Up and Over, then out

Tilly as a fairy tale castle

 

Plenty of parking if you get there early

Our new way of doing things is to not pack up and leave right away, and we did that today. We started with breakfast at Pig’n, a recent Cannon Beach end of vacation innovation that makes us both happy. Lunch at Pig’n always made me happy, but there was always a wait and I’m the only one who loves breakfast-for-lunch. 7 am breakfast at Pig’n is perfect, with no wait and all the yumminess. I tried the nitro cold brew coffee and was deeply unimpressed by its lack of flavor, even if watching it clear like a glass of Guinness is a lot of fun.

Next, back to the hotel. On the way we were excited to see that this year the Coaster is doing Scrooge, a musical again. Last time we saw it Tim was so traumatized by the singing ghosts and demons that he hasn’t been back since. He was in high school at the time. At the hotel packing up and processing the coffee somehow took almost an hour. We brought a lot of stuff as always, for one thing. Packing up the suitcases were less full than coming out because over the course of the vacation we’d filled the back seat with most of the bulky warm items. Ideally, we would hang out and relax at the hotel for longer and not check out until closer to 11. But parking at both Ecola and in town are both pretty hairy these days, so we wanted to get started more quickly.

Once checked out we drove up to Ecola State Park to do the Clatsop Loop Hike. We did it backwards from how the signs recommended – starting to the left and doing it clockwise. This makes the steep narrow part of it an uphill, which feels much less insecure than doing it on the way down. This also has the wonderful views of Tilly (currently for sale at 6.5 million) early in the hike when we’re not in “get this done” mode, and the sightseeing stops are welcome on the uphill. It was foggy at sea level but sunny for most of the hike, and at the end we came out through an archway looking out into brightly lit fog, like a magic gateway.  On the hike is that my fitbit completely ran out of batteries and shut down, robbing me of an hour of activity, 3,000 steps, and who knows how may flights of stairs. Grrr. It was practically not worth having gone.

We finished up with a final visit to Bill’s, always a good after hike destination. Then the drive home, with a stop at the Jim Dandy market in Manning which is just as unwelcoming as I remember it being (even more so, since it now has a sign calling it agro-tourism and saying if you hurt yourself it’s your own fault). And that’s the end of the trip!

Notes:

The 3 pigs in a blanket/bacon and eggs and hashbrowns and toast combo that we came up with a while back felt like too much food. Dave says see if there’s a kids meal version.

The campsite with a spur trail for a scenic view of Tilly and a convenient rest stop is at the top of this hike, not the Fort Mlustard hike as we though up until we got to the campsite. Also this hike can be done as a 5 mile one way to (or from) Seaside, which might be fun. Also don’t start a walk exercise on the fitbit when the battery is low.

I brought my string sandals (Teva Voyages), and I’d like to have flip flops or birks as well for a quick slip on solution.

Water, with prepositions

 

This morning's adventure was kayaking. We drove to the Wheeler Marina and rented two kayaks, then paddled upstream for an hour or so. (On the water) We didn’t turn on any of our trackers so we don’t know how far we went (according to google maps it was about 4 miles round trip), but it felt like a long way, especially paddling upstream. Of course you don’t get any steps for paddling, so I’m probably not going to beat yesterday’s 22,600 steps – or Dave’s 80 floors. The river is tidal where we were, which means that if we went at a different time of day it would be flowing the other way.

We came back to the hotel to get changed, then headed out for lunch. We parked at Tolovana and ate at Warren House, on the sunny front deck. We learned that Mo’s has been bought by a large corporation, which explains why their food isn’t as good, and that Wayfarer’s good chef got so good that he priced himself out of a job, which is why their food isn’t as good either. Fortunately Warren House is still good, and they have Bill’s beer. Dave learned that you shouldn’t put a lime in the Pfriem Mexican Lager. So much learning!

We’d parked in the Tolovana lot (where we got one of the last spots) because the tide was all the way out at lunchtime, so it would be good for a walk after. And walk we did, down to the Rock Wahii, which was exhibiting high sands. (Next to the water) The tide had come in enough so we could only be in front, but it was fun to see. The walk back was almost a walk too far – the wind was blowing strongly against us, and even though we didn’t use our legs in the kayaks we did use a lot of energy! We were glad to get back to the hotel for resting. The beach was even more crowded with people than yesterday, although there were significantly fewer pelicans. It was hot on the beach and a little warm in our hotel room.

