Stormy Weather

The blue skies were too good to last, so the clouds began to roll in this morning. And it was still very cold outside. Inside, though, it was nice and warm and time for another escape room – this time from a company called “Escape room in a box.” This one was very different from the exit the room ones in two ways – first, it had a lot of plastic pieces, and second, it had many different puzzles that had to be solved simultaneously (the answer to four of the puzzles went into solving another puzzle, and so on) which meant that everybody

could be struggling with something at the same time, but we all needed to be talking to each other to put all the bits together. We pretty much felt like we had no idea what was going on for the whole time, but we just kept solving the challenges and suddenly discovered we’d solved the whole thing, in under the allotted hour. We did miss the ambient music from the Kosmos version.

 

Thrilled with our success, we had some downtime before our next activity (lunch at Pelican), which everyone made good use of. We had a brisk walk to Pelican which was not crowded at all, and then Jen and Reagan stayed home to work on the impossible puzzle while Tim, Dave and I did the 4.5 mile round trip hike to Cape Falcon. On the way out the sun was shining nicely. The path was quite muddy in places and slippery in others, but doesn’t go up and down too much which I like. It was very crowded – everybody and their dogs seemed to be out for a walk. The hike ends up out on a point way up high, with great views. On the way back it was cold and cloudy and we were glad to get back to the car. Dave and I did some comparing of steps, and over about 10,000 steps I took about 500 more steps than he did. I’d always thought I would take many more steps than he does, but it turns out not so much.

When we got back to the house impressive progress had been made on the puzzle. I had put 1 piece in before we left, and I put several in when we got back, so I feel that I have made a great contribution. We had a nice break, and Jen and Reagan finished the puzzle (except for one piece, which I was pretty sure Ben had stolen). Eventually it was time to head over to Irish Table.

We had a fantastic time at Irish table, where the food and service were exceptional. Even though the restaurant and kitchen are both small, and even though the restaurant went from shut to full in moments, they manage to keep the food and drink coming without excessive pauses. As always, I had the curried mussels and everyb

ody helped to eat the broth. We also shared two bottles of the Dr Loosen Riesling, which went so well with the mussels that now we always have to have it. Jen got the pumpkin bread pudding for dessert, which is a seasonal delight.

 

It had completely clouded up by the time we got home from our hike, and was cloudy to and from Irish Table, but not noticeably warmer. Still, it’s been super fun to walk everywhere. It was game time when we got home, and we had several rousing games of Happy Salmon, which always make my stomach hurt from laughing so hard, and it’s especially true when you ate too much dinner just before! Also during the playing of Happy Salmon the missing puzzle piece got shaken out of its hiding place, so Jen and Reagan could have the thrill of completion (although not the thrill of solving the riddles associated with the puzzle, which we were all too tired to do). We also played Chronology and I won both games, which is unusual. A couple games of tenzies and one of pepper rounded out our evening.

Meanwhile in the Horn Of Africa, Josh says it’s soooo hooottff that his t’s are melting into f’s.

We are all sad to think about leaving this house and all its hooks tomorrow. It has been a fantastic vacation, even though we all miss Josh!.

Blue Friday

Ready to go to yoga - it's cold out!

I call it blue Friday because the sky was so incredibly blue all day – still cold, but just lovely. Dave ad I were up and out early (me by foot, him by car) to Christen’s annual after-Thanksgiving yoga class. This class focuses on twists, and we both got a good workout and also enjoyed how good a teacher

she is when she’s not in her automaton “I teach this same class over and over” mode. She would start each pose simply, then gradually add complexity and intensity until one side of you was going one way and the other side the other way – I swear at one point I turned my head all the way around like an owl.

Dave went home  after class to change, but I took my cool-santa-with-sunglasses leggings vibe out into Mimosa Madness. I found a couple of tops and pleated metallic skirt at Josephine’s (just downstairs from yoga – how convenient!) that I am very pleased with, as well as visiting many other of my favorite places. Everybody else walked into town at various times and we met at Bill’s for lunch (of course!). The beer list was a little one-note, but all the beers (and the cider) were tasty, and I got my hamburger on toasted sourdough bread which was the bomb. We split up after lunch for more shopping, and I stopped by coastal yarns to see if by any chance their blue sky cotton worsted was on sale. No luck.

