Just a little more

You’d think we were done, since it was checkout day, but we’ve changed our checkout process. Dave and I were at Pig’n before 8, and got seated and served very quickly. We ordered our usual, but for the first time ever I couldn’t finish my second pig in a blanket. It reminded me of the time Ben and Joan came to visit and Ben ordered too much food.

We got back and Jen was headed out for coffee. We got packed and loaded the car up, but it seemed like it was a little too early to get going, so we hung out for a half hour or so. Then we hopped in the car and drove to the watershed for a nice hike. We discovered this hike when we were staying in Cannon Beach in September, and it’s a pretty hike with a steady uphill climb. 

We found it on AllTrails, and it really shows how AllTrails does their hikes, because the trail line on the map just ends, while the road goes on. We are curious if there is a connection to Tolovana. In the summer we crossed a small stream towards the end of the hike, and we were a little concerned about it the whole way back. It turned out we were right to be concerned, because it was no longer a small stream, it was a big stream and much higher than our boot tops. We debated turning around and going back to the turnoff, but we were hungry (for the first time this trip) and it seemed too far. So we took off our boots, rolled up our pants, and crossed over. It was VERY COLD. Once on the other side Dave gave up his waffle weave shirt to be our towel, and we got our shoes back on (not without difficulty) and our pants rolled down (this was particularly challenge for Jen in her skinny leg jeans) and finished the hike.

Lunch at Bill’s was an excellent reward, and the drive home was uneventful.

That is the end!

A Good Day with Good News

Dave and I started with a nice walk on the beach and through town, then there was relaxing until it was time to walk down to Pelican for lunch. Today was supposed to be an even kinglier tide than yesterday, but during our morning walk which was at about the same relative time as yesterday the waves were much further out, and the breaking waves far out seemed smaller. We were able to walk on the beach all the way to the beach bike ramp, which again we wouldn’t have been able to do. We were too early for lunch, so Dave and Josh stayed at the ramp to see if things would get more royal while Jen and I walked up to Miska to visit the angry chicken paintings, which I should have bought several years ago when they were merely expensive. Oh well. We got to Pelican before they did, and told the servers that the other two in our party were delayed because they were doing manly things in honor of the king tides.

Lunch at Pelican was good – Jen says their clam chowder wins for best tasting, but it’s thicker than I like. I had a banh mi sandwich which was quite good. Dave managed to be happy there, resigned to both their prices and their ABVs being higher than he thinks is necessary. We split up after lunch, and I stopped at the gallery next to Bald Eagle where I found many mugs I liked. I had choice paralysis and ended up not getting any. I also stopped at Icefire and saw them blow one of the gin and tonic glasses start to finish – it’s a nice short project.

When I got home everybody was there. We relaxed a bit and then Dave and I headed out to do some shopping for him in town. There used to be a shop called “El Mundo for Men”, and every year he’d get his casual clothes for the year there. They closed, but a new shop called Maggie & Henry’s opened, and then he got his yearly casual (and cotton oxford shirts) there. Now they have closed and it turns out there is nowhere in town for him to get his casual clothes, so when the ones he has wear out he will have to go naked.

We were going to head home but I hadn’t been to Dragon Fire yet, so we went through there, where we saw a lot of things we liked. A Willamette View resident used to have some of her (wildly expensive) abstract art for sale there, so I always like to visit it. This year they had what looked like the same kind of pictures in that spot but it’s a completely different artist. Still expensive.

The house is between Taft and 1^st, so we went up to Taft to avoid unnecessary elevation loss. EVOO restaurant used to be on the corner there – it was sold at the beginning of this month. So Dave went to look in the window to see if he could see anything happening, and the new owners were in there working and came out to chat. In a true Miracle on Taft Avenue, it turns out that they are the previous chef/owners of Calypso, one of the restaurants whose name is recited on the list of Restaurants of Blessed Memory. Hooray! They plan on opening in January, so we are excited to come see them. There’s also a possibility of Dave teaching wine classes there, which would be totally cool.

Then it was relaxing until almost time for dinner, with a short break for our 4th sunset of the trip. No green flash tonight, but we still can't believe how clear it's been. Josh has to work on Monday so he would be leaving after dinner, and in order to fit Jen in our car we needed to send a bunch of stuff home with him. So we got that stuff packed up and had our last showers (excellent water pressure, not a big enough hot water tank) and took two cars to the Stephanie Inn for our goodbye dinner.

The building was very nicely decorated for Christmas with white icicle lights outlining all the edges; it looks a lot like a classy wedding cake. The multi-colored net lighting on the bushes is a little out of place but very cheery.  The dining room was redecorated last year as well and no longer looks quite so much like your grandfather’s dining room at the Club. It had a big Christmas tree with all-white decorations set up against the front window and felt very festive. Dinner was very good, and both the pork and sole entrees were equally good, which is unusual. The Pavlova for dessert was weird, but everyone had a good time.

We all ended up coming back to the house as the restrooms were occupied at the Stephanie Inn. Then Josh headed home (he got there around 8:40, as predicted) and we watched the original Miracle on 34^th Street movie which was very good but we missed the singing. And then it was bedtime of our last night.

Yes, we did end up falling in love with the house, mostly because of the location, but also because it’s a nice, comfortable place. Would recommend.

Here are two pictures I like very much from the Miska Gallery

King Tides & The Coaster

There are king tides this weekend, so Dave and I went for a walk to see them. We went down the bech access path just north of us and walked around the point towards Ecola creek. There was not a lot of sand between the water and the point, it was pretty impressive. The creek was completely under water, and there was only a thin strip of sand between the water and the walls in front of the Waves motel. Water had clearly come all the way up to the walls, but we didn’t think much of it and kept going. 

You can see where we had some excitement!

As we were walking past one of the walls a big wave came in and tried to get us wet! We did the thing where you see the wave so you walk a little faster, and then a little faster, until eventually we were flat out running – at which point my hat blew off my head! Fortunately Dave was a little behind me and was able to grab it on the fly. We made it past the wall just in time! I might have done a little shrieking.

We walked up to the nature trail (stopping in to look at Hipnest, the newest home décor shop in the area), and then took the nature trail past the sewer ponds to midtown. We went down to the beach bike access ramp and the water was coming all the way up to the wall there. There were king tides last year when we were here and they were a letdown – these have been very good.

We walked back to the house and when we got there the kids were out and about. I went out to the back lawn and there they were walking by on the beach. Dave came out and we watched the waves for a while – they’re very big and splashy, like surfing waves, throwing up lots of spray. At one point I was watching an older couple who were standing on the beach taking pictures of the shore, with their backs to the waves. They were too far away to yell at but I did keep repeating “don’t turn your back on the waves” as a big wave came in and soaked them up to their knees. They didn’t seem too put out, although it must have been very cold!

We’ve never stayed at a place this close to the beach AND town and it’s super nice cool. We have first dibs on this house for next year and if it’s not being renovated we may very well be here.

Josh and Jen got back and we had some relaxing before lunch at Warren House. Our original plan was to walk there but the tides were too kingly, so we drove instead. The weather continues to be chilly but clear, and it was warm enough on the Warren House deck to eat outside. Josh would like it recorded that while the ribeye sandwich was tasty, if you ordered it without the blue cheese and mushroom add-ons it would just be a piece of meat on a bun.

The tide had gone out enough that Dave and I decided to walk back to the house. J&J drove the car back and then went into town for some more tasting at the distillery. They got a bottle or two and came back to the house to drop it off, then headed back into town for more shopping and also ice cream. This house is just super convenient. Meanwhile Dave did some napping while I got caught up on writing and did some knitting.

Dave and I each made one more trip into town, him for batteries and me for a short #6 circular needle. We were both successful (Dave also found Tillamook mudslide ice cream sandwiches) and continued on with our relaxing afternoon. We all went outside to celebrate sunset with our 3^rd consecutive green flash, a record which I can’t imagine will ever be beaten.

Dinner was at Bistro, very tasty as always. The timing was about perfect for us to get to the Coaster for Miracle on 34^th Street, which none of us had ever seen. The production was true Coaster and we all enjoyed it – well, maybe not Josh, but he kept his thoughts to himself. They seem to have had trouble getting enough adults to commit, so about a third of the cast were middle and elementary school students. This was particularly fun in the card game scene (“She hadda go back”) where all 3 of Fred’s card playing buddies were kids wearing large fake moustaches. Cameron Lira, our favorite leading lady, doesn’t seem to be doing Coaster productions anymore. We were nervous because the show’s lead actress, Emily Dante, was Dorothy in the Coaster’s 2017 version of Wizard of Oz that was absolutely terrible, but she has gotten much better and was fun to watch.

It's only two blocks from the Coaster to the house, so we were home moments after the show ended. After a short duolingo break (Dave and I are both trying to get into the diamond league finals) we watched the Garfield Thanksgiving special and then it was bedtime.

Friday with a twist

Our bed is small (a double) and comfortable, but the pillows are terrible. We slept well anyway. Josh and Jen were in the queen sized bed upstairs and couldn’t figure out how to turn the radiator off, so they didn’t sleep as well as we did. Fortunately there are more bedrooms so they will try a different one tonight.

Dave and I had pie for breakfast, then walked on the beach down to midtown. We popped out there to use the public restrooms and also to see the restaurant “coming soon” that we both remembered seeing this summer. It was in the same parking lot as the Speakeasy, which we will never go to because it is CRAZY expensive and each person is required to order their own entrée which we are now too old to believe in. The sign says the restaurant is called Flatbread Fred’s and it is still coming soon, which makes us think maybe it is not coming at all.

When we got back to the house the kids were at Morris’ Fireside for breakfast, which Josh thought was good and Jen thought was meh. I went into town to do some Black Friday shopping and found some good shirts and a pair of pants at Ter Hars. I took my purchases back to the house and we all walked over for our annual family yoga class at Cannon Beach Yoga Arts. It is one of my favorite traditions; we do lots of twisting poses designed to make more room for pie. All that twisting also makes my back feel really good.

We got done with yoga at 12:15, which always makes us a little nervous that we won’t get into Bill’s, but there were still two booths on the adult side when we got there. Earlier, Jen had pointed out to Dave that we’re lucky we don’t have to worry about finding a table on the minor’s side, a reverse nag that he and I thought was very daring. Not much to say about Bill’s except it was its usual excellent self.

After lunch we all headed for Bruce’s where I got salt water taffy and salty licorice for myself and some gifts to send to absent offspring, and Josh and Jen got a mega-assortment of gummies and some chocolate truffles. Dave and Josh took the candy back to the house (that was the plan, at least) while Jen and I stopped at the knitting store (we touched all the yarn), the toy store, and the store with exceptional things that is where Maggie and Henry’s used to be. We had a funny moment at the exceptional things store (I can’t remember what it’s called) where a woman was trying on a very handsome corduroy coat and her friend was asking her “how many coats can a person need?” and I said “how many days are in a year” and the coat-buyer was quite pleased. Then it turned out the coat was even on sale (I verified the price tag) for $29 which was just amazing. I feel like every time she wears the coat she’ll think of me.

When we got back to the house the door was locked (there’s only one key to the house, but it’s in a combination locked box by the door so that works). We checked life 360 and sure enough Dave and Josh were at Pilot Distillery doing a tasting. They liked the gins and some of the infused vodkas but not the whiskey, even though it is aged in barrels that are lashed to ocean going fishing boats for a year.

Then it was relaxing time at home until dinner at Castaways, which is a nice walk from here. It’s cold and Dave didn’t want to mess up his hair with a hat so he was a little chilled when we got there, but a warm welcome from our usual waiter made him feel much better. The food and drinks at Castaways went through a doldrums period but since Covid have really perked up; the menu is very tempting even if the jambalaya has disappeared. Dinner was fun and we didn’t have dessert. Josh told the waiter no before Dave could order the brownie with ice cream – he says if we want to order chocolate desserts we need the other brother).

The walk home felt much warmer, and after a brief duolingo break we broke out an escape game from a new manufacturer, only to discover that it needed batteries (??!). So we did one from a series that we’ve done many from before. It was a difficulty level 2, which is a bit too easy. The last time we did one it was a level 3 and it was too hard, so now we know level 2.5 is where we want to be. It was a fun game and we escaped from the haunted roller coaster with all of us having both flashes of brilliance and moments of total incomprehension.

Then it was finally time for group pie and relaxing. It wasn't much of a picture taking day.

Thanksgiving at Thayer

Because of Cannon Beach rental rules, the rental for our house couldn’t start until Thursday. The rental agency called Wednesday night and said the house was ready and we could get there “as early as we wanted”, and I wondered if that meant (wink, wink) that we could go on Wednesday night. It didn’t matter because we weren’t ready anyway.

Our rental this year is Thayer house at 123 Laurel, just a couple blocks west of the Coaster Theater. It’s the best location of any house we’ve ever rented, close to town and on the beach. It’s also badly in need of a facelift – it just looks old and tired inside. That said, it’s very comfortable and super convenient to town (did I mention that) and everything works and we’re happy to be here.

We left home a little after 9 and were here and unpacked by 11. Jen made the traditional Stromboli (if it starts to get brown too soon, cover it with tinfoil and keep baking) which we had with a bag of salad. After lunch Dave prepared the bird and the rest of us relaxed. I started working on the first sleeve for my Dubioza sweater, which I worked out the chart for and which I am hoping will go well. Once the bird was in, Dave and I went for a walk down towards midtown, but turned back when Dave’s turkey sense told him the turkey was starting to get too brown and needed to be tented.

We came back on the beach road that goes past Captain Kellogg’s (aka Crab Shack), where we stayed two years ago, and Sea Forever which is next door to CK aka CS where we stayed last year. Faithful readers will recall that we stayed at Sea Forever last year because we couldn’t rent CK/CS because it was being “renovated”, and it turned out that in fact it had been torn down and a new house was being built on the lot. We’re staying at Thayer this year because Sea Forever was being “renovated”, and when we walked by it sure was – the balcony on the second floor is mostly removed and the door leading out to it is boarded over, and the entire inside has been gutted, including removing several of the walls. With a track record like this, we would not be surprised if Thayer is the next in line for renovations.

Anyway, when we got back to the house Josh was just checking the turkey, which he said was starting to "smell brown". I am amazed to be among people with such strong turkey senses. Eventually it was time for Josh and Jen to join Dave in prepping the other meal ingredients – 

Jen does the mashed potatoes and Josh does the gravy and the grandma salad (with honeycrisp apples this year – we all agree they’re better than the traditional golden delicious). We all took a break to go out and watch the sunset. Although there were clouds on the horizon the sun set through a gap in them and there was even a small green flash. Then back in and back to work. Dave has the timing down even working with a different oven every year, and we sat down to dinner a little before 6, as planned. After dinner we got the leftovers put away and the kitchen cleaned up, and then there was a little game playing in which I didn’t win anything. But I did beat Josh at Trouble – we were 2^nd and 3^rd losers. Jen won, of course, because she used up all the threes.

We were all too full for pie, even after all the game playing and duolingo-ing and reading. So we went to bed without eating any. This has never happened before.

Napa 5 Last Dinner in Napa and Going Home

We'd been looking forward to tonight's food adventure at Press since Dave made the reservation. They have two menus, a 7 course pairing chef’s tasting menu and a 4 course menu where you choose your plates. We went with the 4 course menu, and the first wonderful thing is that our waiter Vince (who’d only been at Press for about a month – “we’ll learn together,” he said) was able to do ½ glass wine pairings for Dave.

For the first course, I had a fluke crudo which was really delicious, perfectly balanced and beautiful, but Dave’s “chips and dip” of deep-fried salmon skin “chips” and an avocado kosho dip was off the charts spectacular. The salmon skin was seasoned with something totally yummy, and the artichoke dip got more interesting as we ate it. Second course for me was the best beef tartare I’ve ever eaten, served with little orbs of deep-fried naan that were a perfect complement. Dave’s gnudi in parmesan broth were like puffy cheese matzo balls in the best way imaginable, little balls of perfection in an amazingly tasty broth with thin shavings of Burgundian truffles on top. All of these dishes were quite small portions, enough to share (we swapped plates ½ way through) but not enough to get tired of.

And then the mains came, and the perfect evening crashed to a halt. My steak, recommended by Vince, was undercooked, oversized, and, frankly, boring. It came with a tasty bite of eggplant and a sticky, too-sweet sauce. It would have been disappointing even if Dave hadn’t had a perfectly sized and seasoned steak in his tasting menu at Goose and Gander. Dave’s black cod was better, perfectly cooked and very tasty, but again not the fascinating, I-need-another-bite kind of delightful exploration of the first two courses.

I know you’re dying to know about dessert; Dave had a cheese “plate” that was more like a salad, very interesting but not totally successful. I had a chocolate crème with an orange semifreddo that lived up to the first two courses – it was spot on delicious.