After resting a while I decided to go down and get in the water, which I managed to do up to mid-chest. It took a while to get numb, but once I did I had fun walking back and forth across Ecola creek, which ranges from hip to chest high in the center at high tide. There was one woman who was having a great time floating around with just her head out of the water, but when I tried putting my arms in it was too cold! The pelicans had returned with the tide. When I came up I had a nice warm shower, and then it was pretty much time to head over to the Bistro.

The Bistro’s slogan used to be “memorable meals of honorable mention”, but then it burned down and was rebuilt and now it got new owners who changed it to “food without confusion”. Either way it’s a place where locals hang out with interesting food and a fun wine list. Since Dave is preparing to re-take his D3 tasting exam we are having some fun in restaurants. In this case I took our server aside (there’s a curtain that separates the bar/entrance from the main dining room, so we stepped behind it) and ordered glasses of wine for Dave to reason out. He correctly identified the house Chardonnay and the Sinean (Oregon) Pinot Gris, but I was able to stump him with the Tempraniiillllo from Spain. Dessert was a very strange pie with a graham cracker crust filled with a thin layer of chocolate mousse, a thick layer of Swedish cream, and layer of apple gelee with pie spices that was slightly thicker than the chocolate mousse layer. They were three great tastes, but we weren’t sure they tasted great together – in fact they were a little confusing. The side of salted caramel icecream with pralines was not confusing, just flat out delicious.

Back to the hotel afterwards for relaxing and a clear-to-the-horizon sunset with no green flash (over the water). We took a short post sunset walk down to the beach. Between all the walking we did on Monday and Tuesday and the kayaking and walking we did today, we’re pretty tired. There was a moment where I wasn’t sure I’d make it off the beach. What a lovely time we’ve had!

With Merit

The weather for the days were here is supposed to be beautiful, and today certainly was. We were up and out by 8 and on our way to the Soapstone Lake Trail hike. We ignored the road closed because of logging sign and the logger waved at us as we drove by. The hike is delightful – much like the Waclela Falls hike in the Gorge it’s a good length (3.2 miles) and has just the right amount of up and down and lots of different scenery.  Unlike most of the hiking we do on the coast we had the trail all to ourselves – of course that could also be because the road was closed. 

As we were driving back Dave got some very exciting news on his phone – he passed D5, the fortified wine section of the WSET diploma, with merit! Well done Dave and a great couple of days for the Sandage wine scholars.

We got back and got cleaned up and headed down to the beach visit Haystack Rock on our way to Pelican Brewing for lunch. And guess what! I can give the Sand Report: very low, exposing the lettuce garden. We also saw many pelicans circling over Haystack Rock, which is kind of unusual – it’s just very pelican-y this year. Pelican (the brewery) doesn’t open until noon, so we got to visit the Miska gallery (always good stuff, although she seems to be transitioning away from the chicken paintings which is a shame) before getting in line at 12:53. They opened right on time, but were out of inside seats by the time it was our turn. We took an outside table and they put the awning out over us and it was completely perfect. I had the beer sausage flatbread which was very yummy – next time we can split one.

On the walk home we walked past Gatsby’s, a new restaurant that we haven’t been to, and reminded ourselves that we want to try it out sometime. Then I looked at the menu as part of writing this blog (you can look too) and I see that their prices combined with the requirement that each adult order an entrée means we will not be going there.

I walked around town for a bit and had a small problem: I have been using an old Bruce’s candy shop bag to keep my soap in in my bathbag and it has fallen apart, so I figured I’d just stop in and get a selection of saltwater taffy in a new bag and solve the problem. But they don’t have plastic bags anymore, only the more ecologically friendly paper ones. I bought some salted caramels in a cellophane bag but it’s not the same. I’m not sure what to do. I got back to the hotel and it was time for some serious relaxing. The beach outside our window is as crowded as I’ve ever seen it with both people and pelicans.

Dinner was at the Stephanie Inn and met expectations, meaning it was very good. We went for a long after dinner hike, all the way to Haystack rock. The beach was lined with people having campfires, which was pretty. At Haystack Rock there were many noisy birds, some of which sounded like zombies. We ended up walking through the south end of town and turning up by the coaster theater stage door, which had an ominously flickering light. Dave thought they should play zombie bird noises to add to the atmosphere. It was almost 10 when we got back.

