That's Gneiss! #81 ~ Down by the Seaside
We have scientifically determined that the strength of the margaritas at our local Mexican restaurant was not a fluke. When eating at Tampico Family Mexican Restaurant, get the Gold Margarita.
But I digress - we just ate there to end our short holiday, and it is back to work tomorrow! Meh.
Our trip to Seaside, Oregon was lovely! I will now share many photos with you so you can live vicariously for a few moments before returning to your regular life. Seaside is the quintessential west coast tourist town - the main core of downtown is full of tacky shops, mediocre restaurants, and a mass of humanity worthy of watching. The streets to the north and south of the the main drag are full of cute homes, many of which can be rented for your family vacation. The weathered cedar shake style is common.
Normally we visit the coast in February, but due to our move we postponed our trip. The advantage to visiting in February is that there are hardly any people around. It was much different this time, and the minus tides brought in the clam diggers! Lots of clam diggers. Rowland did not approve of them. They wore swishy rain gear and carried sticks, shovels, and clam guns. I’m certain he thought they were monsters of some sort. It got much more crowded on the beach than this!
The drive down in the new car was great, and I was very careful not to speed! the first night we ate at one of our favorite stops - Sam’s Seaside Cafe. We always sit in the back, in Luke’s Lizard Lounge. It’s very much a place where the locals go, and it’s always entertaining. This review sums it up nicely:
Where to begin. If you want to hear foul mouthed patrons constantly drop F-bombs at 3pm or smell cigarette smoke in a non smoking establishment, then this is the place for you. It really seems to be a microcosm of Seaside localism at its worst. It's a shame because you do not want to bring your kids in here. The food is pretty good but management tolerates rudeness and belligerence to a degree that is almost appalling.
I can’t say we saw any belligerence, but the “microcosm of Seaside localism” is what makes it great. Two years ago when we ate there the roof was leaking from the incessant rain. Delightful!
On the second day I got to meet one of my most beloved online friends in person! Beth and her husband and dog drove up to meet us, and we had a great time visiting. Rowland made a new friend, and as long as they weren’t trying to “play” they were fine. Rowland likes other dogs, but he doesn’t really know how to play properly. We all had a good time on the beach, and the humans in our group had two lovely meals together. We ate dinner at the Tora Sushi Lounge (another favorite we always return to). Breakfast the next morning was at the Osprey Cafe - so much better than the very pedestrian Pig & Pancake.
Here’s Rowland and Hank, shortly before we parted ways. It was not easy to get a photo of the two of them!
After Beth & co. headed home, I took a stroll through town by myself while Michael and Rowland had a nice long walk on the beach. I saw all sorts of interesting things! For instance, I had no idea Seaside had Space Police.
I didn’t see the real deal, but I did see one fan’s shout out to them.
I saw a book I’d like to buy. It was full of great drawings and salty language.
And please, meet my new friend Gawdliness.
At the urging of a friend, I popped into the Funland Arcade to check out Fascination, a game that has now become rather rare. Everyone plays at once, and the first person that gets their ball to fall into the holes to complete a bingo-style line wins (similar to the squirt gun games played as a group). I played a few games, and it was rather addicting.
You have just one ball, and keep rolling it as long as the game continues. It was always over too soon! Frankly, I don’t know how the winners got their shots to line up as quickly as they did - it seemed like my ball lazily bounced around up there before landing in one of the holes. Needless to say I didn’t win, but that was okay. The sound of the balls bouncing around as people rolled them had a very soothing effect. It was early in the day, so there wasn’t a lot of raucous noise in the arcade yet. I wish I had played longer. If you run across one of these games, make the time to play a few rounds. It’s fun!
The weather on our trip was quite variable - sunshine to rain. I caught this cool sign reflection last night at our dinner stop - Ruby’s Roadside Grill. It was alright - I’m not sure about their claim to be the “best burgers period.” They haven’t eaten Michael’s burgers. The location was obviously an old gas station, and Michael described the decor as “Apocalypse Chic.” That’s a topic for another newsletter…
Rowland really loved our walks on the beach, and was such a well behaved guy during the whole trip. It was sad to leave, but we were also ready to come home. There’s another busy week ahead…
Until next time!
Tidbits
Short today!
Making: I completed my first mending!
Recently eaten: see above
Reading: thoroughly enjoying The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday - it turns out I already do a lot of the things suggested in this book! I’m also getting some great ideas to expand my observations. On our trip I started After the Party by Cressida Connolly - character driven historical fiction (WWII era). Good so far!
Video of the Week
This was the least annoying video I could find that shows the game play of Fascination. Here’s another that’s old and weird.
Which of course leads to this.
Question of the Week
Answer if you wish, and I’ll share next week - anonymously of course. Just hit reply…
Are there any arcade games you can’t resist playing when you come across them, or that bring back fond memories for you?
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Last week I asked about strange history near you.
Bizzare tales: Not close, but not terribly far, and also not-too-distant past: Frozen Dead Guy Days
I live on the Eastern tip of the Devils Triangle. Need I say more? We have Swamp Apes too. Southern Sasquatch’. Come see!
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