I headed home after I finished shopping and Dave and I went for a walk through Haystack Park, a hidden gem of a park with giant trees just a couple of blocks south of here. Tim had planned to come, but had succumbed to the couch by the time I got home & was unable to break free of its grip.  We had a nice hike up and over the hill, with some pretty views of Haystack from high up, including a good photo-op at the top of a questionable looking platform – we went for it. We came down onto 101 just north of the S-curves and walked out onto the beach. Dave headed home at that point, but I’d gotten it in my head to walk to the Rock Wahii, so I set off down the beach. By the time I got to Mo’s and there was still a mile to go I decided I’d turn around, and had a fun time exploring the little back roads that are just off the beach.

When I got home Jen and Reagan were working on a puzzle they’d bought which has no picture and very little color variation – and all the edge pieces fit together even if they’re not supposed to go there. That is too hard for the rest of us, so we did our various reading/surfing (the internet) knitting things until it was time to head back to town for dinner. Dave drove in while the rest of us walked. I took them on the unlighted secret back way; it was an adventure.

We got to the Bistro a couple of minutes before Dave, and once we’d figured out whose name the rezzie was under we got seated. Like Newman’s, the Bistro’s menu hasn’t changed for years (since they rebuilt it, in fact), but unlike Newman’s it doesn’t seem to bother us. It’s also always a second choice (we were there tonight because Castaway’s wasn’t open), and it often delights. Tonight was a delightful night – the food was exceptional and our server was funny and attentive. Everyone liked the food they chose and we all enjoyed ourselves. Also while we were there it was morning for Josh so we got a good morning picture from him.

Reagan and I walked home while everyone else went with Dave in the wimpmobile. By the time we got home the cars in the street were covered with frost and our thighs were very cold. Reagan and Jen stared at their puzzle for a while, and then it was game time. We played a little pepper (I did not win, to no-one’s surprise), and then we played a dice game called tenzies which has a lot of throwing dice and yelling and was very fun. We are all still in love with this house.

The Actual Thanksgiving Day

We’ve all fallen head over heels in love with this house. It’s spacious and quiet and well-stocked and everything works. It has the fewest number of notes-for-renters (be sure to keep this closed; this doesn’t work; turn this that way to make it open, that sort of thing) that I’ve ever seen. It has 3 bedrooms, but also has a den and a closet over the stairs that would be good for sleeping too. And just the right number of Christmas decorations. Also, more hooks for hanging things on (jackets, towels) than you can imagine – and I know you can imagine a lot. There are 10 in the downstairs bathroom alone.

I got up and went for a short walk to the beach and to the market next to the fun cycles to get milk. It was a beautiful clear day, very cold, and I found a secret back way to the beach that suddenly comes out into a wonderful view of Haystack rock.

When I got home we were preparing to chat with Josh, for whom Thanksgiving was almost over. It is an odd experience chatting halfway across the world – you have to learn to wait for the other person to respond, and their facial expression doesn’t change with what you’re saying. Josh seemed well and had eaten some special army thanksgiving food. The tent he was in is lined with foil for insulation (so they can keep it cold), and at first some of us thought it was a window looking out on a snowy forest. Which it wasn’t, of course.

After our chat Dave made pancakes eggs and sausages, which we happily ate. I was on dish duty as always, but there is a dishwasher here, hooray! So cleanup didn’t take very long. We’d planned on a later breakfast but we were all starving, so we decided to have an earlier breakfast and a snack in the afternoon. So we all bundled up and went for a walk on the beach down to the fancy market at Tolovana (in a location where at least 3 restaurants failed) and got some cheese and crackers, which has been Dave’s and my traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the past two years. We also got Mama Lil’s pickled green beans, which are delicious.

When we got back it was time to Escape the Room – or, as the manufacturer (Kosmos) calls it, Exit the Game. This was our second game from them, and it was as delightful and clever as the first one. This was a difficulty 2, and with one exception we got all of the riddles solved without much difficulty, but it still took almost an hour and a half and all of our brains to get it down. It turns out there is an app that goes with it that shows a timer and plays “ambient music to set the scene”, which just added to the fun. If you’re looking for a fun activity for 2-5 people, check out these games. The only downside is you can only play them once. In the past we’ve been able to pass them on to other people, but this one you destroy as you’re playing.