The Left Coast

I'm just going to lead with this.

The weekend before – that is, yesterday and the day before – I completed my Peak Pilates advanced mat certification class. There were just two of us in the class (the other student was Gala Davis from Seward, Alaska) and it was very fun and also exhausting. I spent Friday and Saturday nights in the wonderful Airbnb in Sellwood (1104 SE Nehalem) and had ice cream both nights.

On Sunday when I got home I was so exhausted that I took a long bath, had dinner (Dave did the cleanup which was such a gift) and was in bed by 9:30 – and slept until almost 8. I thought I would be really sore but I wasn’t.

We packed up and left the house at 10:15, putting us at Bill’s just a little after 11:30. We sat on the adults only side and had yummy Bill’s beer’n’burgers. The server gave Dave a hard time when he wasn’t immediately ready with his second beer order – they know him there. It was a warm and sunny day, with fog out at the horizon.

After lunch we walked on the beach past Mo’s to the first large-ish rock, and then got in the car to go for a drive. We drove down to Wheeler to look at the restaurant where we planned to have dinner (good food is hard to find in Cannon Beach on a Monday night), which is next door to the Wheeler Marina where you can rent kayaks and kayak on the Nehalem river, which we might do.

On the way back Dave saw a sign for the Nehalem Fish Hatchery. We’ve recently become interested in Fish Hatcheries, so we turned off 101 and drove 11 miles on 53 to Fish Hatchery Lane and the hatchery. Oh man, it was so cool. For one thing, the people who work there live there in houses, and they also have a HATCHERY HOST who lives in a trailer. They have a fish food dispenser so you can feed the big fish in pond 7, which we did – they are rainbow trout and look full grown. We saw lots and lots of fish in all sizes, and they would all swim to the other side of their pools when we walked by.

I'm hitching a ride on the fish transport truck

As we got to the end of pond 1 we saw a sign for a trail – 250 yards to the waterfall, 500 yards for the whole loop. So we had to do it, and found the most beautiful beach by the side of the stream, with a waterfall. We walked the whole length of the loop and then visited the winter coho in their pool, and then headed out. We kept going on 53 to where it joins 26 so we made a loop. On the way we saw a sign for a trail to Soapstone Lake, which we might do. 

We got back and checked into our room at Schooner’s Cove, and relaxed briefly. During our relaxing I got an e-mail from Mimi, my teacher at the Wine and Spirits Archive, telling me that I passed my WSET Level 2 test with distinction – 98 out of 100 points. It’s making me nutz wondering which of the 50 questions I missed, but I am very proud of myself anyway.

We headed back to Wheeler and The Salmonberry for dinner. It was not exactly what we expected – like Mac’s in Chatham, you order as you come in and then they bring you your food like a sit down restaurant – but we ended up getting an outside table on the porch overlooking the river and the food was very good and the sun was shining and the clouds were hanging on the mountains and I don’t know if we’ll ever go back there but we are very glad we went. The oysters rivalled the ones on the Cape.

This isn't even all the pelicans

Then it was back to the hotel where we meant to relax, really we did, but there was a HUGE flock of pelicans on the beach so we had to go see them. They were on the other side of Ecola creek, and over some very bumpy sand so we felt like explorers as we walked over to see them. On the way back the sand in the creek tried to swallow us but we escaped with only a little dampness on one of my legs. Then we did sit down and relax in our room with the door open and the sound of the ocean.

We drove by the little house several times and saw its new roof but that’s about it. There is no sand report.

The End

Thursday 7/21

How can it be Thursday already? We just got here! But we’ve clearly been vacationing for a while, because we pretty much stopped taking pictures. Fortunately Ben took some.

For your CAH.

