Over and out!

Another trip draws to a conclusion and I hope that anyone following my account of it has enjoyed it as much as I have writing it. Our final day was once again blessed with sunshine and after witnessing a fabulous sunset and several otters swimming in a local lagoon, at dawn, Pat and I took a final stroll down Cannon Beach's sandy shoreline and the called-in Insomnia for coffee ..... all Lynn's scones were sold-out, but fortunately her blueberry muffins were equally up-to-the-job!

We stopped by to see the fleet of cool Prowlers which had gathered in Cannon Beach over the weekend, but didn't spot any of their owners who we'd chatted to on Friday (The Prowler is a limited edition car which is lightweight and fast, particularly those which have been modified to take an aluminium block and nitro-injection!)

 Then it was time to head north on the 101 and I5 to Seattle. The scenery was spectacular and after crossing the bridge in Astoria we broke our journey in South Bend WA .... what a neat place and the oyster capital of the US.

We ate lunch in a place overlooking the river, which was also a re-cycling shop!! The first half of our drive today was almost devoid of traffic, but as we approached Olympia and thereafter, it was back to Whacky Races and eventually our final stopover, Seattle

Well, this could be my last blog posting of 2013 and my last musical memory of a great trip is Chuck Berry's 'Teenage Wedding'

End of the trail!

Well, not quite, but as we passed by the statue of the pioneering Lewis & Clark earlier today, at Seaside, it was a reminder that our 2013 journey is almost at an end ...... short of driving up to Seattle and flying home.

Saturday got off to a fine start with warm sunshine and blue skies and I took a hike down the beach and round the water treatment plant (yes. really!), where yesterday I encountered a family of otters, swimming. Being our final day in Cannon Beach we decided not to stray too far, but rather took a short trip north to Seaside, which is only seven miles away.

 The latter is the opposite of Cannon Beach, being a lot more commercial, but it has it good points and we managed to while away a couple of hours in this traditional family resort .... which looked far more attractive in the sunshine than during our previous visit when the weather was grey and cold!

Whilst there we called in a sandwich shop for lunch only to discover that it didn't serve coffee and the adjacent coffee shop didn't serve sandwiches ...... an unholy quid pro quo! We passed and sought out a third coffee place where the customer is king! After heading back to Cannon Beach we visited the nearby local history museum and spent time boning-up on this neat town ..... worth the visit! Then it was back to the beach to enjoy the views and probably the last sunshine of the year!

So for my penultimate musical memory, I had to go with the Loving Spoonful!

Tough Cheese!

Lady Luck prevailed and delivered another beautiful day, but before giving a run-down of today's events it has to said that yesterday evening was a first for us ...... following another fine dinner at the Driftwood Inn we took advantage of a "$5 off" deal at Cannon Beach's theatre, where "The Gramercy Ghost" was being staged for three nights only. The curtain rose at 7:30 pm and my expectations were bettered ...... the theatre is an endearing wooden structure which is both comfortable and atmospheric. The play, originally shown on Broadway in 1951, was a farce that struggled to acclimatise to the 21st Century, particularly as the casting was a little awkward. Nevertheless, the amateur cast were very capable and did their best to entertain the audience, all of whom (like us) were in our best denims! (Overall, a very enjoyable experience, although the strongest beverage served at the interval was black coffee!) Whilst out and about this morning, Pat identified the son of the Christmas Shop owner as being the actor who portrayed 'The Ghost', but he did his best to remain in character and remain invisible! Having walked the beach we visited our favourite coffee stop 'Insomnia' and sampled the homemade apple and cinnamon scones ......another triumph! Then we took off for Tillamook on the 101 and after stopping at Manhatten Beach we passed-by the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory and Visitor Centre before reaching 3rd Street and the start to the Scenic Ocean Loop Road. (Tillamook claims to make the best cheddar in the world ..... yeah right ..... I know I'm being cynical!!!!)

The Ocean Drive is fabulous and we stopped-off at Oceanview and the Mear Lighthouse where we met a great couple from Michigan with whom we chatted for an age.

