Now, onto coffee. Today's spot is called Spella and we are not as lucky with parking so have to walk a few blocks. Oh what a great choice it is. Mister is in heaven as it is as authentic of a coffee shop as he expects to find on this trip. Yes, Davis Street Espresso in Dallas still reigns supreme with us.This place is TINY and that is putting it mildly. That's sad to us as it means everyone is grabbing and going without even taking a breath to realize just how good the coffee here is. We, on the other hand, do the exact opposite. Standing in a small corner by the windows and using itty bitty marble ledges. our experience is slow and wonderful.
I can watch the city go by and still talk with my sweetheart and make our plans for the day. Perfect.
The tastebuds have been tantalized and it's time to drive. On the way back to the car, I spot a building with some cool archways that change through time as floors have been added. Very cool.We have opted to make a super fast trip up Interstate 5 into Washington and through Vancouver up to Longview before turning west to the Oregon coast. We are starting at the northwest corner of Oregon, in Astoria, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.
Since 1925, the Astoria Column has graced the sky of this small city. With the Trajan Column in Rome as its inspiration, it features a hand-painted spiral frieze that, if unwound, would stretch more than 500 feet.
The light at the top shines each night and you can reach a platform just below it by climbing the 164 step spiral-staircase. Off we go. I am reminded of the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, MA. I take comfort in the fact that I accomplished that one and this is less steps.It is worth it though. The view is amazing and we can truly see where the Columbia meets up with the Pacific. There are barges coming down the river and heading out to sea, leaving me to wonder where they are going and what their cargo is.
Pointing our car south, the next stop is in Seaside with a sign that appears to need some help. This is indeed a kitschy, tourist town BUT it does have a beach we can get down on and I want to put my toes in the sand as soon as I can.
Luckily, we find a spot to park on the crazy main drag and are able to walk down to the beach in a matter of minutes.Anyone who knows me well, knows my love of all things water. Lakes, rivers, showers, hot tubs, fountains, etc. However, the ocean takes it all. I could sit and stare at it for days. In fact, I love it so much that I have a new quilt mystery starting in one week entitled A Day at the Beach.
That's it. I'm gone. Mister can hang back if he wants. As I roam the beach, I try not to get wet but suddenly there is a surge that sends me and several blanket sitters scrambling. I don't make it out totally dry, but "Oh well, it'll dry." Apparently the tide is coming in. Can we just stay here? I'm good.
I look up and Mister is ready to go. Back up at the traffic circle, I stop for a moment to see the End of the Road statue honoring Lewis and Clark.Just beyond it is a plaque that tells about the promenade that goes down the beach, enabling one to walk a good distance along the sand and yet not in it.
It's lunch time. Funny how that comes around each day. A quick look online shows that The Crabby Oyster may just be the ticket we are looking for.
It's quiet when we enter and we are seated right away. Our waitress takes our order fairly quick and then the wait begins. Just as we are about to lose hope and have watched an ambulance go down to the beach, police close off the street for at least 10 minutes, the ambulance return, and the street re-opened our food arrives. Fortunately, it not only looks great but tastes awesome as well.Mister has been on his phone throughout lunch looking something up and when we get back to the car, he is determined and takes off in a direction totally different from where I had planned. Okay, then. I just sit back and let him go. He is following the ocean up close and personal. As we get to a rocky area, he states that "this is the ocean I first saw." Apparently it wasn't a sandy beach full of people and tents. I get that. Time to enjoy. NOW he wants to put the camera to use.
While sitting there, I decide to take a complete memory home with me. Out comes my phone and the video record button is pushed.
Yes!
This is the end of this particular road though. Bummer. A quick look at a map shows that it has a hiking trail that leads to a park that we can enter from the other side. That's our new destination. Back onto Highway 101 to the Cannon Beach exit, we make a right turn and start into the woods that contain Ecola State Park. As we are driving down the road, a car coming the other direction has stopped on the road and Mister instantly sees why. Handing me the camera, we try for a nice picture before the opportunity passes. literally. This is the best I can do while moving. Isn't he grand? I think this is the closest to an elk I've ever been. He is all of 10 feet away from the car. Such fun,
At the end of the road, we come to a parking lot and have to walk from here. It's not a long walk and within moments the view is well -- glorious. For those of you who are Goonie fans, yes, those are the rocks in the distance. No, it wasn't planned to see them. Yes, it's a happy treat.
