Monthly Archives: August 2012

 
Today was more errands mixed with some quick visits to family friends. First was Buck’s house, a 5000 square foot custom home on the water with antiques collected from travels all over the world, mostly on trips with my grandparents. The house is already quite castley, and I would love to take it all the way there! 😉 A bit too far from my friends, and Buck isn’t moving anytime soon…he’s much too proud of his house & loves living there!

We stayed too long at Buck’s house so were late to Grandma’s hair appointment, and I killed the 2 hours wait for her with some shopping & resting my eyes in the car. We came back home, Grandma wanted a scotch first, then we left for dinner on the water, this time at Arnie’s. Great food, and I think I’ve had great seafood almost every night this whole trip! Yum!

After dinner we drove along the waterfront to the scuba diver point and the dog park for some lovely sunset views of the Kingston Ferry making its rounds.

On our way home we decided to stop at Johnnie’s house, and he was glad to see us. In our whiskey/y discussion, I mentioned I liked Jameson, and he has an 18-year special reserve bottle, but I’m the first person who recognized its value, so he was so tickled! Johnnie can barely see – he enlarges everything to gigantic on his old iMac – and barely hear, plus his throat has been repaired after cancer surgery, but he still has a great laugh & smile, and he really gets a kick out of hearing about Grandma’s exploits. He was reading this blog on the road trip, and didn’t believe Grandma could ever pour a “teeny” scotch! hahaha!

I’ve printed my boarding pass, confirmed my shuttle pickup, and mostly repacked, including dismantling a large brass chandelier to fit in my suitcase for Halloween use. More photos of Buck’s house and the sunset are below in the photo gallery if you’d like to see. Hope you enjoyed reading about this trip as much as I enjoyed it!

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I slept in as long as I could, we ran some errands around Edmonds, then reviewed some old home movies I had digitized recently before heading over to my cousin’s house in Bellevue for a quick dinner between work & tennis for him. He is big into midcentury modern style, many of my grandfather’s vintage collectibles from that era are now in places of honor in his restored period house on the hill, and our dinner glasses were even collectible Seattle World’s Fair glasses. I traded my uncle for the teal Spaceneedle one. I also got to enjoy Johnny Walker Blue Label with Grandma, since he keeps a bottle at his house just for her. Tasty!

I thought my good camera was in my purse as usual, but no luck, so I was stuck with only iPhone with no timer and only my arm’s reach, plus the fantastic view of downtown Bellevue silhouetted us all! A little iPhoto magic after the HDR in camera and at least you can see all of us. 😉 To get the view properly, I sneaked a couple more better-aimed photos while everyone was eating. Delicious dinner with a carrot salad, green salad of lettuce & cherry tomatoes from his small garden, and fresh king salmon with chili lime & mesquite cooked on his grill.

On the drive back to Edmonds, I sneaked a couple photos of the lovely sunset, then we reviewed more old home movies until we pooped out. One more full day left before I go home on Thursday!

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We had to get up early for the free continental breakfast, and I didn’t sleep well at all with too much morning light, but I was overjoyed to find the last prune tart among the pastries! These are my dad’s favorites, and I tried making them for Christmas a few years ago using my Grandma Peterson’s recipe using bourbon-butter-heavy cream puff pastry that is LOTS of work. Mine tasted just like hers, and better than this one for breakfast, but mine did not want to stay closed in the cute pinwheel shape. I’m sure Grandma’s favorite part about this breakfast was that our table partners guess she might be in her 80s…haha! The bright colors today definitely made her sparkle!

I still can’t believe I was only one block away from the Goonies house the night before, but the morning was a better view anyway instead of looking into the evening sun. Sure it’s fun to see the Goonies house, but my grandfather’s childhood home is just down the street, even barely visible in the movie, so I wanted to take good photos of it…but I still don’t know which one it is! So I took lots of photos up & down both streets from the corner, and my dad will have to tell me later.