Our morning hike was the D. Isabel Smith Monomoy River Conservation Lands Trail, a long name for a fairly short (1.8) mile hike along Muddy Creek. It was much less buggy and undulating than the Barclay Pond hike, and it had a section that ran along the power line clearing. It was only a mile or so from the Pleasant Bay Woodlands trail that we did on Tuesday, which also had a section on the power line clearing. So we wondered…

Our next adventure was a drive up to Provincetown. Bubby had come over for a rust-free shower in the fabulous outdoor spa and to do some laundry, and we decided to take the trip. On the way she got lunch recommendations and she also brought her parking karma, so when we got to P’town there was a public lot right next to the restaurant and it had someone pulling out. We parked and did a little shopping (2 dresses) and then had lunch at Pepe’s, where the views and the food finally matched in quality – both excellent. I had my lobster roll, which was a little dry until I put coleslaw on it, much to Bubby’s horror. I also had raw littlenecks and should have had them earlier and more often.

After lunch we walked around a bit more and then drove up to Race Point, and because Dave had his permanent park pass with him we were able to park for just a short time (nobody wants to pay for a 5 minute visit, but free is an excellent price) and see the ocean and the beach, which both looked excellent. I was hoping we’d see some whale spouts, since we were just off of race point on our fabulous trip, but no such luck.

When we got back we stopped at CVS for a new battery for Bubby’s car key, where we saw the fantastic decal, then went and installed it and had some good pond time. I haven’t mentioned yet that Avery and Hannah are both completely at home in the water and lots of fun to play with.  

Dinner was pizza at the cape cod league ball game, unfortunately the girls were both really tired so we didn’t stay long. The pizza was excellent though. We think the sauce didn’t have sugar in it, which I really like. When we got home Ben and Joan put the girls to bed and we sent them out for ice cream. I made an amazing snack discovery, that you can microwave Milano cookies for about 15 seconds, then slide them apart and use them to make an ice cream sandwich. You’re welcome.

 

Friday 7/22

On our last day we put two hikes together, starting from our house and walking to Pleasant Bay Woodlands, taking that trail to the powerline and connecting to the Isabel D Smith (etc.) hike, walking around that loop, and then coming back – 3.4 miles. Along the powerline clearing there’s something called the Forest Garden Walking Commons, where they’ve planted native berry bushes that anybody can pick from. Sadly, most of them weren’t ripe yet. It was an excellent hike and gave us a good feeling of closure to have connected the two places.

Then it was time for some exceptional ponding, where everyone was in the water with noodles and splashing around. Before everyone got there Dave and I took the peddleboat which had beached itself by Bubby’s house and moved it to a beach across the pond, and then swam back. It was a challenge to power the boat because the seatbacks had been removed, so we had to hang on with our hands to keep from slipping backwards while we peddled. Wedging noodles underneath our bums helped a little. 

The evening got kind of bumpy. We’d planned to go to the Chatham Band concert with Ben and Joan and the girls, but first to have a final dinner with Bubby. We forgot to make the dinner reservations though, and by the time we called all they had was 7:30. It turned out that the restaurant was right next to the concert venue, so I figured I would just pop out between courses. But when we got there the restaurant was super crowded and noisy, and we didn’t feel comfortable eating inside there. So we ended up making an omelet dinner at the big house which turned out to be fun, but I was really disappointed to miss the band concert and wished I’d realized earlier how much I wanted to be there.
We did get to see some videos, and the girls put on a brief performance when they got home. It was late by the time we went to bed.

Here are the videos:

Saturday 7/23

I woke up early and went over to the pond for a half hour morning swim all by myself, which was lovely. I saw lots of birds. By the time I got home everyone was up and packing, so I had a shower and some breakfast and joined the workforce. I threw my wet clothes in the dryer, which performed its logic-defying feat of leaving one item undried. Seriously, how does it do that? In a large load of assorted laundry, one piece comes out still very damp.Everyone was packed up by 9, so Ben and Joan and the girls headed off to stay with Joan’s parents for a few days. 

We hung out in the big, cool, quiet house until 10, and then went to Bubby’s and sat under the trees in the shade for a couple hours to let traffic die down. There were geese in the pond! We ate a mediocre lunch at the Sea Dog Brew Pub in South Yarmouth, and got to the car rental return place at 3. We could probably have left later and/or eaten closer to Boston. We settled in at a gate and I started writing this whole story, took a break for dinner and boarding, and am now finishing it almost 6 hours later. Note to self: don’t sit for 3 hours before a 5 hour flight! Get up and move around!

We arrived home safely and without any adventures. I’ve enjoyed posting these blogs and reliving our wonderful times. Thanks for joining us!