From the Florence Oregon Real Estate Expert: Don't you Wish you were Here?

I'm sitting in my office in lovely Old Town Florence, Oregon. The office doors are wide open and a piney little breeze is wafting in. The fountain is burbling. Sweet smells from The Shed Bakery are in the air and I'm hoping that Siuslaw Coffee Roasters will roast this morning. There's a bundle of folks sitting at the sidewalk tables in front of The Beachcomber on Bay Street enjoying a sunbath and The Beachcomber's wonderful huevos rancheros. I bet they'll be back to sample the wares from the brew pub, equally yummy. Highway 101 is busy with RV'ers and ATV'ers. The Lighthouse Inn, our historic mom and pop motel which was a favorite haunt of Boris Karloff, is filling up for the 4th of July celebrations. I'll be watching for the barge to arrive from which the fireworks are set off; it anchors across the Siuslaw River at the old Glenada ferry landing. Folks bring chairs, kids, dogs and coolers and set up along the Old Town boardwalk for an old-fashioned fun-filled evening. Life is good in Paradise on the Pacific. If you want to live here, let me know. I'll even tell you where my favorite skinny dipping spot is!

Hope@HopeMacManus.net
www.oregoncoastrealestate.com

From the Florence Oregon Real Estate Expert: Florence Woman Wins International Beading Prize

The Florence, Oregon area is amazing in so many ways, not the least of which is the number and quality of artists who make their home here. Take Charmaine Pesnell. She just won the Treasures of TOHO, Emerging Artist Competition by creating an intricately beaded face of a Japanese Geisha surrounded by beaded cherry blossom branches. To see a photo of the piece and of the artist and to find out what she won, check out The Siuslaw News , June 27th issue. If your art preference leans toward watercolor, I take watercolor lessons from Pamella Vosseller and I own three pieces of Morgan Johnson's art. If it's art, it's in Florence, from microbrew beer at Wakonda Brewing--you know that's an art--to glass jewelry. You can see a few of Florence's fabulous artists The River Gallery and Backstreet Gallery in Old Town Florence, Paradise on the Pacific.

From the Florence, Oregon Real Estate Expert: Is Real Estate Taking a Dive, or Is This the North Jetty?

I've lived in Florence, Oregon for over five years and I continue to learn new things about this marvelous place every single day. Here's today's new thing: the Florence area has some great dive spots. The North Jetty dive park is used as a saltwater training site and is very popular with beginners and returning divers. You can find crab, cockles and some fish. Woahink Lake just south of Florence has been used since the 60s as a freshwater training site and is protected shallow water area for beginners. You can find many man made things, from a sunken boat and rocking horse to a mini "Kiss concert." And when you're through with these two spots, it's a short drive to Coos Bay's Sunset Bay State Park for some challenging diving. You can see kelp beds and an abundance of fish and other sea life. An hour north of Florence, Newport's South Jetty is a good place to learn how to spearfish and pick up crab.

From the Florence, Oregon Real Estate Expert: Killer Real Estate Deals!

Since we've had a big increase in folks walking into our lovely office in Florence, OR I've been thinking about what THE BEST real estate deals are right now. Here's my favorites today: a condo right above my Old Town Florence office, so you can walk to Siuslaw Coffee Roasters for a fabulous cup a joe or sit on your balcony and view the famous Siuslaw River Bridge designed by Conde McCullough in the 30's for $159,000; a great lot in one of our nicest new subdivisions, The Reserve, for $35,000; a 1638 square foot water view home in town for $247,000. All of these are "distressed" properties and may therefore be gotten for less. You don't know until you make an offer. So call me for the MLS numbers and a chat about Paradise on the Pacific, Florence, Oregon, USA.

From the Florence Oregon Real Estate Expert: We Didn't See the Ghost!

I have the most wonderful mother-in-law in the world and here's one of a million reasons why: Helen treated Cliff and me to a stay at the Heceta Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast, http://www.hecetalighthouse.com/ We actually slept in one of the last remaining Lightkeeper's Cottages on the Pacific Coast. We had the Queen Anne Room which is described this way:

Our most romantic room, fit for a queen. A four-poster bed with Austrian shears
sets the mood. View the forest and our gardens through your window. We
provide terry cloth bathrobes for the walk across the hall to the shared
European style bath. Soak in a porcelain claw foot tub and gaze at the beach below.

Doesn't that sound like the perfect room? And it was. The sunset was unbelievably fabulous. A sliver of a moon hung in the perfect spot to the south of the lighthouse. I took a million photos and plan to paint the scene--I'm a beginning watercolorist. Not the least remarkable about our stay was the seven course breakfast. How do I sing its praises? No words could possibly capture the palate-stimulating extravaganza that I experienced. You'll just have to go there yourself. Oh, I almost forgot! We'd heard that the Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage is haunted. In fact there's a book full of guest comments from those who have seen "them" and written about "them." Maybe the moon wasn't right, maybe the wine I'd had wasn't strong enough, but I didn't see one ghost, didn't smell one ghost, there wasn't even any ghostly fog that night. Must mean that I'll have to return under more auspicious circumstances!

Once you've fallen totally in love with the Central Oregon Coast, come see me and I'll regale you with the Best Place to Skinny Dip and the Best Place to Picnic Under a Waterfall. And I can always tell you about real estate in Florence, Oregon. Because there's lots more to explore in this amazing area. So much that you'll want to live right here in Paradise on the Pacific.

You can search all property in Oregon at http://www.oregonflorencerealestate.com/, or email me at hope@hopemacmanus.net. Ghost inquiries welcome!