Now to explore this area. Following another trail, through the trees and over roots, we are treated to this view. Yes, way out there is a lighthouse. It is a long way down to the beach below us. We could slide down but the trek back up seems to be challenging to say the least. We'll pass.We get as close to the edge as possible though. That's the fun part, right?
Right where we stand, on this crazy ridge above the water, wild blackberries are growing everywhere. It's crazy. We grab a few that look ripe, but they are dang sour still. Pucker power.What a fun adventure but we're not done yet. There is a great rock right out in front of us and Mister sees a possibility of getting an angle that shows the arch under it. We return back down the path we took and take another a little further north. This is the best we can do without literally going rogue and I have flip flops on.
We have wandered around for almost two hours and it's time to get back on the road. A little further down, past Cannon beach, we make a stop to try and get a better picture of Haystack Rock.Cannon Beach doesn't look half bad either. Not at all crowded. My kind of beach.
This is about as far south as we can go without turning a bit east. We do have to return to Portland tonight. Making our way to Tillamook, a stop for cheese is considered and then tossed out. The number two brewery that Mister wanted to stop at is here in town and closes in one hour. Time to boogie.
We we get close to the brewery, which is on Blimp Boulevard, we encounter the largest quonset hut type building I've ever seen. Is there really a blimp in there? If so, we are coming back tomorrow. Some quick research tells me that the building was, indeed, once a U.S. Navy blimp hangar and that the building is the largest clear-span wooden structure in the WORLD. Crazy. It now has the Tillamook Air Museum inside, but no blimp.
De Garde Brewing is also a purveyor of sours. Yippee -- said with sarcasm, but once again there are also regulars to choose from. Grabbing a drink, I start wandering around, checking out the building.
The keg room is pretty cool and it is the first time that I have personally seen kegs of so many different sizes. Placing our drinks on a barrel gives some perspective to the room.
Look. This place is huge. No joke.
Since all we had is one hour before closing, our time here ends quick. We have asked around for a place to have a nice dinner in the area and several people recommended the Schooner on Netart's Bay. Well, okay. Let's go. It's light when we arrive and we stand at the door for awhile with quite a few other people as there is a "please wait to be seated" sign. After about 10 minutes and several of the people giving up and going to sit at the bar, we are finally informed that we have to go inside to sign onto a wait list. What? In we go. At the sign up, there is a man waiting and he has such a look of dismay that my hubby starts a conversation with him. It goes something like this. "Have you been waiting long?" Nods yes. "Have you been here before?" Nods yes. "Is it always this bad?" Nods and say, "It used to be worse." We are okay with sitting outside and there are tables available but no. We have to wait as those tables are for large groups and we are only two people. Goodness. There is no one behind us and it's now 8 p.m. A few minutes later we are seated. As we watched the outdoor section in our initial wait, we noticed that they hand out blankets to the customers as the sun is starting to set and the air is chilling. Not a bad idea, but turning on the portable heaters in each corner would work too. Just saying. Where was I? Oh yes. We are handed very ragged menus and then a few minutes later have them taken away and are told that they have now gone to a "crash" menu. This just keeps getting better. Our order is finally taken and with that I leave Mister to sit and go to watch the sun go down over the water.
I return and our wine is there along with some blankets that Mister commandeered. We each have a small glass as we are still driving and at 9:20, our food arrives. Not a single piece of bread or a cracker in the meantime. One hour and 15 minutes from order to food. It's at this point that my sweetheart tells me that everyone who recommended this place also told him that they are notoriously slow. They were truthful.We had ordered mussels as an appetizer and a Schooner Cioppino containing rockfish, wild prawns, calamari, clams and Netart's Bay oysters as our entree. Since it was not delivered that way, I take the mussels and Mister tackles the massive bowl of cioppino. I'm not joking, it is at least 5 inches tall. We are almost the last people in the restaurant and no, the larger tables were never used. Being presented with a chance to talk quietly with our waitress, she tells us that, yes, they are slow here but tonight was crazy bad. They had three people call in sick, including their manager and it was the hostesses first night. Okay, that helps us to understand, but still she agreed that most of our comments were common although not given is such a decent manner. I will say the food is good. Is it worth the wait. I guess since it's the only nice restaurant in the area. That's the best I can do. The moon is out as we leave and start our 2 hour drive back through the Tillamook Forest. Ugh. Who planned this day? See you tomorrow.
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