Who would have thought the beach could be so therapeutic?
Ahhh...the getting away with old friends. How wondrous a thing that is.
Yesterday, Nadia, Ahren (her hubby), Steve and Sandy (her rents), Nuala, and myself all went to the beach for Nad's 22nd birfday. I crashed at N&A's apartment the night before, and then the others met there in the morning. We left around 0830 in the morning, and stopped off for breakfast at Camp 18. It has been many a year since I have been there, and I think that that is a condition I shall have to remedy. It is definitely worth stopping by more often. The food is delicious, the portions healthy, and the prices reasonable. And then the atmosphere. The restaurant is located right around Milepost 18 (thus the name) on Hwy 26 (or 6, but I am pretty sure it is 26), in a gigantic log building. The main roof support is a single log with a diameter of between 6 and 8 feet, if my estimate is correct (that would be 2-2.6 meters for my Canuks). The building itself is completely log construction, with most of the logs left entire. Stunning. Simply stunning. However, that is not even the most interesting aspect of the restaurant. The grounds around the building have been set up as an outdoor logging museum. After breakfast, we spent a good hour or more wandering (and clambering) around the 'exhibits', which include a variety of logging apparatus (several of which were steam-powered), including a completely assembled (but non-operational) bandsaw. The blade was about 16 inches wide, double-cut, and about 60 feet long. Ahren and I had much fun climbing up and around on it, and poking our heads about its workings. Actually, we did that with just about every piece of machinery there. Ahren is a great guy.
After breakfast and our 'tour', we set out again for the beach. We arrived in Canon Beach, browsed a couple shops, and then meandered on the beach for a couple hours before going to lunch at an amazing pizzeria. Well, the 'kids' (all of us are legal, and Nuala, at 21, was the youngest) went for pizza. The rents went to a small seafood place. When lunch had finished (the line for pizza was ricockulous, but worth it), the guys went to the bookstore to browse whilst the girls went shopping. That (as expected) lasted a good couple hours, at which point Nadia herded everyone toward the van so we could hit up the next spot on our trip. This happened to be the Nehalem winery, where we were all supposed to partake in a wine-tasting before doing some trekking in the area. Everyone save Ahren and I tasted wine. He and I were distracted by a Cummins tool sale. I think that sapped about an hour and a half of our life, but was well worth it, even if all we could do was drool. We actually ended up picking up a couple items (though not tools). N & A bought a set of cast-iron fry skillets, and I walked away with a 5-quart dutch oven (also cast-iron, of course). After securing our booty, we all meandered off down a set of abandoned railroad tracks, heading for a trestle that Nad wanted her Mutter to see (Sandy is a professional photographer). We had a blast on the trestle (the rents mostly stayed on the access side), and I even climbed to the top of the cage. Hey, there was a ladder. Ladders are meant to be climbed, eh? That's how I look at it, at least. We came to the conclusion that we would have to come out there again sometime this summer and camp on a sandbar just beyond the trestle. It would just be amazing. And the chances of being bothered are slim.
When we were finally summoned away from the trestle, we all boarded the van again, and headed out to see the sunset. We were supposed to go to Hug Point, but I think we ended up at Arcadia Beach instead. It was still gorgeous. The amazing thing was that we were actually able to see the sun set behind the horizon, instead of behind the clouds hovering over the horizon, as is usually the case. Which reminds me: for being the middle of February, the weather was gorgeous. It was about 60 degrees Fahrenheit (do not remember the conversion, but think it is somewhere around the 20-25 mark in Centigrade), mostly clear sky, with little wind. Translation: I was not freezing, even without my leather trench (which is usually a must-have on the oregon beaches, even in summer all-too-often). During and after the sunset, Sandy and Steve stayed up on the ledge we parked at, and shot photos. The rest of us made it down to the beach and had fun. Ahren and I tossed Nuala back and forth for a while, first because it was a fun idea (she went along with it with only a little expression of concern. Gall I love that girl!), and then because we were attempting to get a picture of her in the air betwixt us (Nad was shooting). We never got the photo perfect, but achieved a modest success. By that point, I was tiring (Ahren, btw, is about 6'4" [2.1 meters] and I think 280-320 lbs [again, do not remember the weight/mass conversion]. After we left the beach, we ate dinner at a little 'cafe' called 'The Big Wave.' One of Sandy's friends had told her about it, so we gave it a shot. While a little on the spendy side (not too horrible, though), the food was very tasty, and the service was excellent. It was also quiet, which was very nice. Our server was Michaela (no idea on the spelling, pronounced mi-SHAY-la), who was a very short, petite blonde, around 22-25 years old, I would guess. She had a slight accent, which I am not completely sure of. She could have originally come from the south (guessing east texas, but that is just a guess), or could have lived all her life in oregon. I have noticed that quite often small-town folks (even here) tend towards a faint drawl. Very faint, but noticeable if one is listening. Dinner was the last designated stop, and afterwords we headed home. The only distressing thing of note (besides Nadia, Ahren, and I constantly being unable to finish a joint, which was really more amusing than frustrating) was that I lost my phone during the sunset. We have no idea how, but I did. The good news is that when I showed up for work this morning, my father let me know that someone had found it, and was mailing it. So I should get it back on Wednesday/Thursday. Happy happy joy joy.
Overall, it was simply an amazing time spent with old friends (by that I mean friends from before college. I seem to have an almost completely new set since then. Okay, so I met Ahren after college, but he is married to Nad. It counts [or doesn't, depending on how you look at it].). It turned out to be something that was really needed on my part. Just to be able to get away from normal life, with people that I have a good deal in common with, and who have been there with (and for) me for years.
