The weather continues to be remarkably good.  The highs are only in the mid 50’s, but it feels grand.  Sitting in the sun on the balcony feels more like close to 70.

We took our separate walks on Wednesday morning.  We go separately because Elaine likes to walk faster than me and likes to leave right after she gets up before I am ready to go.  Since the walks tend to be into town and then back via the same (and only) road, we generally pass each other  (like two ships in the night)shortly after I start out and she nears home.

Wednesday was our day to visit my second most favorite sea food restaurant in the world for lunch – Local Oceans in Newport.  And finally some food pictures for you!  We ate in the restaurant.  Well spaced tables with lots of Plexiglass and all staff and customers masked (except when at their table).  We shared a Grilled Calamari Salad (with roasted fennel, shitake mushrooms, poblano pepper, organge, Niçoise olives, and queso fresco).  It’s an old favorite.  Then Elaine had the Wild Salmon Sliders (three chipotle red pepper salmon cakes, lettuce, chil garlic aioli on brioche buns).  I had my usual Rockfish Italiano (panko crusted rockfish, pepperoni, salami, pepperocini, mozzarella, red pepper coulis on a hoagie).

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After lunch we walked down the street to visit our old friends, the Newport sea lions on their sea lion docks.  Lots of businesses and restaurants are closed (due to the pandemic and lack of tourists), but things seem to be picking up again.  Undersea Gardens has been razed.  The wax Museum is history.  But Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum has been totally rebuilt. Alas, Oregon is closing indoor dining in eighteen counties starting on Friday due to an uptick in covis cases.  Lincoln County (where we are) is not among the eighteen.  Even the sea lions seem subdued and quieter than usual.

Then it was back home for naps and/or reading and/or jig saw puzzling.  Cocktails on the balcony were delightful as always.  Dinner was essentially skipped.  Elaine was full.  I had some crackers and cheese.  I haven’t mentioned whales much.  We see their spouts every day, but we don’t see their tails and bodies much as they roll over and dive.  The Orca whales should be migrating just now from Mexico waters to Alaska, but they tend to be farther out.  Whale boats spot them.  When the Orcas are migrating, the resident grey tend to keep a low profile as the Orcas will kill their young for food.

Thursday morning was foggy.  Walks were as usual.  Then we drove to to find a well hidden Oregon state viewpoint in Depoe Bay that we had never found before – Fishing Rock viepoint.  There is not sign for it on the 101, and you have to know where to turn off to find the small parking lot and discreet little sign.  Then it’s a short walk through a forest primeval to a nice overlook over rocks and the beach.

Next stop – D River Beach (best name they could come up with?) in Lincoln City because Elaine wanted to collects some rocks off the beach (for her rock painting hobby).  There are unique rocks on this beach with holes in them.  Why the holes?  No idea.  Anyway, we found a bunch and a perfect shell while taking a leisurely walk down the beach and back.  We stopped at Mo’s in the Taft area of Lincoln City for lunch, but it looked too crowded and we opted for sandwiches at home.

Elaine finished a jig saw puzzle (number two), fixed the sticking sliding screen door, and finagled her portable umbrella so it worked to her satisfaction.  Cocktails as usual on the balcony with smoked salmon and brie and crackers. Dinner was home-made leftovers from the other night.

Cloudy but dry morning, sunny afternoon.  We did our morning walks.  I took a few pictures of Depoe Bay harbor, the “World’s Smallest Harbor”.  It has a very narrow entry passageway from the sea under the bridge on the Pacific Coast Highway (Oregon Route 101).  There are mostly private boats and fishing fleet boats in the small marina, but there is also the Depoe Bay Coast Guard Station (The Hole in the Wall Gang).

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Then we took a ride north on the 101 to Tillamook, home of the famous Tillamook Dairy Cooperative.  It’s famous for cheese, but they also make delicious yogurt and ice cream.  Their products are now available nationwide.  They give guided tours and sell their products.  The place is usually packed.  But the Co-op was not our destination.  Rather we visited the Blue Heron French Cheese Company.  Outside chickens run free.  Peacocks roam.  First time I saw an all white peacock. Goats are everywhere.  Inside they sell all kinds of exotic food products, but they are best known for the French brie cheeses made on-site.  We bought some pepper brie and herb brie and some garlic crackers for those afternoons on our balcony.

Then it was home again for lunch, naps, and working on the jig saw puzzle before afternoon cocktails on the sunny but cool balcony.  Dinner was chicken breast wrapped in bacon with baked potato.  Then early to bed with open windows and the sound of the crashing waves under a full moon.

To those who asked or commented about the balcony chairs, yes, those are the Seattle Seahawk chairs that we bought years ago at a Costco near Portland.  We just fold them up and put them in the closet here and anyone who stays can use them.  I’m always a bit surprised when they are still here when we arrive.  They are way better and more comfortable than the cheap plastic chairs provided on the balcony.

TUESDAY

Bright, sunny morning, but chilly – in the 40’s.  Nice bracing walks.  Instead of going into town, I went out to the point that you can see from our balcony.  Nice homes out there, but the entire coastline is open access to anyone who ventures out to it.  There are steep drops down to rocks and the ocean.  No warning signs and no railings.  Care is required.  I took care.

On the walk back to the condo I took a picture of my new mantra on life (and a couple of other shots.)

We drove into Newport, and, on the way, stopped at the Yaquina Lighthouse Outstanding Scenic Area.  I must now have 200 pictures of Yaquina Light! 

