Back from the coast! As always, our chosen spot was Lincoln City. Except this time we stayed at the Overlook. Was that the name of the hotel from The Shining?
It poured down rain almost the whole time we were driving yesterday morning, and it really started coming down in buckets when we arrived. We found out at the motel that our room would be ready earlier than usual and we drove around the town for awhile, ate at subway, made the mandatory Robert’s Books stop, etc. We checked in about 1:30..it is so adorable. Like, vintage Scandinavian decor? Ok, rather bizarre but still charming. Amazing ocean view from main area and sitting room (it’s the size of a small house). Spotted a couple of harbor seals from the room with the aid of binoculars. Miraculously, the rain stopped rather abruptly and the weather turned super nice..warm and sunshiney! So we headed down to the beach and walked to Siletz Bay. Saw several seals bobbing in the breakers en route. Met someone who informed us of a whole herd of ‘em ahead. Just like last time, there were a bunch out on the spit that had "hauled out." More like 75 this time though! Some were exceptionally large and blubbery, and they certainly look like inchworms when they move. They ripple.

Ah, it was great fun walking/running in the surf and observing those crazy ‘gulls. Some women were feeding them popcorn and we saw a speckled one that only had one foot! That’s right; it still had both legs, just lacked a foot. Maybe a ‘tross got a little too ticked at its antics. We went back to the room for a bit and then decided to go for dinner (KFC of course, but this time no poster misleading us with skewed food categories). We then went to Price ‘n’ Pride, the food warehouse from which memories of grape-scented beach balls originated. We picked up milk and orange juice and then went back to the room to eat. Oh man that chicken has got to be so incredibly unhealthy, especially when combined with mashed potatoes and biscuits. Oh well..We drove to Devil’s Lake and saw the house where mom’s grandparents lived. Then back to the beach, we again walked to the bay and saw seals. We were just about at the steps to go back when a few fireworks were set off a few hundred yards down the beach. They certainly appeared illegal. But it was quite a comprehensive display, lasting about five minutes.

Discovered a guest book/journal in the room, read some past entries written by previous guests. Also found a bunch more, dating from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Read a poem about dog crap on the beach, a hint to flea bomb the room, nostalgic words from people who’d been coming to the coast with the same friends for 25 years, and many kid-scrawled thank-you notes. So then I wrote one. Perhaps I will return in a future year and find it.

Today we got up early and found that the rain had resumed. Braved it for low tide and tide pool observation. Nothing too spectacular but a few plum colored starfish. Note: if it’s raining out there but not terribly cold, wear a tee and shorts rather than jeans and bright yellow rain poncho. It just makes so much more sense. After leaving the room we headed to Depoe Bay and saw more seals and purchased taffy. Went back to Lincoln City for Paws on the Sand, got chicken jerky for Bosun. Stopped at seafood/jerky store for beef jerky (not for dogs), then left. There’d been a wreck though so it was slow going for one hour.

Had to stop in McMinneville for New To You. Found 3 pairs of jeans (one of them AE), khaki capris, and two pairs of navy blue cords. Also, super nifty slightly sparkly plum top with ties on sides, a striped thing from Forever 21, and four more shirts. And 2 belts because I always wear them out. Finally, clothes-shopping success. I don’t particularly enjoy clothes shopping. Next was Home Depot for lighting. Gosh this is a long boring blog!

Coming home we somehow got lost and were wondering where the heck Tigard went. So we found the nearest restaurant, a McDonalds, for dinner. At this point I wasn’t particularly picky. We had just about finished our McChicken sandwiches when we hear the girl working there on the phone say, "yeah, I’ve thrown up like, three times today!" OK, Not okay! Why?? Why was she even working? And why would she even think that was okay to say when working in an eating establishment!? Arrggh! No common sense..I tried to convince myself that she’d probably just been drinking the night before or something.

Things we saw: a red crate-paper-esque decorated car with horns and a pink flamingo, rain poncho-clad bicyclists with rear-view mirrors attached to their helmets, seals begging fishermen for fish leftovers, a hundred or so vintage cars, brown pelicans, two "just married" vehicles, innumerable blobs of jelly, a huge dead fish, "fresh plumbs" (advice: know how to spell the product you sell), one hermit crab, an unidentified fin.