Another cloudy day on the Oregon coast. The sun is trying to break through the clouds early as the morning rain stops. Ann & Deb step out for a walk of 3/4 mile to the shops for some bakery goods, while Mark works on his blog posting and Don enjoys his morning coffee. The ladies return laden with a fresh loaf of sourdough, some frosted cake donuts, a couple of marionberry jam-filled bear claw pastries. Marionberry fruit is a cultivar of blackberry released on 1956; it was bred in cooperation with Oregon State University and is named after Marion County, Oregon. Oregon accounts for 90% of the frozen blackberries grown in the U.S, most of which occurs in the Willamette Valley region.
After a leisurely late morning of coffee and pastries, we regroup and load into the RAV 4 for an afternoon outing. Our first stop is the Alder House Glass Blower, where we peruse all the hand blown glass objects. One of the artisans is explaining the process to a tourist group watching him create, while we make decisions on purchases. Deb invests in a set of earrings in the shape of a martini glass with an olive in each glass. Don and Mark discuss buying a pair between them, but then they would have to get their ears pierced, and an argument would ensue as to who would get which ear punctured; as no consensus could be reached, the plan was abandoned for the time being.
Next on to the Mossy Creek ceramic gallery. There are 8-12 different ceramic artists represented in the gallery; although the types of pieces (glasses, cups, bowls) were similar, the coloring, styles and shapes were all different. After careful consideration, Deb again made a contribution to the economy.
We pressed onward to the Freed Art Gallery to view their fine art offerings. Nothing much was purchased, but Deb noted that the metal windmill art sculpture she had purchased 20 years ago in Santa Fe was still available and displayed in the front garden of the Gallery. Based upon the current prices, she seems to have made a worthwhile investment.
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Next on the agenda was lunch. We made our way to the nearby Squatchsami Restaurant/Diner. Coincidently, Darcy had texted Deb the day before that this establishment “had the best fish and clam chowder in the area.” The grilled cod was delicious, the chowder was very good, and the feta/spinach salad was tasty, but a bit overdressed (evidently the chef didn’t get the correct current dress code!)
After lunch, we drove back towards the home base with a stop at Salishan Lodge. We learned that the lodge, first opened in 1965, was where Don and Ann honeymooned all those many moons ago (1972.) Although the structure is now 61 years old, it, like the Hosfords, has aged well. The greenery and trees have grown tremendously, but the attached golf course is still well used and there were plenty of people around.
Back at our lodgings, we rested or napped as the case might be and then, as the evening rain began, we left for our 6:00 dinner reservation at The Side Door Restaurant. Unpresupposing from the outside, it was a pleasant lodge-style look on the interior. Although the menu was fairly extensive, we were bent on seafood for the evening. Don chose the fried halibut dinner for the “hellavit”. Deb chose the crab cakes and jumbo prawns over mashed potatoes, Mark chose the char-grilled wild salmon (no tame ones were available,) while Ann chose the seafood ragu. Mark & Deb enjoyed a glass of Willamette Valley wine. The real star here was the marionberry cobbler alla mode which was why Don chose the restaurant. Deb had the warmed bread pudding, and Ann the coconut gelato. Mark wielded the spare spoon.
We returned home in time to catch the last half of the WIFA World Cup match between Turkey and the U.S. It was tied up 2-2 going into the last 7:00 minute extra. With 30 seconds left Turkey scored to make it 3-2. Unfortunately for Turkey, given the unfathomable point scoring system of the tournament, Turkey was going home in any event and the U.S. were advancing into the next round. The match was played in Los Angeles, so the partisan crowd were not too happy with the last minute score, but Turkey was ecstatic with the win and U.S. was living with it in order to move on. After the game, we learned that our eldest, Ed, was actually in the stadium! Since we didn’t actually spot him in the crowd, we were glad he sent pictures as proof.
After the match concluded, Don, Mark & Deb viewed a portion of their PBS Newshour. Ann is working on a multi-million piece puzzle and wished us each a good night as, one after the other, the rest of us straggled to bed. Another great day of vacation in the Northwest.