After a short stop we continued on through Newport and over the Yaquina Bay Bridge to South Beach to visit the South Beach Seafood Market to get some locally produced smoked salmon.  Alas, no smoked salmon, but we did have some nice hot clam chowder for lunch.  We then drove back into Newport to the harbor area and went to the Fish Peddler’s Market and scored some smoke salmon and smoked steelhead.

Later in the afternoon we watched a mystery show from France on Amazon Mhz Channel.  Cocktails on the balcony were under beautiful sunny skies.  Then we ordered dinner to go from the best seafood restaurant in America, Tidal Raves.  We had seahawk bread and scrumptious calamari for appetizers, plus chowder (clam for me, salmon for Elaine), followed by coconut shrimp for Elaine and pan fried Pacific oysters and fries for me.  It was accompanied by a nice bottle of Pinot Noir.  Then after watching the sunset over the Pacific it was off to bed.

Surprise!  Back a day early.  The forecast was for rain all day.  It was certainly cloudy in the morning with occasional drizzle.  But Elaine took her walk into and about town while I did yesterday’s blog entry.  Then I went for a walk as well.  Given the forecast, Sunday was to be as God meant it to be – a day of rest.  Elaine started a crossword jig saw puzzle.  I got my Amazon Firestick hooked up to the TV and now we have Amazon Prime Video and Netflix ready to use.  Fortunately, the internet here is very good.

In the afternoon the sun started to shine a bit through the clouds and it began to seem like cocktails on the balcony would be possible after all.  The temperature was only in the upper 50’s, but the balcony faces WSW and when the sun is shining, it’s like a heat hothouse – the sun shines off the ocean and the balcony is much warmer than the ambient temperature.  (Is ambient the right word here?)

Dinner was Costco meat loaf with its accompanying delicious mashed potatoes.  Marionberry ice cream for dessert.

More on Wednesday if not sooner.

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After 18 months in Scottsdale without any type of trip, we are on the road again! Our last trip was in September/October 2019 to Depoe Bay, Oregon. Now we are heading back to Depoe Bay!

Wednesday

We started up Seamus, our 2019 Acura RDX, and headed out at 7:30 am! Today was from home to Bakersfield, California. The fun part is going that far without hitting an Interstate. We skipped the usual I-10 to I-5 route and instead took mostly one-lane roads through Wickenburg, Parker, 29 Palms, Joshua Tree, and Barstow to get to Bakersfield. We packed a picnic lunch and ate half of it in a city park in Joshua Tree, California. We saved the rest for tomorrow. We arrived in Bakersfield at about 4:30 pm after an uneventful journey and checked into the Spring Hill Marriott. Finally I can use my Marriott points again. Free night.

Last time here we found a wonderful Mexican seafood restaurant and wanted to eat their food again but were wary of dining in in these pandemic times. Fortunately Nuestro Mexico does take out. Would it be as good? We ordered on-line and drove to restaurant to pick up the order. We shared a ceviche bowl appetizer (raw fish marinated in citrus juices) and then both had the Mariscos Poblanos (Scallops, fish, and shrimp cooked in a creamy chile poblano sauce) with flour tortillas. Chips and salsa were also included. Back to the hotel to enjoy the meal with the wine we brought with us. Spring Hill Suites have microwaves, but we didn’t need one. The food was scrumptious. And then early to bed.

Thursday

We spent all day Thursday on busy I-5 in California. The only stop of interest was in a rest area to finish our packed picnic lunch. But wait!!! There in the rest area was a Mexican food truck. I had a delicious (and huge) burrito. Elaine had two delicious looking tacos. Yum! The picnic remains got dumped. Also, while in the rest area, Elaine bought some California oranges from some guy selling them out of his van.

We arrived in Redding, California and checked in at the Sheraton Sundial Inn. Sheraton is owned by Marriott, so again we stayed free with my points. We decided to have dinner on the patio at their restaurant, Mosaic. Also the patio was full, so braved eating in at a tall table in the bar area. Everyone was appropriately masked, and the tabled were well spaced. Elaine had brussels (crispy brussels tossed with lemon marmalade and spicy pecans) for an appetizer while I had a Caesar salad. We both had the house sangria. For our main, we shared a delicious pizza margherita. Excellent meal.

Before dinner we had a walk around the beautiful Sun Dial Bridge park. After dinner it was off to sleep.

Friday

Last day on the road. Still on I-5 most of the way. We had a brief stop to take a picture of Mount Shasta, and then had an important stop in Eugene, Oregon to visit Costco. We stocked up on Willamette Valley pinot noirs and some Costco prepared meals for the days ahead. Finally, we off I-5 onto US 20 (which runs all the way from Newport, OR to Waltham, MA) and then onto the Pacific Coast Highway to reach Depoe Bay. It was good to see our condo again!

Saturday

Rain, rain, rain. The Newport Farmer’s Market was rained out. We filled the condo larders with a stop at Safeway. We forgot Tillamook marionberry ice cream! Fortunately the little market near our condo had some. We saw glimpses of sun late afternoon, but too cold and windy and rainy to sit on the balcony. We had a nice home cooked meal and watched the angry seas from inside. Whales have been sighted!

Elaine tried the oranges we bought at the rest area. “Best orange I ever tasted!”

Weather will be bad on Sunday and Monday. Sun coming back on Tuesday. We hope. All is good. Next blog post on Tuesday.