Honeymoon - Depoe Bay, OR - Day 3

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Everything is starting to sink in and dissipate at the same time. We are both relaxed and well-recovered. We started the day with the usual breakfast in the BandB… hard-boiled eggs, granola, fruit, yogurt Afterwards I went back to bed for a little while and Bozo went out and called her parents. Around 1:00pm we went out. It was a good thing but really we only went so they would clean our room. lol

We were going to do a drive but where we wanted to go was a little further than we'd wanted to travel and it was raining so we started in Depoe Bay. They have quite a few shops for such a small town but most of them are cheapie souvenir shops. There was one that sold local artists' work so that's where we spent the most money. We also made a stop at the Whale Watching Center where we found out that 0 whales have been spotted in the past 2 weeks. Phew! I was glad we hadn't missed seeing any during our stay so far.

Then we decided to have a seafood lunch. The original plan was to go out for a nice seafood dinner. But once we went back, it was unlikely we'd be willing to go out again! lol So this was a very good compromise. We went to Tidal Raves and had a great ocean view table. Bozo had Red Curry BBQd Shrimp and I had Pacific Snapper. Both were delicious!

From our view in the restaurant we could see a little beach cove and four people were down there. We went to explore and found a rope that you're supposed to follow and use to keep you from falling. I assumed there was probably a safer way but off Bozo went and, of course, I followed. The rope ended a little before we got to the bottom and with the drizzle, it was a little slippery. But we made it… and it was beautiful. A ton of slick black rocks and some shells along with some garbage, of course. I think I've been pretty clear in previous entries that I am not a huge fan of water and even less a fan of being in place where I could easily be trapped by water. So I explored in unease. The other four people down there were all over 70-years-old and were studying bugs. Apparently one of the men was a well-regarded entomologist who studies the chromosomes of bugs to learn more about evolution. One of the women had been his college student about 50 years ago. They teased us about coming down the rope, "I can't believe you came down that rope!" and Bozo laughed and asked if there is another way. The former student said, "No! But I can't believe WE came down that rope either!" and then showed us her dirty butt. lol We headed back up before they did.

Back in the room again. We puttered around, took another jacuzzi, looked at all the wedding photos we have so far, and then watched our annual scary Halloween movie. But Bozo was being a big baby about how scary the fog rolling in was and that we are basically alone in this Inn. I took pity and chose one I didn't think would be quite as scary. But then it just turned out to be cheesy. Darn! One time a year I get a chance to scare the bejeezus out of her and I blew it for the second time in a row. We saw "The Amityville Haunting." I do not recommend it!

Not a bad way to spend Halloween at all! Next year she's getting "Saw" though!

The fog, the swirling ocean below, and some rocks just to complete the Halloween effect!

Honeymoon - Depoe Bay, OR - Day 2

Today was all about relaxation and recovery. We were asleep by 9:00pm last night and up around 8:30am for breakfast. That felt great! The sound of the ocean outside our room and the total darkness from their window covers… the perfect combination for solid sleep.

We jacuzzied (I'm making it a word!) late in the morning then watched some tv and movies most of the day. We did have to make a little trip to Newport for a couple things I forgot and that apparently they don't have in tiny Depoe Bay.

We grabbed some coffee and did some more relaxing. Then, out of pure relaxation and laziness, Bozo went back to Bonepile BBQ again for chicken and pulled pork. Good… again. I like their cole slaw a lot! We also added potato salad this time, which was good too but not as good as the cole slaw. These were the kind of deep conversations we were having today!

We finished Amazing Race Season 16. Not represented well by "the mean lesbians." I'm also working on finding my scary Halloween movie… Bozo will only watch once each year so I gotta make it good!

Once it was dark we jacuzzied again with bath salts. It's so incredibly relaxing to be outside in the cold on the balcony in a jacuzzi with the ocean sounds all around.

I know this is a boring blog entry but it was definitely the down day that we both needed after the few months that we've had!

The breakfast spread with an up close and personal view of the ocean at the end of the room:

Honeymoon - Depoe Bay, OR - Day 1

Up early again… 4:15am. Out the door by 5:00am for gas and to return the rental car. Everything went very smoothly and we were on our plane and flying toward Portland by 7:00am. Soon… time to relax! We arrived on time at 8:30am and got the next rental car. We used National for the wedding guests but this time found a great price on Alamo. But it was quite a ways from the airport on a shuttle (gotta remember that when we return!) and the clerk was in some competition for up selling that did not sit well with two overtired women who who still had their receipts from a very smooth rental the previous 5 days. She just kept arguing that we were wrong when we had our receipts. lol Moving on.

I brought my GPS to help us get where we needed to go. But we also needed some breakfast… preferably from a funky little Portlandish cafe. It's hard to look those up specifically so we were just going to settle for whatever we found in an area full of breakfast places. On our drive we ended up in the Montavilla Neighborhood and decided to stop at a place that looked like it fit the bill. And it did! The Country Cat Dinnerhouse and Bar was great! The food was great and there was plenty of it. But one of the servers also took time with us to look at a map (you know, that paper thing with lines representing roads!) of where we were heading and gave us some excellent suggestions where to stop along the way. On the same street (SE Stark St), was Bipartisan Cafe where we got coffee. Also a funky little place and some pretty good coffee.

We headed out of Portland toward Highway 26, which we took us up toward the coast. This is a much longer way to Channel House in Depoe Bay, OR where we'll be spending the rest of the week. But we thought we'd take the scenic route now in case we don't have time on our way back to the airport. Turns out we were both  a little more tired that we thought and needed to stop at a rest area for a little nap. That worked! Refreshed (sort of), we were definitely safe to drive and ready to move on. We basically circled around the Tillamook State Forest and headed south on Highway 53 toward Highway 101. This was definitely less along the ocean than I expected. But I really love driving through forest as well so it was totally fine. We went through Wheeler and then found a little Mexican Bakery Lunch Stop where we had an excellent burrito and Bozo bought a small loaf of jalapeño bread. I have no idea the name of the place. I took a photo of it but there's no name. Weird! I'd recommend it though! lol

We met a couple at the Mexican Bakery who recommended that we stop in Tillamook at the Cheese Factory for some samples. He said they also make ice cream that is to die for. But when we got there it was SO crowded that we decided to pass it up. We are planning on possibly going back up that direction for a couple different scenic stops during the week so maybe it'll be less crowded at that time.

By this point we were both ready just to be in Depoe Bay. We arrived around 4:30pm and got somewhat settled before heading back out to get some food and snacks to have in the room since we do not plan to leave at all tomorrow. Aside from it being our Honeymoon and that we're both exhausted from planning and having our wedding, I'll put up a photo that will show you why we have no intention of leaving for a day. We went to the little corner store and then got some dinner at BonePile BBQ, which was awesome. I don't know if we're just hungry or if the food we have been finding has actually been consistently excellent. I don't feel that hungry so I think we've just gotten really lucky with our choices and timing!

Back in the room for dinner and a movie, "So This is 40," while we waited for sunset over the ocean. At 8:30pm the movie was over and we were exhausted. So off to bed we went…

This is the view from our jacuzzi and one of the reasons we have no intention of leaving the room tomorrow: