Bad sands, good times

Obligatory Waterfall Photo. Also note that the stream curves to the north, rather than straight to the beach.

I completely forgot to tell about how we met Crackers, the seagull at Warren House.  One thing I’ve noticed at most of the restaurants here is that they are very quick to remove your empty plates – sometimes it seems like they are swooping in and grabbing them as soon as the last forkful leaves your plate. I find it a little off-putting, but at Warren House they have an excuse – at least on the front deck. (Which, it turns out, both Dave and I prefer to the sunny beer garden, even though we each thought the other was a beer garden lover). The folks next to us left about a quarter of a sandwich on their plate when they got up to go, and a seagull came down and ate it in two or three humungous gulps. Then several other seagulls came to join in the fun, and they got in a huge fight and spilled the pea salad, which they did not eat. It was very exciting, especially since all that flapping and swooping and gull-name-calling was only a couple of feet away.

I slept in in until after 7 this morning, which was amazing. I had some breakfast and a mug of tea left over from last night’s pot, and relaxed a bit while Dave packed the trunk of the Volvo with bulky items that we won’t need, like the archery target and the skim boards. Then he headed off on a walk, and the rest of us took off for beach bikes. 1. Midtown was a zoo, even at 9:30 in the morning.  2. The beach was packed. 3. Tim should say he’s 6’2” to get a longer bike, and I should say I’m 5’3 to get a shorter one and finally and most importantly 4. The sand was TERRIBLE. We’ve biked in the wind, we’ve biked in the cold, we’ve biked in a drizzle, but we’ve never biked in sands like these. There was a giant salt stream running down the beach all the way (as far as we know) to Hug Point, and you could either ride on the beach side of it, where the sand was soft and you were tilted at an angle, or you could ride on the ocean side of it, where the sand was hard and level but you were continuously having to cross little salt streams (against The Rules, but we did it anyway) or get turned back completely after you had gone a really long way. Tim and I went all the way to the rock Wahii, but when we got a little way past it we were too discouraged to continue on to Hug Point (remember, you have to come back as far as you go) and turned around early. I complained all the way back. Jen ad Tabs had stayed close to Haystack Rock and had a good time just dinking around, although like Dave Jen isn’t crazy about beach biking. We told the beach bike guy about the bad sands and he’d never heard of such a thing in the summer, and in 25 years of beach biking neither had we. It was worse even than the first time Bubby and I tried it, when we couldn’t figure out how to do anything other than go in circles and returned the bikes after 15 minutes.

Since Midtown was already bad, Tim had the very good idea of leaving all the cars there (J&T drove separately) and just walking in to town, which we did. We got to Bills about 15 minutes early, and were the first in line. J&T got there about 5 minutes later, and Dave arrived shortly after we were all seated. We had a very nice Bill’s lunch including the chili beso beer and onion rings, and then the girls headed for Seaside while we sent Tim off to the airport in Dave’s car, not without some trepidation given his getting lost record. However he made it just fine, and I’ll drop Dave at the MAX on my way in to work on Tuesday to go pick it up. Then we walked back to Midtown the back way, and headed home. The traffic coming in to the north entrance was backed up all the way onto 101 – we were very glad to be on our way out of town. Once we got home I took a massive nap of at least 2 hours and Dave sat on the porch and read while it turned into a beautiful sunny day. J&T got home at some point while I was sleeping and went down for naps of their own.

When I woke up Dave was still reading, so I sat on the deck with him and did some blogging, then went down for a walk on the beach. The sand is so high that our cove isn’t cut off even at high tide, and the tide had been going out for an hour or so. I walked over to the carriage road where people were fishing and watched the waves for a while, then did some wading on the way back. Our beach was forming the Bad Sand as the tide went out. The thing is, the Bad Sand is really fun when you’re wading, because there are lots of pools to splash in.

When I got back Dave and the girls were enjoying a glass of Patton Valley rose on the deck.  I went in and showered and got ready for dinner. Dinner was the Stephanie Inn, where Jen and Tabetha were two of the youngest people there. It was good food but maybe not quite as interesting as it sometimes is. The sparkling raspberry sorbet did not disappoint, and I got to eat Jen’s cookie as well as my own.

We came back from dinner and Dave made a nice fire for our last night. We had two games of trouble, which Dave won, and I should have come in second both times but there was very unsportsmanlike ganging up.

And that's all from here. Thanks for riding along.

Bad Sands forming on our beach

Day 8 Ends well

..and begins well also.

One thing that’s nice about the Churches (owners of this delightful place) doing the renting on VRBO is that it’s no longer a Sunday to Sunday rental – you can rent it for as many days as you like, so Dave and I are here until Monday. That means that we can do everything we want to do and still have plenty of time for just sitting and looking at the ocean, or at the inside of our eyelids, or a combination of both.

I’m still not able to sleep in, so I was up before 7 again this morning. Tim had finished all the milk and oreos last night during our game time, so I headed off to the Family Market to get replacements and look at the beach bike hours, which were not convenient. Then I came back to the house and got changed for yoga, which I have been enjoying a whole lot this trip. I wish the yoga at Willamette View wasn’t so weird – the guy who leads it talks in a very odd, slow, almost sing-songy voice, and the postures are not any that I’ve ever done anywhere else. Also the classes are not at good times for me. So I’ve been enjoying the yoga here all the more. After class I did stay to ask Christen how to keep people from lifting their hips during cobra, and she had some good ideas about putting the focus on opening the chest and moving the shoulders back. Also an idea for putting the squishy balls between your shoulder blades while lying on your back to open the chest some more. All good things to do in floor stretch class.

Meanwhile Dave drove down and parked on Leech Ln (eyyyeeewww) just north of Arch Cape Creek and continued his exploration of that part of the coast, getting all the way to the place where you can’t go any further.

There was a bun on the lawn at Warren House

We’d made a plan to meet at Warren House for lunch, so I changed into street clothes and walked around town for a while. Meanwhile Jen and Tabs had come in to Sleepy Monk for coffee, and while I was in Dragonfire contemplating earrings they came in and helped me decide to go for it. They also agreed that $225 was too much for the cool woven sweater thing, although I think I probably could have made that decision by myself. At that point it was time to head to Warren House, where we all had trouble parking in the front, and no trouble at all eating. I do love the smoked salmon salad. J&T split the nachos and ate valiantly, but made no appreciable change in the mound of food. Fortunately Tim was still hungry from the hike yesterday, so he finished off his own sandwich, half of Dave’s, and the rest of the nachos. That’s the eating we like.

Tim took the expo back to the house while the rest of us walked around town some more. Dave bought two pairs of shorts, and then we stopped at the chocolate café for a treat. I was going to have the hot chocolate, but then they had something called “spoon chocolate” which is difficult to describe – it’s like a warm bittersweet dark chocolate pudding, served in a tiny espresso cup with a tiny dot of whipped cream. Dave and I shared it out on the patio in the warm sunshine and it was as perfect as things get. Because what I’ve left out so far is that although it was cloudy when I woke up, it was clearing up when yoga got over at 10:30 and by the time we left Warren House it was the most beautiful sunny day ever, about 65 degrees, and just wonderful.

We all ended up back at the house for napping and reading and relaxing and a little laundry. I am reading the entire Anne of Green Gables series, which I’ve never read before, and which are perfect for reading at the beach.  I did most of my reading and napping on the bed in the sun, since it’s still quite cool in the house. The couple of days while I wasn’t here it rained a lot, and the house had gotten a little damp feeling, but now it is all dried out and lovely. Dave napped on the deck, with a blanket.  Jen went for a walk on the beach. It’s nice to have time to relax.

Eventually it was time to stop relaxing and head to Irish Table for dinner. Parking was crazy, but Dave dropped us off and eventually found a spot. They take reservations for 4 or more people, and we had 5, so they had the nice round table in the back waiting for us. We ate lots and lots of food, highlights being the curried lentil soup, curried mussels, salad with warm goat cheese, hot biddies and the wonderful shortbread cookies. They’ve changed the dessert menu to include a lemon custard tart, which is worth getting.  As usual the ice cream was tasty but oddly textured, unlike the buttermilk ice cream at Blackbird and the coriander ice cream at EVOO, which were both amazingly creamy custard-based bowls of deliciousness. In addition to hot biddies (or irish coffee variations for J&T), we also split two bottles of wine. Tim didn’t have anything to drink, so he drove home.

Early dinner and late low tide meant a walk on the beach when we got home for everybody except Tim, who hasn’t been down to the beach even once this trip. There was a beautiful brand new crescent moon, and J&T and I ended up walking up pretty much in the dark. By the time we got up Dave had a nice fire going with wood Tim chopped before dinner, so we settled in for some electronics time.

Since it's our last night together, we had to have an extended game time in which we played Sushi Go! (I won), trouble (I won), Pepper (I won) and Harry Potter Trivia (I won). (We played 2 games of pepper, and in the first one not only did I not win, but I played the card that let Tim win, but that doesn't fit the pattern, so I left it out). My trouble win was the most definitive, because only Tabetha had even one man safe. Then she won second. Tim and Jen had an epic battle for third, which Tim won in a turn of events so dramatic that he felt that he was first winner. This may be the first trouble game Jen hasn't won since she has been playing with us. Dave volunteered to sit out because there are only 4 players, but the competition was so fierce that his role as chief cheerleader (roll a 6, Tim! roll a 6, Jen!) was quite exhausting.

It has been amazingly fun to have these wonderful young people with us. The only way it could have been better would have been for Josh to be here with us, but we are glad he is finally getting to go to Army MOSQ school. 

We're hoping for beach bikes tomorrow. Well, some of us are.

I'm baaaaack and it's a beautiful day.

This is the big rock I keep trying to get to. It's a beautiful morning!

Once again I was up early, so I took a quick walk to the big rock to the north. It was still inaccessible, but I got as close as I’ll be able to get this trip. I came back to the house, ate a quick breakfast, and headed in to town for alignment flow yoga with Christen, the owner of the studio. It was a good class. One funny thing that happened at the beginning is that she had us do the classic stretch where you drop your right ears to your right shoulders. The thing is I’ve been doing that stretch while I’m facing the pool during water aerobics, and I’ve trained myself to mirror it. So I had to think very hard about which side was which. Also I did the best parallel parking I’ve ever done. 

What Dave Saw

Meanwhile, Dave had gotten up and decided to go for a walk to the south, so he headed off in shorts and a sweatshirt, disregarding the forecast. Not a good idea, so he came back to change his soaking wet garments and headed out again. He had a good walk out past the arch of Arch Cape.

When I got back Tim was up and Dave arrived back at the house not long after. Since the morning forecast was a little grim, we decided it would be a good day for Pig’n. And it was – parking available in the parking lot, and too short a wait for the table to explore all the wonderful items they had for sale. My favorite was the giraffe popper. I still love having Tim here, but he did eat one of Dave’s bacons that would usually be mine.

After lunch we walked around town a bit. Dave and Tim looked for a wallet for Tim and I went to West of the Moon and bought 3 shirts and a dress, all much on sale. I may have to go back. Also I went to Bruce’s because Dave’s selection of taffy had left out most of my favorites, plus I needed some salty licorice.

We stopped at home briefly so Dave and I could change our pants to shorts and our footwear to hiking boots, then headed to the North Neahkanie Mountain trailhead (.2 miles past MP 40) where we dropped off Dave’s car. We all continued on in the Expo to Neahkanie Mt Road (just past Sunset), where I managed to find the two gigantic potholes at the entrance to the road. We had been excited at the idea of hiking the trail in the sunshine, but once again it was nice here and foggy there. 

How We Get Pictures

We had a very good hike, though, and Tim had a great imaginary mountain bike ride. The trail was quite muddy from the rains, and mostly just goes up, and then down. Last time we did it my knee was very painful. This time I was aware that it wasn’t completely happy, but it was a much nicer descent. The sun had come out completely for the last bit of the hike, which was very scenic but also very hot. Tim is a much faster hiker than we are, so he had to do some waiting around. At least he didn’t do any jumping out from behind things.

We retrieved both cars and Tim drove me home in the Expo, which required a lot of me saying “slow down, slow down” and holding on to things. It was quite safe, just faster than I would have gone. Then we had a nice pause for relaxing before it was time to hit the Bistro for dinner. The Bistro was excellent as always, although my chicken satay was more like chicken teriyaki. Dave had the shrimp with avocado and chili-lime sauce, which was excellent. They both had the chocolate ganache torte for dessert, which worked out well for me because I had the buttermilk cake and ate Dave’s crust. He is a very generous person!

After dinner we met Jen and Tabetha at the Coaster for Let’s Murder Marsha, a comedic farce based on 1970 and 80’s sitcoms. It was very fun, even if I did have to sleep through the first act. We’ve been going to productions at the Coaster for several years now and it’s fun to see our favorite actors in different roles.

Afterwards it was time to come home and have some screen time, and then play some Harry Potter trivia. It's based on the movies so I don't play.

It was a beautiful day!

Day 6 - Numb3rs

Addendum from last night: Tim and I feel that we are now ready to take on Rachel in Yahtzee, so we decided to play Farkle instead.  Faithful readers may recall that I, in fact, sparkle at Farkle, having pulled off a great win on day 2 of our trip.  Tonight however, Tim won handily.  At one point I had used all 6 dice in my turn and was going to keep going by throwing all 6 dice again.  Sadly, I immediately Farkled (got no 1's or 5's) prompting a quick calculation of the odds of a Farkle on the first roll (it's 2/3 to the sixth power or about 8.7%).  After that we headed to the back room to watch the second Harry Potter movie.  Unfortunately it's not in Jen's collection, so we ended up streaming it over the Internet.  Other than dropped frames now and then, it worked fine.

This morning I woke up at about 6:30 and decided that this was the day for my big beach walk.  I woke Tim up at about 7:15 and after getting a load of laundry started, he drove me into town.  I started from 2nd street in Cannon Beach and Tim drove back to the house and quickly got back into bed.  I had taken my rain coat just in case, but of course that guaranteed that it didn't rain.  I saw quite a few (relatively speaking) starfish on Haystack rock, but very few elsewhere.  Also, the dead seal/sea lion is still on the beach just north of the carriage road.  I would have suspected it'd be washed out to sea by now, but it's actually further up on the beach.

After about 2 hours I finished the 6 mile walk and was back at the house.  Tim was still asleep, so I moved the laundry to the dryer and ran one more load.  At 11:30 I was ready for lunch, so I woke Tim up again, but he said that he'd rather stay in bed than eat, so I headed into town alone.  I decided to try Public Coast brewing (it used to be Clark's, then Lumberman's).  It's counter service with a reasonable menu of pub food.  The burger was too big and too expensive, but quite tasty.  I had a sampler flight of their beers, and I think they are considerably better than Pelican; I ended up with a pint of the NW Red.

After lunch I came back to the house and Tim was *still* sleeping, so I went out to read on the deck until the rain started.  Oh well.  Tim finally roused himself around 2:30 and we both read for a while.  However, I suddenly remembered the problem that had consumed me on my walk this morning: suppose that you are walking on the wet sand near the ocean and you want to get to a point further down the beach away from the ocean (stairs to a parking area, etc.).  We all know that you can walk much faster on the wet sand near the ocean than the dry sand near the stairs.  So, what angle should you take toward the stairs to minimize your travel time?  A straight line would be the shortest distance, but you'd travel further through the dry sand than you should, slowing you down.  You could also continue to walk parallel to the shore on the wet sand until you are even with the stairs and then cut to the dry sand.  That would minimize the time in the dry sand, but you might have traveled a much further distance than you needed to.  What's the answer?  How do you even set up the problem? Tim and I poured over the problem on a paper bag for about an hour, and concluded that you need to express travel time in terms of the angle you should aim, take the derivative of that equation, set that to zero and solve for the angle.  After lots of trig, we got the equations, but left the actual solution as an exercise for the reader.  What nerds we are!

Rachel had a long day at work, but was able to leave in time to arrive at the house at about 5:15 - that's a lot of driving!  We headed out again at about 5:30 to go to the Farmer's Market Dinner Show at EVOO.  As many of you know, the dinner shows are great fun where Bob and Lenore cook dinner as we all watch, giving hints and techniques along the way.  The theme tonight was "local and seasonal" and featured many ingredients from the Cannon Beach farmer's market.  Unlike other dinner shows, this was buffet style, so they built up the buffet line in 2 waves - appetizers and main courses.  Unfortunately the appetizer buffet took about an hour and Rachel was starving.  I thought she might start gnawing on her arm.  Or mine!  Fortunately we finally got our turn at the buffet and all was well.  There was a gazpacho salad that was merely OK, along with a tasty salmon mousse, fresh baked bread, cheese, and salami.  The main courses included paella with seafood and chicken, and a salad with creamy buttermilk dressing, bleu cheese, pears and walnuts that may have been the best dish of the night. The paella was very good too, although perhaps not enough socarrat on the rice.  There was good dessert too, and we rolled out.  It's probably the fullest I've been this week.

When we got home, Tim lit a fire and Rachel took her shower.  I think we may just hang out and read, or there might be some game playing.  Who knows?  Rachel will be back to blogging tomorrow and I'm sure we'll all find out.  In the meantime, thanks for reading along with your guest blogger.