Unfortunately, we couldn't complete the loop as a rock-fall had taken the road out! Another great day out and about Cannon Beach and my musical reminder has to be the Animals and "We gotta get out of this place! ..... ironic as we could happily stay here

a lot longer!

Paradise lost and found!

Having planned a few days in a favourite haunt, Cannon Beach, to round-off this adventure, it was heartening to once again be greeted by sunshine this morning! We took an early stroll down the beach and as ever we were not alone, for it seems that anyone who's discovered the magic of this gem on the Oregon Coast, comes back for more of the same. This has to be one of the most picturesque shorelines in the world.

Pulling-off the beach and into the heart of the town, we stopped a the nearest coffee shop. This place like the rest of Cannon Beach was almost perfect and although 'No bagels until Saturday' (A trifle long to wait!) we chose a homemade blueberry scone, which would have put Mary Berry to shame!

We shuffled back to the Haystack Inn making the most of the sunshine, collected the car and drove out to Ecola State Park where the views are quite simply stunning. If you've been here and are subsequently ever in need of inspiration, you'll think of Ecola's viewpoints.

Arriving at the park, I opened the car door to purchase a pass and in a flash a small Dachshund puppy jumped in and almost flew into the back seat of the car! The poor dog was lost and definitely ready to go home. Two park rangers had been trying to catch the dog and it took around five minutes to entice the puppy from the car. Eventually the dog was extracted from our car and temporarily kenneled until its owner was traced ...... it appears to be a regular occurrence!

We languished in Ecola Park for the early part of the afternoon before setting-of back via another small beach and the Town Centre. Cannon Beach is a great place to have a holiday home and prices kinda reflect this!! An with sun shining and being in a great West Coast beach location, I've picked a Beach Boys track as my musical recollection for today.

A Sweet Reunion!

With only a relatively short journey in front of us today we decided to take things easy and do a final laundry run before taking to the road. Unfortunately, some wise guy got in before us and despite managing to get through a washing cycle, he monopolised the drier, for ever! He's probably still feeding it quarters like a slot machine addict in Vegas! We cut our losses mid-morning and pulled out of Vancouver with a boot full of damp washing. The weather continued changeable as we moved from Washington back to Oregon and within the hour we arrived at the small restaurant on Highway 30 that we'd stumbled upon two years ago and which is the epicentre of the Marrionberry!

We shared a sandwich and ordered a piece of Marrionberry Cream Pie ..... amazing! Out back some ladies were busy making Marrionberry jam and the aroma was near intoxicating! Having heading towards Astoria, Seaside and our final destination, Cannon Beach. This visit we were unable to reserve the dates we wanted at The Sea Breeze and we are staying in the Sandcastle Inn.

 After checking-in, harassing the office staff ..... for ironing board, spare bedding, quarters for the drier etc. ...... we settled in. Now we just need a positive change in the weather, which has been promised! Finally, a piece of music from the Yardbirds,a band much loved by me back in the day which happened to play en route.

Third Time Unlucky!

Another wet morning and one on which we'd planned to take a trip to Mount St Helens, the National Park with the famous volcano. This would be our third attempt at visiting the Park, our initial attempt having been blighted by volcanic activity, the second by time pressure ....... and our latest venture scuppered by the US Government having effectively shut-down overnight! (At least we didn't make a three day side-trip to Crater Lake, as originally planned, only to be thwarted at the wire!!)So struggling to find an alternative venue for a wet day we set off to Multnomah Falls, which was at its most impressive having been charged with so much rainfall

We took a trek uphill to get a good vantage point for the falls and then beat it back to the car and the I84 West, to retreat to Vancouver. We took a break at Fred Myers Market and purchased a replacement for Pat's broken umbrella .... emerging from the store, the rain had stopped! Deciding not to push our luck with further outdoor pursuits, we spent the afternoon in the Mall and revisited Cinetopia. The least said about the film, the better, but it has to be said that there's something odd about sitting adjacent to two women eating soup and salad, and drinking from a 2.5 litre pitcher of beer or am I just being picky?! Pushed to think of a piece of music to remind me of today, I plumped for something from way-back, on Sun Records.

