On the Dock of the Bay .. Again

Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life.  You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you.

With the weekend came tons of folks to the beach.  Everywhere we went there were people and more people.  Parking lots were full and the roads had many more cars than during the week
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Hey ... look what I caught!

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We decided to spend one more day “on the dock of the bay”.  Since none of us had thought about sunburns, we were surprised that Michael got one.  The weather had been nice but cool.  We doctored him up with a little aloe vera and sunscreen.  He also played it a little safe and sought shelter when available.
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A perfect day to nap in between checking crab pots

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Justin and Michael, being the pro crabbers they had become, were the teachers for Janice and Jerry.  Before long everyone was tossing the nets and sorting the crabs.  Saturday was a beautiful day.

Eating was another thing that didn’t take much convincing.  As you can tell, Michael and Terry weren’t that interested in it.  The rest of us were pretty happy that we didn’t have to share with more than necessary.
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You catch them.  You eat them.

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Sunday was the day the boys needed to head back inland.  So, after fiddling with WOW for awhile we all headed towards Seaside with them.  That little town was more than packed. Kids and their parents were everywhere.  Finding parking spaces was extremely difficult.

We returned to Pudgy’s for some of their “killer” chowder.  Isn’t it amazing that the first time we taste something we seem to like it better than the second time?  It was good but not quite so memorable the second time around.  Oh well …….. still in search of the perfect chowder.

Clam chowder bread bowl at Pudgy's.

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The boys were off north and we headed south to spend another evening enjoying life on the road.

Crabbing Do-Overs with Michael

I’ve learned that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.  It kinda brings you back down to earth again.

By now you may think that we’ve done it all in this part of the northern Oregon Coast.  You also might think that we are through with do-overs.  Actually, we’re not.  We’ve had a lot of do-overs.  Crabbing and the Tillamook Cheese Factory are no exceptions.

WOW!  Look at all those crabs!

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With Michael being left behind by his mother when she headed back to the airport without him, Justin decided it was time he learned a little bit about living in the Pacific Northwest.  So, he loaded him up and headed back to the coast to give him a lesson or two in crabbing.  And, crabbing is exactly what we did on Friday.

How do I pick it up without getting pinched?

Since our boat was back in its storage spot at Lee’s house,  we opted to spend the day on the “dock of the bay” at Jetty Fishery.  Needless to say, Michael picked up on how to crab just like a pro.  At first the claws from the crabs were a little intimidating but once he got the hang of how to pick them up without being pinched, there was no problem.

A lesson on sex -- how to tell a male from a female crab.

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It was an absolutely gorgeous day.  We all enjoyed it immensely.  We got a ton of crabs.  The problem with it this time of year and so different from crabbing off a boat is that many of the crabs you pull in are either too small or females.  You can’t keep either of those.  However, it really is the experience that counts most.

We also had steamer clams.

After turning in our crabbing gear, we sat down at one of the picnic tables at Jetty Fishery and ate crabs and clams.  Well, Michael tried both the clams and crabs but wasn’t too fond of either.  Of course, that meant more for us.  He liked doing it but not eating it.  I only had to share with Justin.  You have to be fast if you’re sharing with Justin or he’ll get more to eat than you.  I wanted no part of that.

Late that afternoon we ended up with new neighbors at the RV park.  Now remember we have been at the far end of this park for nearly two weeks.  All the other people have been a good distance away.  We liked it like that.  Then, a big Alfa pulled in right in front of us!! 

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Thank goodness the other side isn't crowded! 

I guess we probably should admit that we know these folks especially since we spent most of last winter around them.  We couldn’t “hyde” from the Hyders!  We tried but they found us anyway.  Now they even want to go crabbing with us on Saturday.  This should be very interesting!!

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No.  They aren’t sun worshipping in the picture below.  They are checking out the antenna as it was automatically searching in the tree branches for a satellite signal.  Once they finally realized that trees don’t have signals, they moved their rig right on top of ours ---- picture above.  Without the tree in its way, the antenna was able to lock onto a satellite.  Funny how that works.

Is it gonna miss that tree?

Best Chowder on the Oregon Coast ??

If you could have everything, where would you put it?

Since Justin and Jordan left with their parents Sunday night, it was just us.  We still had food left but decided we were going to run into the little town of Nehalem for breakfast.  We had eaten at the Baywater Café several times before and always enjoyed it so that’s where we went.  It’s a nice little local place and definitely worth stopping at if you’re in the area.

Many of the stores in the beach towns decorate with hanging baskets of flowers.  The flowers are gorgeous.

After breakfast, Terry and I took another spin in the boat.  This time we headed in the opposite direction.  It was a gorgeous day and we certainly enjoyed a day on the bay.

 

We didn’t go crabbing and we didn’t go fishing.  We just enjoyed being out on the water.  The motors were working perfectly and it was a perfect day.

Later in the day we made another stop in the little town of Rockaway Beach.  One of the little street side cafes had a sign out front that tempted me.  Remember …. I love good chowder.   I think I’ve mentioned this at least once or maybe a dozen times before.