We had an early dinner reservation at Bridgewater Bistro, so we got on the road not long after we escaped. We think this might have been their first thanksgiving, and they’d badly miscalculated how long each party would stay. When we arrived we were the third group waiting for our reserved table, and the number continued to grow. The food was excellent, but the service was slow, and getting a drink from the bar was difficult. Also the “death by chocolate” cookie was a sugar cookie with no discernable chocolate. How can they say that? However, the mashed potatoes and stuffing were excellent, as were the proteins that came with them (duck for me, turkey for Dave, salmon for Reagan and Jen, and a quinoa-mushroom patty for Tim that may have been the best one), and the chocolate mousse ice cream and pumpkin-cranberry bread pudding were terrific.

After we got home Dave and I took a walk. I brought every warm thing I own, but he didn’t, and it’s cold out – especially when the wind kicked up. So we walked very fast into town and were surprised to see that the folks dining at EVOO were already out. When we got home it was time for games in our wonderful house.

Tonight’s puzzler: why is earl gray tea make me think of the internet?

The Arrival

After the past two years of it being just Dave and me for Thanksgiving, we have a houseful this year. We are missing Josh, who is deployed in the horn of Africa, but enjoying having Tim, Jen, and Reagan. I don’t know of a word that means “sister-of-my-daughter-in-law”, so Reagan gains the official status of semi-daughter.

Tim flew in yesterday afternoon, and Jen and Reagan drove up late yesterday to avoid the big snowstorm. Tim and I stopped at Grand Central Bakery on the way home from the airport to get him a basil egg salad sandwich and they were OUT. Tim’s face was so sad that one of the women behind the counter immediately put a sticky bun in a bag and handed it to him, and I’m pretty sure the other one would have come home with us to make him one if she could have. Good chatting and dinner at Cornerstone rounded out the evening. Jen and Reagan arrived after I’d gone to bed.

It was a work day for me, so I was up and out early and there late. Interestingly, it’s only 20 minutes longer to get here from work than home. I left work at 6 and was here by 8, with a stop for gas and food. At McDonald’s I discovered that hamburgers are $1.00 each, but a double hamburger is $2.05, even though you only get one bun. I did work to combine them myself, and feel good about the savings.

When I got here everyone was settled in. It was dark, but the house is very cute (good cute). It was built in the 1940s and is very spacious, with 3 nice sized bedrooms and plenty of comfy couches for everyone – once you take off all the extra pillows. We played a couple of games (I didn’t win either of them), including an epic round of trouble that Jen didn’t win – Reagan won, and in fact Jen came in last. That’s ever happened before so it was very exciting.

The house is just south of midtown and the weather is supposed to be cold but clear, so I am looking forward to much good walking and eating.

Friday - The Last Supper

It was a good day with lots of beach.  Dave and I woke up early (as always) and went to yoga. It was a good class as always. I do miss the longer 90 minute classes Christen used to do, especially all the hip-opening on the floor exercises. We did get a little more twisting in today than Monday and Wednesday, which was nice. After class we drove to Tolovana and walked home from there, including a visit to the Rock Wahii. Who knows when conditions will be this perfect again?

Meanwhile the girls had driven to Arcadia Beach and done their own trip to the Rock, so when we got home everyone was up and about. There was time for a quick shower for Dave and then it was off to Bill’s for lunch. The tyranny of the high season has made this vacation sometimes seem a little rushed as we try to get to places while there is still parking and no line.  Bill’s was its usual fine self, although our waiter was a stickler for politeness. After he took our beer order he was heading off and I called out “we need onion rings!” and he stopped and said, “We need onion rings what?” We were all very careful with our ordering from that point on.

After lunch Dave and I headed to Osborn’s (they were open!) for the annual haystack sundae. We replaced one of the two scoops of vanilla ice cream with a scoop of coconut almond pecan, which was really delicious. I might even go so far as replacing both scoops, but I suspect Dave would not. While we were ordering and eating the girls went to Bruce’s, then came back and got some ice cream. They are headed up to Astoria for shopping and dinner.

