Beach Banter

Cannon Beach may be one of the most photographed beaches in the U.S., mainly because of the iconic Haystack Rock, jutting out of the ocean.  Certainly, it is one of my favorites.  It was one of the few remaining days of summer, and the day was warm and sunny, with only a slight breeze.  We were glad we decided to go here on Sunday, since the next days were overcast and a LOT cooler.

There were a lot of jellyfish washed up on shore.  It was definitely pretty, translucent and dangerous to pick up, so I just squatted (or should I say half squatted?) and aimed my camera at it.

Sandy and Don seem to be in some sort of discussion while..

Jerry is in a world of his own.  I have no idea of what he was absorbed in, but it must have been interesting enough to stop for a few minutes.

As usual, I am taking lots and lots of pictures!  The camera is clicking at a fast rate, good enough to get this seagull in flight with Haystack Rock in the background.  Thank goodness for digital cameras!  If I had to buy film and get it developed, it would cost a fortune.

Time to stop and hand the camera over to Jerry, so he can take our picture with the Nikon.  Sandy was taking pictures of her own on her cell phone.  It’s amazing that her cell phone pictures turn out extraordinarily well.  My cell phone is so old that all I can do is either make or receive calls. I can’t text, take photos, look at the weather or do anything else with it.  Of course, most of the time it is turned off and stuck down in the bottom corner of my purse.  Who cares…..I’ve got my camera!

We switched, now it was time for me to do the same for Sandy and Jerry!

Okay, now I have to try out the water and see if it’s as cold as I think it is.  Nope! It’s perfect to toe dipping!

 Guess I didn’t take into account the “rogue” wave that crept up behind me.  It was faster than I was, and I was glad it didn’t get all of my backside soaked.  Good thing we had a beach towel in the truck.  I sat on that the rest of the day.  Let me tell you, wet, soggy jeans don’t feel so good after a few minutes.

As we traveled south on Highway 101 towards Tillamook, we noticed lots and lots of boats bobbing up and down in the rivers and bays.  It must have been a great day for fishing.  Not only was it the weekend, but there were no white caps on the water and the sun was out.

No visit to the Oregon Coast is complete without a visit to the Tillamook Cheese factory.  At least it is something cheese lovers like the four of us would not want to miss.  Cheese tasting and time to pick up some delicious Garlic and Dill Cheddar cheese.  It is yummy, but something you want everyone in your group to eat at the same time.  The strong garlic flavor overwhelms the dill, but that is something I can live with.

 This is my kind of place to tour:  cheese and ice cream!  I’ll take this any day over beer, whiskey or wine, but that is just me.  Both Jerry and I opted to try one of the flavors offered.  His was Marionberry Pie and mine was the triple chocolate Tillamook Mudslide.  Heaven in a bowl!

Astounding Astoria

Astoria is a small port town at the mouth of the Columbia River and the maritime community has been in existence since 1811.  We were here 3 years ago, but the only thing we focused on for that very short visit was the Astoria Column.  Yesterday, we spent a good portion of the day exploring the riverfront area near downtown.  First on the agenda was to find a long term parking space.  Found it in front of their maritime museum, and it was free.  Good choice for us.  The big propeller, anchor and the Columbia boat all were located near the parking lot.

We found out that many cargo ships use this harbor to anchor their boats because there is no charge here.  So, they put down their anchors and await another load.  The old wood pilings are left in place and not taken out of the harbor.  If they are removed, the owner loses the rights to this portion of real estate (or water estate) and it reverts back to the state.

Interesting fact: the Columbia is one of the most treacherous rivers.  So much in fact, that only licensed river bar pilots are allowed to assist ships through the channel.  They are helicoptered on to the ship! They are licensed to steer anything from a nuclear sub to a 1000 ft. cargo ship,  

Yuck!  Forget about putting my toes into this part of the river!

We ambled down the Astoria Riverwalk.  About a mile or so down from the museum is a huge sea lion population.  They are referred to by the locals as the Astoria Losers.  These are male sea lions who couldn't find a mate when they were on the coast of northern California.  So, they migrate up here, find a nice fish and chips place and make a nuisance of themselves.  The local fisherman hate them because they are eating(literally) all their profits.  A large sea lion can eat up to 70 salmon a day.

No need to look hard for them, you can hear their loud barking blocks away!

 Can you imagine how hard it would be to try and dock your boat with these guys all hogging the docks?  They are very territorial.

Here is one guy, trying to get up on the dock.  You can see he is explaining that he has just as much a right to be here as they do.....

 And they probably answered back, "I don't think so!".  At any rate, he slipped back into the water and tried the other side.  That didn't work either.  Either these male sea lions have a chip on their shoulder or they are eternally crabby.

One of the best bargains in Astoria is their 101 year old trolley.  You can wave a dollar anywhere along the line and the driver will let you board.  Don was trying it out with Sandy's dollar bill.

 

 It worked!  The trolley conductor gave him a thumbs up!

 Not only did you get to ride up and down the riverfront, the conductors took turns giving a short history lesson about the town, and pointed out various buildings.  This is where Kindergarten Cop was filmed as well as Steven Spielberg's The Goonies.  I guess The Goonies has a cult following, but I have never seen it.

If you have an old electric streetcar and there is no longer an electric line, what do you do?  Connect it to your own personal generator!

 As we traveled back to Seaside, we took a short side trip to see wreck of the Peter Iredale once again.

Our timing was perfect; the ranger here was just walking over to the wreckage for the last time this summer to give his talk.

This is what the ship looked like when she was stranded on the beach in October, 1906.  For that time, she was a huge ship, being 285 feet long.  She was also unusual since she wasn't all wood, and had a steel hull and masts.  It didn't take long for the storm to dismantle most of the Peter Iredale.