Yesterday, Nadia, Ahren (her hubby), Steve and Sandy (her rents), Nuala, and myself all went to the beach for Nad's 22nd birfday. I crashed at N&A's apartment the night before, and then the others met there in the morning. We left around 0830 in the morning, and stopped off for breakfast at Camp 18. It has been many a year since I have been there, and I think that that is a condition I shall have to remedy. It is definitely worth stopping by more often. The food is delicious, the portions healthy, and the prices reasonable. And then the atmosphere. The restaurant is located right around Milepost 18 (thus the name) on Hwy 26 (or 6, but I am pretty sure it is 26), in a gigantic log building. The main roof support is a single log with a diameter of between 6 and 8 feet, if my estimate is correct (that would be 2-2.6 meters for my Canuks). The building itself is completely log construction, with most of the logs left entire. Stunning. Simply stunning. However, that is not even the most interesting aspect of the restaurant. The grounds around the building have been set up as an outdoor logging museum. After breakfast, we spent a good hour or more wandering (and clambering) around the 'exhibits', which include a variety of logging apparatus (several of which were steam-powered), including a completely assembled (but non-operational) bandsaw. The blade was about 16 inches wide, double-cut, and about 60 feet long. Ahren and I had much fun climbing up and around on it, and poking our heads about its workings. Actually, we did that with just about every piece of machinery there. Ahren is a great guy.
After breakfast and our 'tour', we set out again for the beach. We arrived in Canon Beach, browsed a couple shops, and then meandered on the beach for a couple hours before going to lunch at an amazing pizzeria. Well, the 'kids' (all of us are legal, and Nuala, at 21, was the youngest) went for pizza. The rents went to a small seafood place. When lunch had finished (the line for pizza was ricockulous, but worth it), the guys went to the bookstore to browse whilst the girls went shopping. That (as expected) lasted a good couple hours, at which point Nadia herded everyone toward the van so we could hit up the next spot on our trip. This happened to be the Nehalem winery, where we were all supposed to partake in a wine-tasting before doing some trekking in the area. Everyone save Ahren and I tasted wine. He and I were distracted by a Cummins tool sale. I think that sapped about an hour and a half of our life, but was well worth it, even if all we could do was drool. We actually ended up picking up a couple items (though not tools). N & A bought a set of cast-iron fry skillets, and I walked away with a 5-quart dutch oven (also cast-iron, of course). After securing our booty, we all meandered off down a set of abandoned railroad tracks, heading for a trestle that Nad wanted her Mutter to see (Sandy is a professional photographer). We had a blast on the trestle (the rents mostly stayed on the access side), and I even climbed to the top of the cage. Hey, there was a ladder. Ladders are meant to be climbed, eh? That's how I look at it, at least. We came to the conclusion that we would have to come out there again sometime this summer and camp on a sandbar just beyond the trestle. It would just be amazing. And the chances of being bothered are slim.
When we were finally summoned away from the trestle, we all boarded the van again, and headed out to see the sunset. We were supposed to go to Hug Point, but I think we ended up at Arcadia Beach instead. It was still gorgeous. The amazing thing was that we were actually able to see the sun set behind the horizon, instead of behind the clouds hovering over the horizon, as is usually the case. Which reminds me: for being the middle of February, the weather was gorgeous. It was about 60 degrees Fahrenheit (do not remember the conversion, but think it is somewhere around the 20-25 mark in Centigrade), mostly clear sky, with little wind. Translation: I was not freezing, even without my leather trench (which is usually a must-have on the oregon beaches, even in summer all-too-often). During and after the sunset, Sandy and Steve stayed up on the ledge we parked at, and shot photos. The rest of us made it down to the beach and had fun. Ahren and I tossed Nuala back and forth for a while, first because it was a fun idea (she went along with it with only a little expression of concern. Gall I love that girl!), and then because we were attempting to get a picture of her in the air betwixt us (Nad was shooting). We never got the photo perfect, but achieved a modest success. By that point, I was tiring (Ahren, btw, is about 6'4" [2.1 meters] and I think 280-320 lbs [again, do not remember the weight/mass conversion]. After we left the beach, we ate dinner at a little 'cafe' called 'The Big Wave.' One of Sandy's friends had told her about it, so we gave it a shot. While a little on the spendy side (not too horrible, though), the food was very tasty, and the service was excellent. It was also quiet, which was very nice. Our server was Michaela (no idea on the spelling, pronounced mi-SHAY-la), who was a very short, petite blonde, around 22-25 years old, I would guess. She had a slight accent, which I am not completely sure of. She could have originally come from the south (guessing east texas, but that is just a guess), or could have lived all her life in oregon. I have noticed that quite often small-town folks (even here) tend towards a faint drawl. Very faint, but noticeable if one is listening. Dinner was the last designated stop, and afterwords we headed home. The only distressing thing of note (besides Nadia, Ahren, and I constantly being unable to finish a joint, which was really more amusing than frustrating) was that I lost my phone during the sunset. We have no idea how, but I did. The good news is that when I showed up for work this morning, my father let me know that someone had found it, and was mailing it. So I should get it back on Wednesday/Thursday. Happy happy joy joy.
Overall, it was simply an amazing time spent with old friends (by that I mean friends from before college. I seem to have an almost completely new set since then. Okay, so I met Ahren after college, but he is married to Nad. It counts [or doesn't, depending on how you look at it].). It turned out to be something that was really needed on my part. Just to be able to get away from normal life, with people that I have a good deal in common with, and who have been there with (and for) me for years.