast and friendly service.

Now I love the Oregon coast, but I would be hard-pressed to say that I love golf. Combine the two, however, and you get something that is not altogether unpleasant. Add a cozy room at the Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast in Bandon where the quirky and vivacious owner makes a mean breakfast, and you have something downright splendid.

MHH painstakingly researched courses and chose the highly ranked Bandon Dunes, one of its big draws being the incredible location on the windy bluffs just outside charming Bandon. He had to book his tee time several months in advance to ensure himself a slot.

Of course he had booked an early tee time, but aversion to morning activities aside, I chose to walk the front nine with him. The sky was an amazing shade of blue, but the coastal winds were frigid, so even with the windbreaker MHH's tee-mate loaned me, I was numb by the ninth hole. I did see some deer and a few pelicans, however, and the clubhouse made great hot chocolate.

A post-golf stroll around the Bandon downtown followed by dinner at Edgewaters was a great way to end our time on the coast.

If you overlook the incident in which I very confidently reversed into a parking space at the golf course and ran the tailpipe into a grass bank causing the muffler to droop threateningly, this stretch of trip was also car trouble-free.