First Full Day in Depoe Bay (It Rhymes!)

It rained during the night, but it was a bright blue sky this morning. First order of business (after a brief stop at Yaquina Head Outstanding Nature Area) was stocking the fridge and pantry. Not excessively, only the essentials. First stop: Walmart for the basics (Sobe water for Joe, Arrowhead for Elaine, salad stuff, paper products, bread, butter, etc). Second stop: Flying Dutchman Winery right on the coast at (six bottles of Devil’s Delight, an Oregon wine blend, and two bottles of the more expensive 2008 Cabernet Franc) – that should hold us through the weekend. Third Stop: the little market right down the street for some cold cuts (picnics), chips, and marionberry pie ice cream from Tillamook Farms (YUM!).

AS ALWAYS, CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR LARGER VIEW IN A NEW WINDOW

Then we were done with chores for the day. We lugged all the food into the condo and drove back to Devil’s Punchbowl State Park for a walkabout with the ubiquitous resident squirrels. It’s a beautiful spot as the pictures below will attest.

Then it was lunch time. We picked up sandwiches and chips from Subway and ventured to Boiler Bay Overlook and Picnic Area, right next to our condo. We enjoyed the food at a picnic table overlooking the raging Pacific – surf is up today

Mid afternoon now and worn out from shopping and eating. Back home for a nap. And the first crisis of the trip! No running water in the condo. There was plenty last night and this morning. I called the management company, and they walked me through the fix. “Open the hot water closet door and push the green button.” Pretty simple. It seems the units here have a leak detection system that automatically cuts the water supply. Apparently the system is not perfect and occasional false positives shut off the water. Problem solved for now (unless it keeps shutting off and there really is a leak somewhere).

Then it was the obligatory cocktails on the balcony with bright sunshine warming us up beautifully. Dinner tonight was at Tidal Raves, our go-to Depoe Bay restaurant. We walked there since it was such a beautiful night.

It was a wonderful dinner. Elaine started with a glass of their sangria while I had a Moscow Mule (House-infused ginger vodka, house brewed ginger beer, and fresh lime juice), a great summer drink. We each had glasses of Cherry Hill Pinot Noir with the mains after sharing an order of Seahawk Bread (baguette toasted with smoked salmon, cream cheese, havarti, shrimp and onion).  Elaine: cup of smoked salmon chowder followed by seared sea scallops on potato hash studded with sun dried tomato, bacon. and smoked tomato glaze. Joe: cup of clam chowder followed by cioppino, Italian-American fish stew brimming with clams, wild shrimp, crab and fish in a tomato-herb broth. Everything was wonderful. We skipped dessert in favor of ice cream on the balcony at home.

Aside to Fred: please note it was Italian-American stew, not American-Italian