It was still only 10:15am, so we took another chance at going up to the Astoria Column, a artistic marker commemorating the voyages of Lewis & Clark. I’ve always thought the sepia paintings in the spiral around the column were very pretty. We had both climbed to the top before, and Grandma couldn’t do that now, so I set the tripod on the hood of the van again for our photo. Another bonus that we had to wait until the morning since the blue skies with clouds made for an absolutely gorgeous view of Astoria & the ocean!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

That was Astoria mission accomplished, so the bridge was next. The construction on the bridge had it down to one lane so each lane had to wait for the other, but that was great for a photo that would never have been safe while moving! The Washington side also had construction with a similar wait, so while we were sitting stopped on the bridge, Grandma took a couple photos out her window looking east up into the Columbia River, and I took a couple looking out at Cape Disappointment on the ocean.

I misread my directions so we ended up on 101 N the long way through Willapa Natural Wildlife Refuge until we found the normal 101 N to Aberdeen. Right before getting on Hwy 12 to Olympia we stopped for delicious blackberry milkshakes in Montesano, then back on the freeway through construction by 1pm.

We were passing through forests with large areas cut down, but I had seen a few groves with 10-20 ft trees that looked like replanting efforts. Then we saw a bunch of wonky old growth trees that had a Weyerhaeuser sign saying that grove was hit by hurricane force winds in 2007. We also saw two more Weyerhaeuser signs, one generically voicing their commitment to reforesting, an another for a grove of douglas firs planted in 1999 that were probably at least 20ft tall already. My dad worked for Weyerhaeuser for 30 years so I’ve heard plenty about how the wood & paper business has changed over the years, but I’d never seen any of their forests.

Grandma had an appointment today with a new doctor that could not be changed, so we were on a schedule to get back north of downtown Seattle before 3pm. We were making good time, but it was beginning to look tight, and the carpool lane wasn’t making much difference. Finally we made it to our exit 15 minutes before the appointment, very thankful we weren’t going south since that was a parking lot all the way south into Seattle! By the time we had left the doctor, stopped for groceries, pizza for dinner, and a necessary pie for dessert, back home in her driveway I counted 1289 miles round trip, all driven by me…whew! No wonder I’m a bit sick of driving! 😉

Full photo gallery below as always. We had a great road trip, and now I have two days left before I fly home, but I doubt I’ll be relaxing knowing Grandma’s schedule. We all think keeping so busy keeps her young!

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No blue skies this morning, but at least we could see Haystack Rock! I didn’t realize we were that far south of Cannon Beach and there are two Oregon Haystack Rocks, so this is the junior version. I figured out a wacky setup using my bendy tripod on the back of a padded chair set on the coffeetable to get a good photo of us on our hotel balcony with the view behind us…hooray! As we pulled out of the parking lot, there were two black & brown bunnies hanging out, and I just barely caught a photo of them out the window before they hopped away.

This was the most expensive hotel yet but no breakfast with only a coffee shop downstairs. I was starving but Grandma claimed she wasn’t hungry yet, so she wanted to find somewhere to eat along the way. I scarfed a couple leftover Brownie Briquettes to tide me over, but I was still getting a low blood sugar headache since it was about 14 hours since we had eaten dinner. Hwy 101 is inland for awhile, so we saw a lot of cows, and some blue sky really trying hard to peek through, so I was hopeful for more views when we got back to the coast.

We didn’t find anywhere to eat until downtown Tillamook, where I spotted a sign on the street advertising Eggs Benedict, so we pulled right over, just minutes before they stopped serving brunch at noon. The Rendezvous Restaurant is a tiny hole in the wall, but Grandma was impressed how clean it was, they made the hash browns crispy all the way through, and they gave me a half order of Eggs Benedict, a perfect portion size. I thought the upside-down wine glass as candle pedestal was cute. About an hour after lunch, I found another splurge…there were signs for a winery farther north, and I was sad we had driven past so many Willamette Valley wineries the day before with no time to stop, so since today we had time, Grandma said sure. She only tasted a couple, but they had FRUIT wines – real fruit wines! When I said I’d have trouble deciding since I have to fly home, she said they’re offering free shipping, so I splurged on all 6 of their fruit wines to share with friends back home. The cranberry & peach were Rieslings re-fermented with juice, but the plum, blackberry, green concord, and red concord were all truly fermented from the actual fruit…and were VERY tasty! Too sweet for Grandma, but I won’t be sharing them with her. 😉