Dave and I walked back to the car via Spruce Street and got on the beach at midtown. The tide was almost all the way high, but that doesn’t really matter between midtown and Tolovana. We’d been thinking about maybe going for a hike, but by the time we got back to the car I was over 15,000 steps and we were both ready for a nap.

We both did good napping – Dave on the deck and me on the couch. It was odd and kind of pleasant having the house to ourselves. Sadly, when you nap in the afternoon it goes by all too quickly. I did get the first song to Aya barred at least. This vacation we’ve had early dinners pretty much every night – 5:30 or 6. There have been good reasons to do it, but we both feel like it makes the afternoon too short. So, a note for next year: we prefer a 6:30 or 7:00 dinner.

Dave got whiskey in honor of Josh

Dinner tonight was just the two of us at the Stephanie Inn, also known (to us) as “The Club” (as in, let’s have dinner at the club”) or “Your fussy great grandma’s house”. The décor is stodgy at best, and the service is just… off. We like to think about what we’d do to make it better – replace the giant heavy brown chairs; teach the hostess not to try to hand you your menu until you’ve come to a full and complete stop in your chair, that sort of thing. Also, it’s really expensive and they have this weird thing where they offer a prix fixe menu where you choose an appetizer, a main, and a desert, and it costs more than if you bought them separately. To be fair, you do get a small scoop of palette-cleansing sorbet and a caprese salad composed of one slice of mozzarella and a slice of tomato. You may be wondering why we go there at all, but here’s the thing: the food is really, really good. They have old standbys perfectly prepared (Dave’s lamb osso bucco) or interesting food perfectly prepared (my berry, goat cheese and micro-green salad, with onions). The serving sizes are perfect, so you are pleasantly full at the end but not stuffed. So every year while we wait for our food we wonder why we keep coming back, and every year we are glad we went.

The girls came back from Astoria with lots of goodies and smiles. And we played trouble and I won.

Things to remember:

It was very warm this year, so I brought a lot of sweaters and long sleeved shirts that I didn’t need. Dave enjoyed having his bathrobe. Most days I stayed in my yoga pants and tank tops until dinner. If we have bread for the fruit salad, we should bring butter. I should bring regular sneakers along with my zee alexis, and also light colored dressier sandals. Also, let’s be honest here: I won’t do work stuff, so I don’t need to bring it. And dinner at 6:30 or 7.

Second Thursday

I’d thought about driving up to Ecola early this morning to do the walk from Indian Beach, and both Dave and I woke up early and had a discussion about it that started off poorly (I’ll go if you want to) but ended with honesty (I don’t really want to go). Instead, I went back to sleep and woke up an hour later with a different plan, which Dave refined to perfection. So I ate my cacklin’ and headed off, getting to stand next to the starfish rock to the north and cross hug point on the low sands in front – along with many too many people.The beach is too crowded. Dave and Sam drove to Arcadia beach and met me there. Dave found a very young (4” across the shell) Dungeness crab in a tidepool, which he’d gently touch and it would rear up and wave its claws in a menacing yet adorable fashion.

 

We continued on to the Rock Wahii, which was in a completely excellent state, as Dave discovered yesterday. High sands and low tide combined for the perfect walk-through on level sand, with only a small puddle to splash through on the west side. I had the idea of using my phone flashlight to look at the walls, and we found tiny purple crabs pretty much everywhere. We were also pleased to see many starfish – it’s a hopeful sign. It’s interesting though that there don’t seem to be any on the south starfish rock – all I can think of is that people are taking them home as souvenirs. Didn’t their mothers teach them beach etiquette?