Pushing on!

Opening our room door this morning was akin to the closing scene in 'The Birds' when everything is suddenly back to normal ....... the unrelenting rain had stopped! We learned that in addition to our two (very short) power outages several hundred houses in the Coos Bay area had suffered worse and were still without power. We left the Red Lion Hotel and set off northward on the 101. The scenery was majestic in places. We soon left the 101 and hit I5, driving a further 150 miles to Portland. Stopping-off for lunch at  'The Original Breakfast' we experienced a traditional diner trapped in a 1950's time-warp, complete with a cast of odd people! Driving through Portland is always interesting, made no less so by having to run the gauntlet of the occasional torrential shower and four or five lanes of nose-to-tail fast moving traffic! They say that Portland has a very walkable Downtown ..... well maybe so, but its surrounded by a maze of bridges and spiraling freeways, in the centre of which is the odd drawbridge that is raised periodically to halt the motorway traffic. But, once having negotiated Portland, we were soon at the Best Western in Vancouver (Washington). The latter is perfectly situated next to a mall, which houses good eateries and a 'Cinatopia' cinema. ...... a cinema offering plush leather gallery seating (with Ottomans!) and cinema sitting rooms, complete with bookcases, settees, and reading lights! Cinema goers can also order anything from draught beer to fish'n chips from their seats too!! And finally a musical reminder of today's journey and one that I've used before ..... Walk don't run, by the Ventures:
   

Yes it pours!

It never rains in California ...... well it was bucketing down this morning in Eureka and everywhere from there to our next overnight stop, Coos Bay (Oregon). Normally, this drive is very scenic, as the 101 weaves in and out of giant redwood forests and passes-by fabulous coastal views of haystack rocks and white-crested rolling waves.

However, the journey was marred by the rain which gave it an air of driving through a car wash!

We gave the National Redwood Forest Visitor Center and the Trees of Mystery a miss! Along the way we passed several places which evoked fond memories of previous journeys .... Trinidad, Turtle Rocks, Patrick's Point etc.and stopped-off for a BLT at a small family diner by the sea, where it stopped raining, briefly.

We reached Coos Bay by mid-afternoon and located our motel 'The Red Lion' ...... very nice too! We went straight into exploration and laundry mode and decided revisit Benetti's for dinner, the local Italian where customers are give unlimited Minestrone Soup! A fitting track for today has to be Riders in the Storm, by the Doors!

Heading North on Highway 101!

Today we repacked our cases and headed north on Old Highway 101 towards Eureka, an interim stop-off on our way to the next phase of our adventure, Oregon. The weather was characteristically fine (actually, very fine!)up until the Southern entrance to 'The Avenue of Giants' (huge and ancient redwoods!) at Phillipsville.

There, the weather began to cloud over, it became noticeably cooler, and we were abruptly diverted away from the 'The Avenue', back onto the 101. (Fortunately we'd previously driven the very impressive Avenue and seen the magnificent giant trees on a previous trip ...... just as well, really!) The landscape changed dramatically as we moved from gentle rolling vineyards to progressively more densely forested upland areas and finally to the ocean again! (We spotted a neat wall-mounted 'Route 101' sign that someone had covered with Alien graffiti and added the message "Welcome to Area 101"! ..... we also spotted countless references to "Trees of Mystery" and "Big Foot"!) We drove through Mendicino County, recollecting having previously stayed in Mendicino, and stopped an old 'mom and pop' diner in Willets, for lunch. We'd stayed here too ...... and dined in its unique original Lumberjack-style eatery "Jacks".

Being a Saturday, we avoided encounters with logging trucks, en route! We bypassed the wonderfully quaint town of Ferndale this time round and we arrived in Humboldt's Bay at 3:00 pm with 230 miles under our belt and an opportunity to check-out Shamus T Bones for dinner! What can I say about the latter?! Its big, brash and fabulous ...... ribs as big as your arm, barbecue sauce to die for, a friendly atmosphere, and a Tesla machine that periodically sends lightening bolts across the ceiling area ..... I will return!!