North of Tillamook is where the coastal views are spectacular along the Pacific Coast Highway, and the blue skies kept trying hard to peek out when they could, so I stopped at almost every turnout for photos while Grandma sat in the car enjoying the view without walking. The last time I had been on this stretch in summer was 1997, pre-digital camera with no exposure options or fill-in flash, so I grabbed as many snaps as I could, some perhaps worthy of framing for my travel gallery wall back home. There were also information signs that were not there in 1997, so I learned that the drive-through Neahkahnie Mountain was completely impassable without a dangerous climb until Hwy 101 was built, and it is still an impressive rock wall supporting the road. I also learned there is a lighthouse called Terrible Tilly so far out even my camera digital zoom can’t do it justice. It was replaced with a marker in 1957 but the trouble it took to build that all the way out there, plus staffing and maintaining it was quite a feat.

I mentioned two Haystack Rocks, and the most famous one, featured in The Goonies movie, is at Cannon Beach, so we took the turnoff to see if I could get a photo. Grandma also thought it was time for an afternoon snack, so we were also in search of ice cream. What a busy Sunday at the beach town! We drove very carefully around town a bit, finding the beach but of course no parking, found a shop with a loading zone open for me to run in to buy us excellent ice cream cones, then I got the idea to try the national park turnoff I saw to the north. The park was a fee entrance, but there was a street nearby with a turnaround by some beach homes…voila! Grandma stayed in the van eating her ice cream while I hiked over the grassy hill to the beach and got some photos of the real Haystack Rock, still no blue skies, but at least a view. I didn’t go all the way to the water since it would take too long, plus then I would have wet sandy feet for the rest of the drive! 😉

We found the Warrenton Costco just south of Astoria exactly when the gas light turned out…seriously, we were sitting in the gas line when I heard the sign & saw the light go on…haha! It was only 4pm and I had seen a billboard for the Oregon Film Museum in Astoria, but Grandma decided we should shop for groceries instead, so we didn’t get to our hotel until 5pm, also too late for the street fair that was already packing up. C’est la vie! This hotel is quite nice but not cheap. The only online reservation I could get was a single queen bed, so we asked if there was any way we could have two beds.They had the last double suite available for $80 more, putting this almost as expensive as last-night’s hotel, but Grandma thought it was worth it. What a fancy place! Around the corner from the old Liberty Theatre (where we saw Empire Strikes Back in 1980), remodeled but with vintage art deco flavor, nicely decorated with wetbar & fireplace, we have separate rooms each with a TV, and our suite looks out onto Grandma Peterson’s church, Peace Lutheran!

I didn’t let Grandma have any scotch yet since I had an agenda in our short time here in Astoria. I wanted to drive past the old Peterson house to see how it was doing, eat fried razor clams at the Pig N Pan, plus find any buildings I remembered, maybe go up to the Astoria Column, and be back in time for sunset on the hotel rooftop balcony, when we would enjoy our scotch. I found the house easily enough, then we continued down the south hillside of Astoria and around the horn again to the Pig N Pan for an early dinner. Yummy fried razor clams, but I do think Grandma Peterson’s were better! 😉

We followed the signs up to the Astoria Column but it was closed for some special event. They were taking busloads of people up who wanted to see it, but we only wanted to drive up there since we’ve both been there before many many years ago. Too bad since the view should have been nice at least. My next mission was John Jacob Astor School, which I found on my phone map on the other side of town. I had never driven on Irving Street before, and it’s mostly trees so that was nice to see. We found the school, no I still haven’t seen Kindergarten Cop, but I know it was filmed here. Since we were on that end of Astoria, I thought of trying to find the Goonies house, especially since my Grandpa Peterson’s childhood home was down the street, but no luck. When I looked it up online tonight, I literally was only one block away…argh! I did find other cute houses though, and the most vivid royal blue & purple hydrangeas I have ever seen. I want my hydrangeas to be that color!

