A Real Trip, Sort Of

Butteville, Oregon--We are on the road.

 

    This is a post about real travel, small though it may be. We got out of the house, drove our new car on a trip for the first time, visited with friends, went out to eat, played golf, and took a few photos. What joy! 

    This short trip to Seaside and environs on the north Oregon coast was the first time we had loaded our new Subaru Forester for an actual trip. 

The New Ride: A 2021 Subaru Forester Sport

Plenty of room, even though it’s slightly smaller than our other car, a Subaru Outback. The car was easy to drive and got relatively good mileage for a new car. We stopped in Newburg at the Coffee Cup to pick up a latte and scone for the road (a delicious habit of ours). 

Buying our coffee and scone at Coffee Cup in Newburg.

The scone is a large marionberry scone which reminds us of the type of scone we get in Scotland. Traffic on the backroad we take to the coast was fairly heavy for a mid-week September day and coast attractions were quite busy. I stopped a couple of times for photos, but for the most part just saw photo ops with no place to stop—a problem for almost all photographers. Our first planned stop was at Bear Creek Artichoke Farm north of Hebo and Beavercreek. 

Expensive, but delicious.

This is a good farm shop run by friendly staff and with a good variety of merchandise and food stuffs. We picked up a couple of fresh sweet and savory scones (raspberry, zucchini and parmesan) which would be lunch and tomorrow’s breakfast. 

    Twenty miles on we stopped to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory, one of the main attractions on the north Oregon coast. 

The visitor center was crowded, but people were masked and worked hard to keep socially distanced. The tasting bar was closed, but the retail shop was fully stocked, and free pre-packaged samples were given as you left the center. We stocked up on cheese curds and fudge, among other things. We next took our scones and cheese and had a picnic lunch Bay City County Park north of Garibaldi. 

The view from Bay City County Park.

The calm summery weather was a special treat. To top off our lunch we got lattes at a pleasant coffee shop, Manzanita News and Espresso. 

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

    

    Our two night stay was at Best Western Plus Seaside. Rooms were nice and clean with small kitchenettes, but expensive even for a resort area. 

View from our room at Best Western

Our friends, Gary and Carol Jo, were already checked in, so we dumped our stuff in our room and went to theirs for a visit and some pre-dinner snacks. We decided to go to Mo’s a few blocks away for dinner because they had available outside (protected) seating right on the promenade. 

Mo's has wonderful outside covered seating with great views.

Gary, Carol Jo, Anne and our food.

The guy and gal sitting behind us put on the evening's show.

My clam chowder came with a rainbow.

At dinner we felt some of the affects of the pandemic—Mo’s was significantly understaffed. Our dinners were delivered without regard to the fact that we were eating together—for instance, my garlic bread didn’t arrive until after I had finished my chowder. The saving grace of dinner was good company and a lovely sunset. 

    

Evening on Broadway in Seaside.

Late evening view of the Seaside promenade and beach.

The next day started with a breakfast of left overs (garlic bread and scones),fruit cups, and cheese curds. We wished we had known about the kitchenette ahead, but it wasn't listed clearly in the amenities of the room. Gary and Carol Jo had McDonalds and Starbucks take-away. 

Main activity for the day was a drive an hour and a quarter to a golf course in Oceanside (WA) to play nine holes. All the local courses were filled with tournaments. 

The Megler Bridge over the Columbia River from Astoria to Washington state is over four miles long.

The drive was pleasant and the course, Surfside GC, was friendly and funky. We finished golf just as the sea mist started rolling in. 

It was a fun activity for us all. Even the take-out lunch from Micky D’s shared in a car was enjoyable. We agreed to meet at 6:00 for dinner at Finn’s Fish House in the heart of Seaside. In the meantime, Anne and I got a little reading done at Starbucks and got a quick rest. Our dinner plans were perfect. 

Finn's Fish House

We only waited about fifteen minutes at Finn’s for a spot at one of their heated outside tables. Each us enjoyed our meals (my oysters were excellent) and the service was great—nice contrast to the previous dinner. In fact, we enjoyed dinner at Finn’s so much we met up again the next morning for breakfast there—nobody was disappointed. 

Hug Point State Park

    It wasn’t a big trip, but it was safe and away from home with friends. The affects of Covid were noticeable: many places had worker shortages, almost everyone wore masks, for the most part people keep reasonable distances from others. Business has adapted and most have survived. I look forward to more and bigger trips where everyone can travel safely.

Reflection from hotel windows onto the dunes.

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