As a musical aide memoir for today I've opted for a classic 'motoring' piece

Fruit of the vine!

With the assistance of a helpful lady at Santa Rosa's Visitor Centre we planned to start the day in Healdsburg, a small wine town not far from Santa Rosa.

 Arriving at around 10:00 am, the place hadn't 'got going', so we decided to meander around the Historic Plaza area. This bears a striking resemblance to the square in Old Santa Fe, particularly with several art galleries on show. However, what is strikingly different is the presence of a myriad of wine tasting rooms that must account for sixty per-cent of the available retail space available ..... and they open early! With some searching we found the Flying Goat Coffee Lounge (one of the few establishments not selling alcohol!)and stayed there awhile until things had livened-up a little. Healdsburg is a must for the wine aficionado, of whom there are many about .... but to be fair, whilst there were plenty of well-healed folk around, few, if any, were pretentious. By way of background, Healsburg was founded an Italian who prospered by making wine but come 'Prohibition', all hell broke loose and the staple industry switched from wine-making to producing prunes! The latter turned out a great cash crop and even after Prohibition was over, it was many years before wine making began again. At midday, we drove north on the 101 to Francis Coppola's vineyard and winery. Its an amazing place!!

The vineyard and olive grove stretch-on forever and the reception centre is wonderful. Set on top of a hill, the two storey building houses movie memorabilia from some of Coppola's finest films (e.g. Don Corleone's desk from the Godfather!) and guests can wander around for free ..... unless they want take part in some very reasonably priced wine tasting!

 In addition, there is a classy restaurant with a lovely open terrace, an al fresco bar and light eatery, and a pool that visitors can use for free! (Incidentally, Francis makes several very palatable reds and whites ..... and I'll bet the rose is OK too!)

Leaving the winery, we drove through mile upon mile of similar settings until we reached the Ferrari-Carano estate. This winery would trick the unwary into believing they were in Italy ..... (it certainly tricked my GPS and those of several other fellow-travellers into thinking it was located on West rather than simply 'Canyon' Road!) The house and fountains are stunning here, as is its overall setting and the fabulous formal gardens that surround it.

So, all in all, its been a pleasant voyage of discovery in and around Santa Rosa and its surrounding wine counties. Given today's very pleasant visit to Mr Coppala's place and in tribute to his hospitable approach and his artistry as a film maker, the following is a musical tribute from The Godfather!

Strictly for the Birds!

We decided to explore some of Santa Rosa's outlying areas today and travelled north along Highway 1. Having passed Sebastapol we reached the tiny, but quaint, town of Bodega and stopped awhile. We parked on its Main Street and walked up to its church and one-time elementary school ..... which were key locations in Alfred Hitchcock's film 'The Birds!'

Later, over coffee, we were informed that we'd just missed-out on an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the film, which Tippi Hedren had attended. A couple of miles further on is Bodega Bay, which also featured prominently in the movie ...... the bay itself and 'the restaurant'. Continuing up the coast we discovered the small coastal town of Jenna by the Russian Rive Estuary. The coastline here is equally stunning to that near Monterey and the Bodega View residential estate (complete with its golf course and guarded entry road) is both unique and desirable!

Heading back to Santa Rosa we stopped at the latter's Historic District and with assistance from a very helpful lady at the Visitor Centre, we put a plan together for tomorrow. The Historic part of Downtown Santa Rosa is well preserved and albeit 'touristy' its not tacky! It is also home to the Shultz Museum!

We called at several antique shops there and were taken by a particular window display that bore a striking resemblance to a scene in the film 'Baby Jane' ..... the shop assistant laughed when we told her and was pleased that we'd picked-up on the cinematic reference! It seems that this whole area is steeped in Hitchcock folk-lore, so maybe a fitting piece of sixties music is needed, from the Markets.