I knew the most gorgeous Victorian house in Astoria, the Flavel House, was near our hotel, but I had forgotten the courthouse and jail were across the street! The jail is now the Oregon Film Museum of course, with an old blocky black Jeep parked out front, just like the bad guys drove in the Goonies! Hahaha! Great idea for a building that had been idle for my entire lifetime, and I wish we had time to peek inside. I don’t ever remember going inside the courthouse, but Grandma Peterson worked there as far back as I remember until she retired, and one of my living room chairs is an old wooden carved jury chair from when they were being discarded.

That was the end of our Astoria tour, perfectly on time to ask for ice from the front desk, get upstairs to pour ourselves truly teeny tipples of scotch & water because the room glasses were so small, and head to the roof for our sunset. We couldn’t sit by the firepit since a guy was smoking a cigar, but we found a sheltered spot out of the breeze and enjoyed the view, even with the “bandaids” on the bridge from construction. Lovely sunset, so at least I got one good view from the past three days!

 
 
Tomorrow we head back to Seattle on a schedule, but we’ll drive up 101 over the Astoria Bridge since I have never driven that way myself. It’s been a good trip, but after driving well over 1000 miles since Tuesday, I am ready not to be driving for awhile! Full photo gallery is below, as always…enjoy!
 

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Even after paying for breakfast at the convenience restaurant, who were behind because of a fire in the kitchen, we were checked out & on the road from Klamath Falls just after 11am, finally able to see Klamath Lake, the largest lake in the Pacific Northwest, and some blue skies with clouds, so I took some photos quick! As I was out of the car, a swarm of mosquitos landed on the windshield and we shooed a couple out…we were glad to get out of this area! We made it to Medford in an hour, found the Costco on the main drag to fill up, hit one rest stop about 3pm, then on I-5 until 4pm when we turned off for Corvallis. We drove past an A&W so since Grandma was craving ice cream for her midafternoon snack, I had a root beer float & she had a milkshake…hit the spot!

The haze increased as the afternoon descended, so all white skies again, and after we turned west, it was coastal clouds turning the sky white instead of smoke. We were still making good time until we got stuck behind a trailer for awhile on the curvy part of OR-22, then he finally pulled out for our long line of cars to pass him, and on OR-130 we crossed 4 single-lane bridges until we finally came out onto Hwy 101 for a tiny bit, then found Pacific City. Of course as soon as we got to the coast at 6pm, the sky was spitting on our windshield, to be expected for summer in Oregon, even though I had been hopeful, especially with this heat spell in the rest of the state. We found the Inn at Cape Kiwanda at the end right by the beach access, and I barely got one phone photo of hazy Haystack Rock before parking the car properly, then when I got back to the room after filling ice for Grandma, the rock was nowhere to be seen, let alone water!

I was glad for my light raincoat since it was actually drizzling as we walked across the street for dinner at Pelican Brewery. It was an hour wait for dinner, and the bar was totally full, but lucky us 2 guys were leaving just as we were deciding what to do next! Our bartender was on the ball, overhearing our menu choices before we told him, and the food was great. Grandma has a seafood quesadilla starter that was just the right size for her to eat the whole thing, and I had delicious linguini with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes & local clams…not razor clams though, so I think I might have to hit Pig N Pan tomorrow in Astoria for my fix! 😉

By the time we finished dinner, some haze was clearing to show Haystack Rock again, not clear enough to show a sunset, but I can hope for a morning view. We had another scotch when we got back to our room, so I took some pix while I had the view. Here you can compare the before-dinner vs. after-dinner views from our balcony:

Full photo gallery below…Hopefully we’ll get at least a little break in the weather on our drive up the coast to Astoria tomorrow, since I hate the rain, and even though it is cooler, it doesn’t feel like summer let alone vacation to me. Obviously I’m a California girl even though I wasn’t born there! 😉

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