strange things live in the sea

Hello everyone!I had a fantastic weekend on the Oregon coast. Gina and I left right after work on Friday afternoon. Traffic was hideous as we tried to get out of the city. Finally we just stopped and at dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Traffic was far diminished when we left and we arrived in Newport with no problems. Mark, a man I had dated briefly and remained friends with, has a beachhouse in Newport. It’s currently for sale so I was very grateful to be able to stay there before it’s sold. Gina & I unloaded all our stuff, turned on the fireplace (flip the switch!), mixed up some drinks and settled into the comfy living room. Gina took the huge cushy window seat leaving me the gigantic sectional sofa all to myself. We hung out talking while Gina worked on her crocheting. We went to bed early, excited to get out on the beaches.

Saturday morning I showered and started the coffee. Gina packed lunches while I made us breakfast. We drove 8 miles north on Highway 101 to Boiler Bay. This has been my favorite spot on the coast for tidepools since Greta and I randomly stopped there on one of her visits several years ago. The tide was low but was on its way back in. I’m always mindful of such things on the coast and we were being chased off the rocks and best tidepool exploring by the advancing waves. We saw a teenage girl get totally overtaken by the waves. Her mother was shouting at her from the beach as a large wave rolled in and advanced well past the rocks she was standing on. She wasn’t knocked over but suddenly she was in sea water up to almost her knees. She made it back safely to the beach where she proceeded to dump water from her galoshes. Gina and I spent a few hours poking around and taking photos. We finally climbed back up the steep, rocky cliff and headed back south. We stopped at Devil’s Punchbowl, a sea cave whose roof long ago collapsed. We then stopped at Yaquina Head. The lighthouse seems to draw most people here but the cobble beach here is my favorite. When the tide is high enough the waves roll the smooth black rocks around, creating the most mesmerizing sound. The weather was getting increasingly windier and rainier and we were hungry so we decided to head home.

Back at the house we quickly changed out of wet, dirty jeans and back into comfy pj bottoms. We ate and relaxed. I read my book for a while then took a nap. In the evening we drove down to the bay front to eat dinner at the Rogue Public House. I had eaten here several years ago and had a horrible experience (worst service ever) but Rogue beers are some of my favorites so I was willing to give them another chance. We had a very friendly, very attentive waitress this time so all was good. Gina ate her first oyster and pulled it off without even a sour face, and it was a big oyster. They were delicious! My smoked salmon melt was wonderful as was my mocha porter. Yummm! We bought some big beers to go. Back at Mark’s house we watched Borat, totally ridiculous and entertaining. It’s definitely a “see it once” kind of movie for me. After that we watched a Wanda Sykes stand up act. I think she’s hilarious. We ended the night watching Ferris Bueller on Bravo but the editing was so ridiculous (you can’t say herpes on cable tv??!?!). We went to bed and slept like logs.

Sunday morning we woke up and had coffee and breakfast. We packed up all our stuff and cleaned the house before loading up the car. We headed north to Boiler Bay again but this time we timed it so that tide was low but was still going OUT so we didn’t have to worry about being chased off the rocks. We spent hours exploring the tidepools: sea urchins (purple & red), starfish (orange & purple), little crabs, beautiful anemones and endless other sea creatures. We saw several Giant Pacific Chitons, the looked like red nerf footballs, such strange things! In the afternoon the tide began coming back in and we felt satisfied with our exploring so we started working our way back to Portland. We stopped in Lincoln City to buy some salt water taffy and then headed inland over the Coast Range and back to the city. It was a wonderful mild day and the city is positively bursting into bloom with the plum and cherry trees covered in white and pink blossoms and daffodils smiling all over the place. I got my photos of my camera then went home and unpacked. I ordered some Thai food from the place up the street and Camille and I watched a movie, Apartment Zero. It was terrible and we laughed and laughed. It was supposed to be a thriller not a comedy. Spare yourself and save two hours of your life! I read my book before going to sleep.

So that was my weekend. Please let me know how you are and what you’re up to!

xoxo,
carolyn