One Week Down

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Friday

Walks in the morning. Some pictures along the way:

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Nice in the morning, rainy in the afternoon. We decided to do a bit of exploring while the weather stayed good. We drove to Siletz Bay National Wildlife Preserve. It’s located just five miles from the condo and we have driven by it hundreds of times without stopping. It’s a preserve for salmon, birds, and animals and is run by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. We saw none, none (save a sea gull), and none. The Siletz River, which runs alongside, is obviously a favorite spot for salmon fishermen (following strict preserve rules). We had a nice hike through the preserve. We did hear lots of little birds. It was a very pleasant walk.

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Then we drove another mile or so into Lincoln City’s Historic Taft District. We parked and walked along the driftwood log cluttered beach. Normally there are lots of seals basking on the offshore island, but there were few today. There were lots of people casting into the sea for fish from the beach. We didn’t see anyone actually catch anything.

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Then it was lunch at Mo’s Seafood and Chowder, an Oregon seaside tradition with lots of branches along the coast. We split wonderful lightly fried calamari for an appetizer. Elaine then had a shrimp salad sandwich and I had a crab melt sandwich with cheese. We walked on their new pier before leaving.

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Finally we decided to drive Oregon Route 229 from the Taft area all the way to Newport along the Siletz River. Very scenic. On reaching Newport we returned home. Nap time. Then cocktails on the deck. As we imbibed, the rains came. Our balcony is covered (by the balcony above), and we sat and watched the rain for awhile. The appetizers consisted of Blue Heron Black Pepper Brie that we got in Tillamook earlier in the week and smoked steelhead trout from Robba Gump Smoken Fish Company in Depoe Bay. Boy, is it good!

Saturday

There was still some light rain around in the morning, but we took our separate walks. I saw a nice rainbow that ended at the pot of bouillabaisse gold at Tidal Raves. The weather cleared quickly and it was a sunny day although much cooler than it has been. For the sixth straight day the red flag has been out at the harbor (small craft warnings). That means another day of no fishing trips or whale watches. This is the longest stretch of rough seas that we have seen here in all our visits.

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We drove into Newport for the weekly farmer’s market where Elaine loaded up on vegetables. Alas, the French Bread Lady was not there! On the way home we drove the scenic Otter Crest Scenic Loop. Then it was a quiet lunch at home, naps, cocktails on the sunny balcony.

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For dinner we went to Bay View Thai Kitchen in Depoe Bay. We enjoy the food there once on every trip. We shared spring rolls and shrimp wrapped in basil won tons. Elaine had a vegetable red curry. I had a seafood curry served in a hollowed out coconut. Then we went to Gracie’s Sea Hag Lounge for a drink at the bar and to watch the Ray Charles imitator perform – he’s been there for 26 years.

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