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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Our First Plane Trip in a While

 

A Report on a Return to Traveling in two parts: the trip and travel impressions.

Our recent trip to Las Vegas was our first plane trip since October 2019—for frequent fliers that’s a long time between trips. The trip to Vegas was a nervous trip because we had spent so much time trying to be careful and safe. All the data said we should be fairly safe, but the crowded airport and boarding line-up were a tad unsettling. 

We felt a little better after the Southwest attendant unceremoniously told one passenger to pull his mask over his nose and he quickly complied. The preflight announcement reminded all of us that more than 30,000 passengers have been banned from flying in the US by the airline industry.

Worldmark Las Vegas Blvd

Our lodgings for the six days were at Worldmark Las Vegas Blvd. (timeshare), a large resort facility. Contactless registration got us to our one bedroom apartment which was super clean. 

Our Patio

For the most part masks were worn and social distancing was observed by staff and guests. We had only two encounters with people without masks and they were either coming or going to a pool.

One of our biggest joys was eating again in restaurants. We had good experiences recently at the Oregon coast, but found Las Vegas dining to be less controlled in many cases with regard to social distancing. We ate mostly in casual diners—Black Bear Diner and The Omelet House were favorites.

Black Bear

The Omelet House, Boulder Hwy

The famous buffets are still closed and we didn’t opt for anything fancy, but we did visit other casino eateries such as Coronado Cafe at South Point and the Noodle House at Red Rock Casino. 

Coronado Cafe, South Point Casino

The casino restaurants had made only token efforts to space diners out, but did follow mask mandates. We got more comfortable with the situation as the week went along—possibly that’s not a good thing.

Although we did spent time in the casinos, they weren’t our main recreation. We played golf twice during our stay. 

Wildhorse GC

Desert Willow GC

Golf has been a safe haven throughout COVID-times and it was also in Las Vegas. At Wildhorse GC and Desert Willow GC, both in Henderson, we were paired with locals who were interesting and friendly. 

Playing Partners Dave and Nick, Desert Willow

Golfers' Handshake, the Fistbump

Starbucks Stop after Golf

Even though quite warm, the Vegas golf was enjoyable. 

Visitors' Center

We also spent half a day at Red Rock National Conservation Area just east of Las Vegas. The rock formations

—colors and texture—

made good subjects for my cameras. 

A Chucker

Maybe a Climber Chuck

I had also planned a morning at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, a 140-acre water reclamation area (nine ponds) with paths around the ponds. 

Yellowheaded Blackbird

Marsh Wren

Ruddy Duck

Tino the Tortoise, a Local Celebrity

We saw a variety of wildlife including hawks, roadrunners, ducks, geese, small birds, and even a tortoise, but good photos were hard to come by—too hot. Our last outing was to be a day in the Valley of Fire State Park, but that day the temperature was a hundred in Vegas and hotter in the desert. 

Much nicer to sit around the pools.

There are two special photo moments I’d like to share. First, on our approach into Vegas I got a good shot of the plane’s shadow on the ground. 

And second, on our flight back to Oregon I photographed a Glory

Photo Not Enhanced

—an atmospheric phenomenon where a shadow of an object is circled with a rainbow-like halo—hard to see and harder to photograph.

Back in Portland

Now for some impressions and reflections:

Travel for me is possible, if…

* I am more than two weeks past my second shot,

* I am aware that a few won’t be concerned with others’ safety, 

* I realize I have to adapt—can’t work in my favorite coffee shop, have to pay a reservation fee now where I didn’t before (Red Rock Park), wear my mask,

* Plan ahead more than usual, 

* Learn to plan to do less than usual (learning my limits, or as Anne says, we’ve lived a very active life, and now we’re paying for it), 

* No more air travel with golf bags—too heavy and awkward--glad I've got clubs in Scotland, and

* I make informed choices.

Next: I’ll be as surprised as you.