Wednesday – Ernest Bloch and Seaweed

We had rain during the night, but it was mostly clear with the usual fog lurking about. Walks went on as normal. Depoe Bay’s “downtown” is two and a half blocks. One long block, one short, and a few business at both ends. It’s all on the east side of the street. The west side is the Pacific Ocean. Today’s photo extravaganza is all the storefronts in the long block. You’ll see plenty of gift shops. And, surprisingly, Gracie’s Sea Hag is suddenly open for breakfast.

We drove into Newport today with two purposes in mind:

The Nye Beach Shopping District

Nye Beach has a nifty little shopping district with some eclectic shops. One in particular is our favorite – the Archway Market and Cafe. It’s part cafe, part normal market, a wine store, and an interesting gift shop with some unique items. Last year we bought a bunch of stuff to use as stocking stuffers and we wanted to repeat that experience. Mission accomplished! Here are some pictures taken around the Nye Beach district (although none of at the Corner Market). Go figure. Petunia’s Porcelin Gifts (with all the rules) didn’t open until noon, so we couldn’t visit. I resisted going into Bridie’s Irish Shop for fear of dropping lots of coin on things I didn’t need. The sign about toxic clams may well explain why I haven’t seen razor clams, an area staple, on any menus. The last picture is actually a designed sculpture made of whale bones and whale teeth.

The Pacific Maritime Heritage Center

The Center is run by the Lincoln County Historical Society. It’s located at the harbor practically right next to Local Oceans, our lunchtime restaurant of choice. (You can see Local Oceans and its mural in the shots from the rook of the Heritage Center which offers a great view of the harbor and the Yaquina Bay Bridge.) But we had never been into the Museum. It sounded boring. In fact, it’s a little hidden gem. There are lots of exhibits about fishing and lumbering. Newport is a fishing capital and is sometimes called the Dungeness Crab Capital of the World. And logging is another local key industry with its capital in Toledo located just 10 miles away. Lots of commercial fishing and crabbing is centered in Newport Harbor (which is noted as one of the most dangerous harbors in the world to navigate). There is an interesting room detailing the life of Ernest Bloch, Jewish composer and humanist, who spent the last 18 years of his life in a house at Agate Beach in Newport. There is a great story about the Bloch’s crucifix statue here. And there is a special exhibit of art by Harvard educated Josie Iselin about the Curious World of Seaweed. All in all, it was a great stop and a couple of hours well spent. We were the only ones in the place!

Busy day! Then home for naps and balcony viewing in, once again, great weather. (The forecast for Sunday, the day we head south to Trinidad, CA, on is not so good – more later.) Cocktails were ,much enjoyed p the balcony. And then it was dress up (sort of – at least I wore socks) and out to dinner at Tidal Raves. Smoked salmon chowder and crab cakes for Elaine. Shrimp & crab cocktail followed by local halibut special for me. Great wine again.