the end of the beach (til fall) and the beginning of Nosh

Hello everyone!

I had a wonderful long weekend. I got off work early on Friday and Gina and I headed to the beach in her new car! It’s a 2001 Honda Civic, the most lovely shade of eggplant purple. We stopped along the way at a fruit stand in the valley where we bought the first Oregon strawberries of the season! So delicious! We stopped at a grocery store in Newport to get some stuff for dinner and then went to Mark’s beach and unpacked the car. We walked down to the beach where we walked around for a bit. We walked back up to the car and met Cory who was joining us for the weekend. Gina’s been friends with him since pre-school and I just met him for the first time a few weeks ago when we went to his cabin in the Gorge. We all sat down for dinner of roasted chicken (bought warm at the store), baked potatoes and steamed broccoli. After cleaning up after dinner we lounged around on the huge wrap around sofa and the cushy window seat. We made some drinks and played cards until we all got sleepy.

Saturday morning I woke and showered and made some coffee. When everyone was up I made some breakfast while Gina made sandwiches to pack for our lunches. Cory was going surfing for the day at Agate Beach while Gina and I were going exploring around Newport. We started at Yaquina Bay State Park where we walked along the beach for a mile and a half or so. At Nye Beach we walked up into the town. We stopped at a few thrift stores including one called the Eager Beaver (yes you can buy a bumper sticker that says I heart the Eager Beaver. Newport, Oregon). I bought some plaid fabric (for a Frizbee Masters costume, an old Boy Scouts handbook and some hilarious little shot glasses). We walked on through town, crossing over Hwy 101. We stopped in another resale shop, this one far more upscale than the previous. Gina bought a brand new leather halter top, originally $98 and now on sale for $12. It fit her perfectly and was the first halter top (leather nonetheless!) that she’d ever bought while hiking. Our route led us down into the bayfront part of Newport. We walked past tons of restaurants, seafood shops and working fisheries (woooohoooo stinkeeeeee!) There are some docks low on the water that have been taken over by some sea lions. We are our sandwiches and listened to the sea lions barking at each other. From there we walked over Hwy 101, just past the Yaquina Bay Bridge and back to the car.
Rather than heading home first we decided to head over the bridge to the south side of town. We easily found the Rogue Brewery who was having their annual Memorial Day Weekend warehouse sale. I was surprised to see that they had sold out of most varieties including my favorite Hazelnut Brown Nectar which I heard sold out in 10 minutes. Next time I’ll know to go right when I get into town on Friday. We still left with plenty of good beer at a great price. I bought a box of 22 oz Dead Guys that were bottled accidentally in the wrong bottle (Dad’s Little Helper Malt Liquor) along with a couple cases of Dead Guy in the Japanese packaging for export. It’s called White Crane and has Japanese writing on the bottle but it is Dead Guy Ale inside. We jammed the trunk full and headed back to Mark’s house where we relaxed for a little bit.

Cory called us and gave us directions to the condo he had at the Embarcadero. It was part of his family’s timeshare that he was lucky enough to use. The place was big with two floors and room for plenty of people to sleep there. The best part was the balcony (there actually were two) which was right on the water. The view across the bay to the Yaquina Bay Bridge was fantastic. Cory had bought a crab and had it cooked down at the bayfront. The three of us tore into it and ate every last delicious bit. We sat on the balcony enjoying the bits of sun that were filtering through the clouds. Later in the evening we walked along the marina down to the historic bayfront area of the town where we ate dinner at the Rogue Public House. We had oyster shooters and I had clam strips, halibut and calamari for dinner. We rolled ourselves home with a piece of Hazelnut Nectar Ale cheesecake to go. Back at the house we relaxed and played cards and made some drinks. We pulled out the one piece of cheesecake later and the three of us loved every bite of it. It was a long day so I happy to crawl into bed and close my eyes.

Sunday morning I made my coffee and sat out on the balcony, listening to the sea lions bark and watching the birds flying around the bay. After eating some yogurt and packing up our stuff Gina and I said goodbye to Cory who was sticking around another night. We stopped by Mark’s house then went for a last walk on the beach. It was quite windy which made it pretty chilly but it was still nice to be out. I found one perfect little agate, like hardened honey. We walked back up to the house where we finished packing up and preparing the house for the renters that are moving in this week. We drove back to the city and stopped at the same fruit stand to buy more strawberries. Yummmmm!

Sunday night I spent in Elaine and Gina’s backyard hanging out with friends around the chiminea, talking and enjoying some of our newly purchased Dead Guys!

Monday I had off of course for the holiday. I worked in my garden in the morning and ran some errands. In the afternoon I headed over to Nosh on Seventh. My friends Jay and Melissa have opened a new café on SE 7th & Lincoln. To celebrate they had a big private party with free food (I had a spicy Italian sausage from the grill) and beers for friends. They don’t have a liquor license so they can’t see beer yet. It was a great time with bunches of friends and live music (both Dave and Lincoln played) and babies and tons of sunshine. I ended up staying to the very end and helping Melissa take down some directions. Jay, Melissa, Tony (their cook) and I all sat at one of the picnic tables outside and enjoyed the long light of this time of year and the warm evening air. When I drove home at 10 pm I could still see lingering light on the northern horizon. I looked again and again and grinned.

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

xoxo,
carolyn