We had a leisurely walk back to the car and drove home. Everyone was happy not to have to walk all the way back. Once home it was time to start some laundry and do other things, like knit. We didn’t have a lot of time at home since today was Astoria Lunch day. We were wavering between Fort George and Buoy, with a slight lean towards Ft George (better food), until Dave looked at the beer list and discovered all of their beers were high alcohol. So Buoy it was, where they had the sourest sour beer ever and absolutely fascinating pickled shrimp. As always the doors were wide open and it was FRIZZIN in there (BOS, you would have frozen solid), which I mentioned to our server. She replied with the standard “well, it gets really hot in the kitchen so we need to keep it cooler in here.” 1. If you can’t stand the heat… and 2. Do restaurant kitchen designers not realize that cooking things generates heat? Fortunately after some beer and tasty food we felt much warmer. (For those of you who've already seen this picture as part of my facebook story, I apolgize for the duplication. I was using the picture function of messenger to send it to Josh when it posted it as my story. Wrong Button.

On the way home we thought we’d stop in at Osborn’s for our shared haystack sundae. A big perk of Osborn’s is that they have a parking lot. We parked and started to head over there when Sam and Dave realized they should have used the restroom at Buoy. (I had, of course, since I follow the NY Times recommendation to pee early and often). So they headed to the restrooms and I crossed the street to go into White Bird Gallery. While I was there I got a text from Dave saying that Osborn’s was closed! I had been talking with the saleswoman and mentioned it to her, and she said they’ve been having some “family troubles” and were closed off and on. Oh dear! I went to meet Dave and Sam (after buying some earrings in the gallery where our pictures live, called The Oregon Gallery)) and we headed back to the car. We stopped at the Cannon Beach Soap Store where I noticed they’re selling Grandma Hazel-style potholders for $6 each. So now I know how much to charge if I decide to start selling them.

Then it was time to get back to relaxing. I finished the pattern section of the sweater and discovered I’d done something wrong several rows back, so I am putting the knitting on hold until I can get to Knotty Lamb and they’ll fix it. I also had a nice chat with the Bubster, catching her on her return from Maine. It turned cloudy and rather chilly over the afternoon, which was kind of nice. Jen and Lauren arrived around 4 and headed down to the beach.

We weren’t sure what the plan was going to be for today, so we’d left dinner open, and after reviewing our options decided to return to Mi Corazon. I wasn’t as blown away by the food this time, but it was still very good. Jen kept trying to force Lauren to try things, even though she’d said she wouldn’t. Lauren was a good sport. We sat towards the rear of the restaurant, which meant we got to see more of the décor, which is truly fantastic. No two things are exactly alike – for example, the lights are all more or less the same shape and materials but different designs, and on the walls are things I’d call fetishes with a driftwood stick base and found objects arranged on them. Also, the rice that came on the plates was in the shape of a heart. On the other hand, I could only have one kind of fish on my fish tacos.On the other hand they have an excellent sign over their baño.

It was finally cool enough for a fire when we got home, so Dave made a nice one and we played many games. We started with sushi go, which I won the first game because Sam and Lauren hadn’t played before and I always win when there are people who haven’t played. Unfortunately as soon as they have played one time I don’t win anymore, which is what happened the second time. Jen won on puddings, stealing the game from Dave, which happens to him a lot. Then we thought it might be fun to play pepper since Josh isn’t here to win, but it turns out that he passed on his skills to Jen, who won all 3 games. Then it was time for some Happy Salmon, which – guess what – Jen won two rounds of, but Lauren managed to eel her way to victory in the third round. And then it was time for relaxing.

Tomorrow is our last day here – how did this week go by so fast?

Bikes, Byes, and Bravos

Josh's Annual Chair Photo

The plan was that we’d go beach biking this morning, but for some reason the beach bike place wasn’t open this morning (-8 at 7 am, so why not?). I went to bed early last night so didn’t find that out until this morning when I woke up, or I’d have gone for a walk before yoga. As it is I might not get to walk through the Rock Wahii this trip. We did our usual morning routine – Dave walked on the beach (all the way to the whale at the north end!), Josh went to Gearhart to work out, and I went to yoga – 2 classes! I stayed for the chair yoga class to get some ideas, and while I didn’t really learn anything new it was a good class. I put into practice some of the things we talked about at the private lesson yesterday and could feel how much stronger they made the poses.

Looking through the hole from the ocean side!

