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.