Arch Cape, OR
I love the abbreviation for Oregon – OR. It leaves you hanging at the end of each place name. He went to Arch Cape…OR? Or what? Or didn’t he? Well, I did go to Arch Cape, Oregon, with Allison and he parents who were visiting from Montana, and it was beautiful.
This wasn’t white-sandy-beach beautiful; no, it was more like the West Coast of New Zealand. Vast, barren, brown sand beaches. Tussocks and battered trees, crashing waves, driving rain, permanent mist. I loved it…but admittedly spent much of the trip indoors. It was a welcome getaway from the relatively fast pace of things at work.
We wandered on the beach at Arch Cape, and also up the coast a little to Haystack Rock, a remnant of a large volcanic formation. The rain at this point was caught in the 80+ kph wind, and it was somewhat comical just walking out to the rock. Allison had her magical SENZ storm umbrella – designed in the Netherlands, it is an umbrella that turns to face the wind, and tilts into it – it cannot turn inside out. It even worked in this situation, though it was moving hilariously fast.
The house where we were staying was called Fernhaven. It was only a short walk from the beach, but was hidden amongst a cluster of moss-covered trees. It was a beautiful wooden house, with lots of modern featured like double glazing, central heating (plus a wood burner), heated floors in the bathrooms, and a large kitchen. It was the perfect place to be trapped inside during horrible weather. Every day, I fired up the wood burner, and we made sure that the house was a very cozy temperature for us to eat, sleep, relax, play games and chat.
We visited a nice little pub at Cannon Beach, a great bakery called ‘Bread and Ocean’ in Manzanita, and a bunch of shops. One shop just down the road from where we were staying was Jack’s thrift store. Jack was there, running the shop, at 89 years old. It was full of amazing things…old tools for making cedar shingles, nuts and bolts, appliances, clothes. I bought a great bike tool (50 cents) and a roll of USA-made duct tape, which Jack assured me is the best duct tape money can buy.
We headed back to Portland once the wind had subsided, and ended up eating dinner at our local gourmet pizza place called Pizzicato. Allison and her folks spent the following day exploring Portland, before we went and got some great Mexican food, and took them to the airport. Thanks for visiting us, guys.