A small digression about the Rock Wahii. Wahii stands for With A Hole In It (for a long time we called it the rock WAHIT, until we realized that ‘It” starts with ‘I”, not ‘T”). It is a giant monolith with, as you might have guessed, a hole in it. The cool thing is it’s not just a hole, it’s a tunnel that goes all the way through it, and if both the sand (high) and tide (low) conditions are right, you can walk right through it. I’ve only done it once or twice, and Dave got to do it today. When I was there later on the beach bikes the tide was in too far to walk in it, but I did get a cool video.

Meanwhile, I’d originally planned to stay for only 1 yoga class and then walk home, so I had my walking purse with me. When my plans changed and I stayed in town I went to Bruce’s to get some salt water taffy, and it turns out they have a $5 minimum on credit card purchases, so now I have a nice pair of Bruce’s socks. I also stopped at B Boutique and got some dressy t-shirts with raglan sleeves.  We were meeting at Pelican for lunch, so I walked the back way on Spruce St, which is a very nice walk and includes part of the pedestrian tsunami escape route. I’d left just a little late, so by the time I got there everyone was seated and had ordered their beer tasters. Except Sam, who had no beer.

Pelican was yummy. It’s one of my favorite places these days, and even Dave has come around. After lunch we headed home for a variety of home pursuits (knitting for me – I’m just 2 rows away from being done with the patterned part and ready to start the part that’s just knitting. I will be glad to be done with the pattern part. I get distracted a lot and then there are the wrong number of stitches, and in this project it really matters. It was a warm day, but started to cloud up before lunch and was pretty much completely clouded over by 2:30, which is nice for beach biking.

It turns out that even though the weather was ok for beach biking, the sands were not. Once again we had the situation where the dry sand was a narrow strip cut off from the ocean by those things I call tide pools but aren’t really – they’re the streams of water that form between the sand bars and the beach. So we did our beach bikes for the trip, but it wasn’t a lot of fun. Dave stayed home, not being a fan of the beach bikes. Also, my fitbit didn’t notice that I was on the bike. So today I did 2 yoga classes and a 5 mile beach ride but got no credit for it. Apparently August sands are difficult. Who knew? I did make it all the way to the Rock Wahii, and here's the video I made - looking at it from the beach side.

Castaways has edible flower garnishes. Sam had a Zinnia.

We got back at 4:30 and needed to be back in town at 5:30, which led to the discovery that both showers can be used at once. We got cleaned up in plenty of time to leave for dinner at Castaway’s, an old standby. Like everywhere else they were shortstaffed, but they did a nice job of getting food and drinks out in a timely fashion, and the servers were very friendly. We need to remember that the seared tuna appetizer is amazing and also a very small portion. Josh had to get a second one for dessert. Also if the specials don’t sound exciting Dave should get the jambalaya, spiciness level 2. Dinner was fun and yummy but a little sad, because Josh and Jen headed out tonight. Jen will be back on Thursday with her friend Lauren, but Josh is headed back to work. We will miss him.

Fortunately it had worked out that tonight was the night for our summer trip to the coaster theater. The play was “Nunsense” and our favorite actress Cameron Lira from the bookstore was in it. Coaster Theater is amateur theater at its best and tonight was especially good – the quality of the acting and singing was very good and the play was very funny. And, Sam got a Coaster Cookie during intermission, something we’ve always wanted to do but have been too full to even attempt. So this story do have a happy ending after all. 

Speaking of happy endings, if you enjoy the blogs please leave a comment either on blogger or on the facebook page - a person needs a little encouragement.

That Nappens

Rainbow Yoga Soldiers

Dave and I started the day with a private yoga lesson with Christen, which is how Dave started his yoga journey a year ago. It was special to do it together and we both learned a lot. It was also quite a lot of work, since she’d settle us in a pose and then spend time with each of us exploring. Afterwards he went back to the house to change while I hung out in town.

Josh met us in town after a long workout and we had a very tasty lunch at Mi Corazon, the Mexican place in the building next to EVOO. The décor is bright and fun (Jen especially liked the yellow seats on the chairs) and the food is also bright and fun. We were the only ones there the whole time and I’m worried that they’re not going to make it. That would be sad since their food is really yummy, especially the green salsa.

