Cannon Beach Rocks!

Love, love, love, Cannon Beach.  When you pull into town, right away, you are stunned by the size of Haystack Rock along with other impressive rock formations down the beach..  The town is the quintessential seaside resort with weathered gray cedar siding and white trim on every residential and commerical building.  Fun, primary colored adirondack chairs are found on every restarant, hotel, and home deck and patio.  Add to the mix that the sun was shining and everyone was having fun. 

Today, was the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest 2010.  People watching was as much fun as watching the sandcastle sculptures emerging from hard packed sand.  These guys are serious about their sand.  They worked for hours on their selected theme--castles, cats, buddhas, octopussies (is that a word?).  We got exhausted just watching!

We had lunch on the street-side seating of the Cannon Beach Cafe; and ended up chatting with a couple from Portland for an hour there.  They had all kinds of tips for things to see on the Oregon Coast.  Don't you just love it when everyone is relaxed and having a good time?

The Astoria Column

"The Astoria Column is the final, crowning monument in a series of 12 historical markers erected in the early 1900's between St. Paul, Minnesota and Astoria, Oregon."  The brochure doesn't mention the location of the other markers, but it sounds interesting doesn't it?

The weather report showed today as the last sunny day for a while, so it was time to see and climb to the top of "The Astoria Column".  The location is at the highest point in Astoria--without going to the top of the column you can see for miles.  The column is narrow and the spiral staircase inside has a banister on one side only.  A little scary when you meet someone coming down--not to mention it makes you dizzy walking around and around.  My picture doesn't clearly show the art on the outside, but 12 events are depicted that occurred in the region--mostly the Lewis and Clark expedition.

The view is spectacular, but let me tell you we didn't dwell too long on top.  The viewing platform is small, and it was filling up with too many people. 

But, you can see forever, can't you?  Look east down the Columbia River gorge, look west out to the ocean, north to Washington State and the picture to the right shows south into Oregon.  If I wasn't so darn nervous up so high, I would have relaxed and enjoyed it more.

Golf Fix

Mike occasionally needs a game of golf and yesterday afternoon the skies cleared and the wind was just a breeze--an omen for a good game of golf.  Not too far from our RV park in the little town of Gearhart, Oregon, you'll find The Highlands.  It is a 9 hole golf course meandering through the coastal dunes, nicely kept greens, and a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean and Tillamook Head.  Just by chance, it was $10 Tuesday with all the golf you want to play.  Mike played with a few locals for 18 holes.  The Highlands is also the home of www.DiscountDansGolf.com, where they claim you will find the lowest prices on golf equipment in the United States.

Tuesday became a reading binge for me while Mike was playing golf.  If you need a great read, try "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," by Stieg Larsson.  Not only is it a suspenseful crime novel, but you also get a glimpse of Swedish politics and culture.  This is the first of a three book series by Stieg Larsson. 

A dilemma for us on the road was finding a good barber for Mike.  It is so easy to get a bad haircut, and he has been spoiled the last 25 years by a great stylist, Ann Ketchum at Sirs & Hers.  Fortunately, the folks he golfed with recommended Jennifer's Barber Shop in Gearhart.  He got a great haircut today and he is good to-go for another six to eight weeks.

So far, all the stars are lining up!

Gathering Our Nuts

Several years ago, we purchased an audio book, "Younger Next Year" (http://www.youngernextyear.com/) and it changed the way we looked at exercising and eating right.  I can't say that we have been following the book's advice consistently over the years; it seemed making a living and other commitments always got in the way.  Now that we're retired, no more excuses. There are two basic rules (1) exercise an hour every day (the book says it's a primitive need, something to do with gathering nuts or hunting) and (2) stop eating crap.

With such spectacular places to hike every where we stay, the exercise is something we look forward to every day; but eating right has been a challenge.  We're working on that.

Fort Stevens State Park has an extensive system of biking/hiking trails throughout park.  Today, we hiked for an hour through the park woods on wide asphalt paths.  The weather can be windy on the beach or in town, but you take this path through the dense forest of cedar, ferns and deciduous trees and your environment is suddenly very...still and quiet.  Along the way, a deer came out from a side trail not five feet ahead of us--never heard her coming.  There have been cougar warnings in the area; so I either walk in front of Mike or by his side.  No need to intentionally chum for them.

Fort to Sea Trail

The Fort to Sea Trail is a beautiful 6.5 mile trail starting at Fort Clatsop to the Pacific Ocean.  The weather was absolutely perfect today for a hike at 70 degrees and a cool breeze.  The trail includes four different ecosystems (1) thick forest, (2) wetlands, (3) meadow/pasture, and (4) ocean.  We started out at 11 a.m. this morning with Ranger Susan and a large group of fellow hikers. 

We decided to head out ahead of the group.  The following pictures tell the story better than I can:

(1) The Forest (left)

(2) The Wetlands (mucho mosquitos) (right)

(3) Tunnel under Highway 101 (left)

(4) A sign instructed us to walk quietly around the cattle...this was dicey (right)

(5) Path through the pasture (left)

(6) The Sea!

Long Beach and Days Gone By

Back in the 1970's we spent many years vacationing (and a whole lotta partying) on Long Beach in Washington State--many a 4th of July was spent on that beach with our friends, Frank, Jeanette and Jenay and a mob of others.  Today we went back down memory lane and visited all the old haunts--Frank's cabin in Ocean Park (he sold years ago), the beach you can drive on forever, the antique shop where Mike bought me an old 1940s-era asian teacup (I still have it), the tavern on the corner and The Ark restaurant in Oysterville.  Unfortunately, The Ark is closed down, but the old building had a sign in the window saying they reopened in Klipsan Beach.  We found them!  Jimella's Seafood Market sign is a little misleading because inside is a small cafe with eight tables and the same quality food they served years ago at The Ark.  Besides the oysters, steamed clams, and chowder; we splurged on the calories today and had the lemon custard and cake dessert.  

Ilwaco, Washington is known for their charter fishing boats and over the years we've gone out ocean fishing several times for salmon. (That's me 35 years ago with a 32 pound salmon.)  Ilwaco is exactly the same as I last remembered.  The same marina, the parking lot style RV park across the street and boats in all shapes and sizes.    

Cape Disappointment was another stop today.  A lighthouse, a museum and a walk in the woods--the lighthouse was picture perfect, the walk refreshing, but please no more museums.  That's it for a while; we know every fact known about the Lewis and Clark expedition. 

You've Got Mail

Modern nomads can have a few extra challenges, especially with mail delivery.  Fortunately, there are a number of mail forwarding services that are very flexible about when and where they forward your mail.  We chose the Escapees Mail Service out of Livingston, Texas.  You establish your new mailing address with them, call them when you want your mail and have it sent to your location's post office (your name, c/o general delivery, and town).  Cool, huh?  We stopped by the Astoria post office today to verify they accept general delivery, they do.

Based on a friend's recommendation (thanks, Kathy), we had lunch today at the Ship Inn on the waterfront just off of 3rd street.  The best fish and chips.  The breading on the fish was light and crispy; the fish cooked to perfection.  Every seat in the restaurant has a view of the Columbia River, the Astoria bridge,the deep green forest on the Washington State side of the river, and the fishing boats waiting to hook onto the "big one".

Yesterday and today was rainy and a bit windy, but tomorrow the weather gets better and predicted to be sunny and perfect next week.   Looking forward to a hike on Saturday, golf next week, and a number of outdoor activities before we leave the area.