I took my camera down the beach, to where there are portions of the steering rudder still intact.  Sandy and Don are standing by one of the mast stumps. This kind of gives you an idea of how large the ship was. The Peter Ireland may remain here for another few centuries, resting on what is known as Clatsop Spit.

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 Before getting back into the truck and heading back to the RV park, Sandy had to find out exactly how cold the ocean was.  Only her toes got wet,  Another great day of adventure was behind us.

Seaside Silence

It was foggy and drizzling when we left Portland on Wednesday morning.  It is always "interesting" trying to get our rigs through traffic in large cities, trying not to miss any crucial turns.  Originally, we were in the lead when we left the RV park, but somehow both Don and I missed the entrance to I-84, just minutes into our day's journey.  Oops.  That is why you can see us following Sandy and Jerry in the downtown Portland traffic.

 One pit stop later, and a change in leadership brought us to the Circle Creek RV Resort in Seaside.

Boy, this is so much better than the spots we had before.  As they say, "Silence is Golden".  No screeching trains to wake up to in the morning, or halting conversations because of the overhead jets.  Both Don and I did think we heard elk bulls bugling during the night, which is a lot more pleasing to the ear.

It didn't take us long to settle in, so after lunch we drove to the nearby town of Seaside.  Their main street ends at the ocean and at that point there's an End of the Trail monument.   This is the spot they claim that Lewis and Clark wound up at the end of their long, arduous journey.

 

Sandy and Jerry found an open bench near the statue and decided to plop down to enjoy the view.

This is a bird's eye view of Tillamook Head, just down the coast from Seaside. Or should I have said "gull's eye view"?

The wind off the ocean was a bit cool, and I thought it would be a good time for a cup of "joe".  The coffee is roasted locally, meaning it was both strong and good.  The saying on the bottom of the sign is Norwegian and roughly translates to "the best coffee for their home". 

Sandy stopped to look at Lulu, the bathing beauty sign on the wall. She originally started out on a wall at the Seaside Natatorium,located at this very spot. Eventually, the Natatorium was torn down, and she was found in an abandoned barn.  Now she once again shows off her sleek figure to the coffee drinkers, local and otherwise.

If you look closely at the above picture, just below Lulu's chin is this sign:

Here is a look down the main street of Seaside.   Like most touristy towns, it is a mixture of restaurants, gift shops and "goody" stores that entice you with fudge and ice cream delights.  Even though Don said we could stop at the ice cream place, I was satisfied with my cup of coffee.  I was too cold to even consider eating ice cream!

McMenamins Memories

We decided to take a day to tour Edgefield, also known as the Multnomah County Poor Farm.  McMenamins has taken this 1911 property and turned it into a destination resort.  During the Depression, this farm was home to 600 poor people.  It sat on 330 acres, allowing the able bodied people to raise food for themselves and other county institutions.  They had their own power plant and fire station.

Now, it is home to a restaurant, lodge, golf course, vineyards, a brewery, winery, distillery, gift shop, pool hall, a spa, the Gorge Glashaus, a pottery place and a large vegetable garden.  They make their own coffee and use the vegetables and herbs from the garden in their restaurant.  This is a place that would suit everyone's needs!

Jerry, Sandy and Don are ahead of me as they walk up to the Distillery Bar and Pub Course Clubhouse.

Here you can sip a whiskey, brandy, gin, coffee liqueur or spiced rum that is made on site or you can opt for one of their famous brews.  This is where people also sign up to play some rounds of golf.  Lots of golfers were walking out with clubs, golf balls and newly poured glasses of beer.  There were some mighty happy guys out there!

During the distillery tour, you could even snatch a taste of the most recent batch of liquor by putting your finger under the pour spout, like Don did.  Unlike the other distillery we toured in Denver, there are no complimentary shots offered here.  

This was one of the many flower beds sitting among the vegetable beds. It did attract a lot of bees, good for cross pollinating the vegetables and fruit trees.

You name the vegetable or herb and I think they had it here! The quarter acre organic garden provides not only the vegetables and herbs used in their Black Rabbit Restaurant, it also provides all the fresh flowers in the Main Lodge.

I got a kick out of this pumpkin that grew into the wire fence.

This building was used as a cannery and meat packing place in 1937.  Now it houses the McMenamin's largest brewery.  

One of the more interesting stops was at the Gorge Glashaus, where the on site artisan worked her magic with blown glass.  Boy, was it ever hot in this little shed, even though one side was completely open.  Maybe it had something to do with two ovens running at 2100 degrees!  That day, she was working on a glass made specifically for a customer sitting on the bench by us.  I never realized how much work went into a hand made glass.

Okay, so where do we go to next??

Jerry had to pose by the Jerry's Ice House Sign.  This stone lined room was used for cold storage before there was refrigeration.  It is rumored that escapees from the Rocky Butte Jail would hide out here in the 1930's and 40's.

When I think of "halfway house", I think of a place for recovering alcoholics or drug users. This little Halfway House is half way between the Winery and the Brewery!  It now houses a pottery shop.

The Little Red Shed reminds me of a Hobbit House since it is snuggled in with various plants and the roof is covered with ivy. Cozy, isn't it?  When this was a poor farm, it served as an incinerator shed.

Near the large amphitheater is a Jerry Garcia Sculpture.  The bronze sculpture is over 7 feet tall and appears to be a funky looking tree trunk from farther back.  However, we inspected this very closely and found there were many little faces and creatures incorporated into it!

Here are some of the things we found.  I have no idea of why there were so many Egyptian items included, but there must be some meaning behind them when the artist sculpted this.  I've got to say, this was the most interesting piece of sculpture I have ever seen.