The plan was to rent a car from either Hertz or Enterprise in Coos Bay, and drive it to Oakland to visit Robert and Natalia. We called both companies his morning, and both said they were completely sold out of cars through the weekend. The local Toyota dealer, however, has a car rental offering so I called there. Our angel, named Heather, said she'd be happy to rent us a car for the day, so we could drive to Eugene and get a one-way rental to Oakland. She gave us a brand-new Highlander, and even came to get us and the bikes in a pickup truck.
So our day was spent acquiring a compact SUV into which the bikes fit nicely.
After turning in the Toyota, we made 25 miles south to Bandon, OR. We will still see the Pacific Coast, we'll just do it a lot faster. Most likely, my back will appreciate the rest.
Traveling by car certainly is different. Things just whiz by!
To answer the question about how we will get the bikes home, the plan is to go to a bike shop, and have them pack the bikes into shipping boxes, and ship them UPS or however they recommend. I can't imagine a good outcome entrusting them to airline baggage handlers! Once in Oakland, we'll be able to deal with the logistics of shipping ourselves, and our bikes, home. Like I said yesterday, we have confidence that there is a good solution to every problem, just waiting to reveal itself, given patience, perseverance and positive thinking.