After lunch the girls and Dave stayed in town while Josh and I headed home. I took a long nap – my first this vacation! It’s a cooler day today, which is nice – both Sunday and yesterday were uncomfortably warm in the afternoon. So it was a good day for a nap on the bed. Josh did some laundry while I napped. Meanwhile Josh, Sam and Dave went out and did some archery. The sand is high this year and the high tides aren’t very high, so the beach isn’t cut off at high tide the way it sometimes is, so they did the archery up here.

Once I got up there was time for some knitting and a little Aya practice before it was time to shower and head to EVOO. Tonight’s EVOO was different than usual – it was a pop-up with Rob Baki, the chef and owner of Ned Ludd in Portland. The food was delicious, but Dave and I missed Chef Bob’s patter. On the other hand, dinner was over an hour earlier. Sam got to try lots of new foods.

On the way home we dropped Jen and Sam at Hug Point and they spent some time playing in the water. It was the best sunset we’ve had so far.

A Busy Day

Dave, Josh and I were up early for Yoga with Christen – a good class. I especially liked being the person who is there with her son AND husband – I never would have thought it would happen. Then we headed back to the house to pick up Jen and Sam, and then the plan was to have brunch at Pig’n. I love Pig’n for lunch, but Dave really doesn’t. It turns out, though, that he doesn’t mind Pig’n for brunch. On the way inform Midtown things were looking good – not a lot of traffic, not many people on the sidewalks – but then we got to the Pig’n lot and it was full of people waiting to get in. It’s the millennials – they sleep until 10 and then want breakfast. Fortunately I immediately had a plan b, which was to go to the Lazy Susan Café, a small restaurant near the Coaster Theater that we’ve never been to, They were able to seat us immediately at a nice table upstairs by a window and we had a nice breakfast. We probably won’t go back, because 1) the food was merely good and 2) it’s cash only – what’s with that?

The reason we did brunch was so that we could do the Neahkahnie mountain hike, which we di, and it was fun. I like to go faster uphill and slower downhill than everybody else (except Josh, who likes to go fast in both directions) so the descent was a little uncomfortable for me. My knee did fin until the last quarter mile or so and then it was pretty uncomfortable. The temps were nice – not too hot. Josh has hiked the trail several times with other people and showed us the place where you can scramble up to the summit, which was both wonderful and terrifying.

Since we do the trail as a one-way with two cars, Josh and Jen left to go into town straight from the hike and then headed home. Sam, Dave and I went back to the house and showered, and then Sam and I headed into town to shop. We spent a long time shopping! It was very fun. At Archimedes, my current favorite gallery, they have a stuffed hugging Yeti that if I had an extra $950 I would so have in my office.

Dinner was Irish Table at 5:30, so the rest of the troop met us there. Irish Table opened in 2010, and have had more or less the same menu since then. It’s the restaurant I recommend to anyone who asks me for a restaurant recommendation in Cannon Beach, because the food is really, really good. And it doesn’t get boring since they always have a yummy fish special and extraordinary soups. It did not disappoint tonight – everybody had great food and Sam decided she actually likes seafood (with Halibut as good as that, everyone would love seafood). The only downside was when we got the dessert menu and Dave’s dessert, the scones he’d been talking about all day, had fallen off the menu. He had the Guinness ice cream sandwich instead, and it was good but he was still sad.

When we got home it was time for Christmas (and Hanukah) in August. This is a hard thing, even though it was also fun. Josh is being deployed to Somalia in October for 10 months, so he won’t be here for the holidays (or a lot of other things, which we try not to think about). So he’d requested a time of gift giving on the coast and we’ve had fun shopping for gifts and stocking stuffers. I cut a small branch off an evergreen and we had a fun time of opening presents.

To put a cap on this busy day we played a new escape room game from a company called Kosmos – the series is called Exit the Game, and the one we played was called “Abandoned Cabin”. It was 2.5 out of 5 stars for difficulty, and had moments of extreme frustration. By the end we were getting in the swing of it and managed to get out in under the allotted time. It left me feeling very invigorated. The company really did a clever job of having there be more and more surprises even when you thought you had all the game pieces already. We’ll be passing it on to some other lucky family.

Then it was bed time and blog time. I’m hoping for some down time tomorrow.