The service was wonderful, with plates and silverware and glasses of wine appearing and disappearing. A similar ballet to the night before at Don Giovanni’s, except here the server-to-customer ration was much smaller. The restaurant is very pretty and comfortable and ¾ of the food was fabulous. Would we go again? Still wondering.

Wednesday

Since we’re doing the drive home in two 6 hour days (give or take), we had time to go for a hike (about 3 miles) this morning in the Napa-Bothe State Park. We paid our $10 day use fee (yes, it’s in Napa) and headed toward the top of Coyote Peak. We are usually goal oriented hikers but in this case we knew we were going to have to turn back early to be on the road by 10-ish, so we ended up only going about ½ way up the trail – we stopped when it got steep for the second time. We came back through the campsite, which is really wonderful and reservable, including some yurts and cabins. Wine and wine tasting in Napa have gotten so expensive, we’re not sure if we’ll come again, but if we do a yurt or cabin at Napa-Bothe is a real possibility.

We ate breakfast and got packed up and were on the road by 10:10. We used the Rachel Method of stopping every 45 minutes or so, and got to Yreka about 4. We are staying at the Best Western Miner’s Inn, which is the first hotel we ever stayed at with Josh and is also where the phrase “Is the baby happy? Is the baby safe? Then don’t bother the baby” comes from. I found Strings Italian Café within easy walking distance of the hotel and we had a very satisfactory dinner. When we got there the restaurant looked completely empty, but it turns out there are two rooms you can’t see from the street and it was the happenin’ place to be in Yreka, which also has some art galleries and is a more interesting place than we thought.

It got very cold overnight – frost on the car – but a satisfactory night at the Best Western and a relatively easy drive home with the now usual number of stops, including lunch at Plank Town. A couple things to remember are that the dirty salad at Plank Town is delicious; get the roasted garlic vinaigrette on the side. The nachos are good but not worth having again. And I-5 stops being curvy at Cottage Grove.

Napa 4 With a surprise visitor

We both went to breakfast, although it was just scrambled eggs today. Then we went for a short walk around the Bale Grist Mill, which once we found the start of the trail was a really nice walk through some undeveloped land just a couple miles north of our hotel. 

Our first wine stop was Honeig winery, our best find of the trip. Our guide, Edgar, took us in a golf cart tour of their vineyard. They have a lot of similarities to David Hill and it was really interesting to see how they do things. We had a nice Sauv Blanc during the vineyard tour; many wineries here heavily oak their Sauv Blanc in a style sometimes called fume blanc. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much – it worked very well here. After the tour we went inside and did a nice tasting of mostly Cabs, which were delicious, and a late harvest Sauv Blanc & a port-style Cab, all very good. Edgar had a lot of good things to say about Hoenig. “It’s the last winery I’ll ever work for” is what he told us, which for a second I thought meant he was done working at wineries, but he clarified that he planned to work there until he retired. Like Black Stallion, they purchase almost all of their fruit; unlike Black Stallion they are laser focused on Sauv Blanc and Cab.

Next stop was Gott’s roadside (AKA Taylor’s Refresher) for burgers for lunch. When we drove by yesterday it was jammed – we hit it just right, arriving just before the crowds. The burgers are very yummy. And then it was time for our last winery stop, Rombauer. Yes, the same as the Joy of Cooking Rombauers, although they just sold to Gallo. They’re known for their oaky, buttery chardonnays and big jammy zinfandels. Their wines are still oaky, buttery, and jammy, but the trend towards “restrained and elegant” that has swept through Napa Valley like a plague (if I wanted restrained and elegant I’d stay in Pinot Noir country – I want a big old honkin’ red) has even gotten to Rombauer. Still, pretty good stuff – we came away with a couple of bottles of zin and a cab. I was really excited to go to Rombauer to see if my strong memory of their tasting room was accurate. It was inconclusive, but it’s probably a strong memory of somewhere else, which makes the copy of Joy of Cooking on a shelf over the windows at the place I remember a little hard to explain.

Back to our hotel for a short rest and then down to Napa for a Surprise Visit with the Bro! We went for a walk at Kennedy Park near the river and had ice cream at Foster’s, and talked. It is good to have a brother who will drive over an hour just to walk and talk and have ice cream.

After we sent Ben on his way we drove back up the valley for a more relaxing in our wonderful hotel room, and then it was time for our food adventure at Press.  You'll need to read the next blog to find out what happened there!