I also know what someone considers good chowder isn’t always what I call good chowder.  Isn't it great though that we all have different taste buds?  If we didn't, all the good chowder (in my opinion) would be gone before I got there!!   Posting this sign for me to see was like issuing a challenge. 

It was a challenge I had to accept.  Of course, I had to try the chowder.  I can definitely say that in my opinion I do not believe it is the BEST clam chowder on the coast.  Matter of fact, would I order it again?  That's the real test.  The answer to that is NO.  There is another little café on the wharf in Garibaldi that boasts about their clam chowder.  If it works out, I'd like to see if they really have chowder to boast about.  I'll let you know.

On the Beach at Seaside

Always laugh when you can.  It is the cheapest medicine.

Tuesday was a gorgeous day at the beach.  I do mean really, really gorgeous day.  We were going to take our chairs, Duchess and head to the beach.  The problem was deciding what beach and where???  We knew we didn’t want to go to the beach which is right off of the town area of Seaside.  However, it may be one of the nicest with the easiest access but it would also be the one with the crowds.

Duchess was happy no one else was around.

Duchess was sure happy walking along the beach with me. There were many different things to smell and soft sand to run on.

We decided to head just a little south of town.  What a good choice it was!  As you can tell by the photos below, no one was there when we arrived.  We had the whole beach to ourselves.  This, of course, made Duchess a very happy family member.  She was free until others started to show up.

A very empty beach

The tide was way out.  It’s a little rocky at this spot getting to the sandy beach but other than the steps down to the sand in town, it’s about the easiest.  Do you see anybody on the beach?  It was pretty empty and we liked it just like that.  I bet this doesn’t happen too often during the busy summer months.

It was definitely a gorgeous day.  After spending a while enjoying the sand and ocean, we took Duchess home and checked the crowd on the main beach.  They were certainly there.

People were just about everywhere at this beach.. 

Kite flying is very popular at the beach.  There is usually enough wind to keep the kites in the air and lots of space to run.

We had more seafood at dinner time.  This time I was hungry for a good salad.  That’s just exactly what I got at Pudgy’s.  Matter of fact, it probably is the best Shrimp Louis I’ve every had.  Check out the massive amount of shrimp on top of the salad.

I couldn’t pass up tasting their specialty either.  It’s the Smoked Salmon Clam Chowder.  Our waiter assured us it was a “killer” chowder.  We both had to agree with him.  It was fantastic!

Other than helping finish off the chowder, Terry didn’t order oyster stew.  He was hungry for a hamburger.  He probably would have had oyster stew if they made it but they didn’t.  This is another place I want to revisit just to try another loaded salad.

Seaside, Oregon – Line Dancing And Dooger’s

I’ve learned that everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.  It makes their day and mine too.

Some RV parks offer breakfast or special meals during high season at their location.  Sometimes the portions are large but most of the time they aren’t.  Sometimes the price is very reasonable and sometimes the prices are way too much for what you get.  This past weekend we opted to have breakfast at the Sand Dollar Café located in the Seaside Thousand Trails park.  Take a look at the omelet I ordered.  Just take a look at it!  I can actually say I don’t ever remember having an omelet this big or loaded with this many tomatoes.  Have you?   I think the cook put the whole row of tomatoes in the omelet.   The price was right but do you think I’ll order it again?

Thousand Trails' Sand Dollar Cafe

After breakfast we wanted to take a short little drive to Ocean Vista Way.  We hadn’t scoped out that area of this little seaside town yet.  We had an hour to waste before the manager’s meeting at the RV park so figured that was just about all the time we needed.  It was early.  The beach wasn’t busy yet but it would soon be.  After all, the weather was gorgeous and it was a holiday weekend.

Some of the beaches have rocky entrances and others are sandy.  Obviously, we prefer to walk on the sand instead of rocks.   In this area you definitely wanted to have your shoes on.

Saturday was also the day we decided to have our first line dancing lesson.  Actually, it wasn’t our fault.  We didn’t come up with this idea on our own.  We met some folks at the Thousand Trails manager’s meeting.  They convinced us to join them.  It was their fault.  We weren’t good. We weren’t good at all.  With three dances to learn at our first beginner’s lesson, we figured by the following morning we’d forget all of them.

Dooger’s Restaurant is a pretty popular restaurant around here.  They have four of them within about 75 miles.  The clam chowder  has been featured in Bon Appetit.  We have now visited all four of their restaurants.  (I think they only have four.)  We had our first taste of their clam chowder and oyster stew at the Long Beach location a couple years ago.  Then, last year we tried it again at Cannon Beach.

Oyster Stew at the Seaside Dooger's.

The other day I read a blog from someone who commented on cold and overpriced food at Dooger’s Restaurant.  We had received nothing but good food and service at that chain in the past and wondered if it had changed.  The overpriced part really doesn't count.  We all know the prices before we order and if they're overpriced, we can walk out.  We've walked out after looking at menus in the past either because we didn't like what was on it or didn't like the prices.  I'm sure we'll do it again in the future too. 

Clam Chowder at Warrenton

Thus, we set our goal to trying the other two Dooger’s we had yet to visit.  The last two were both within about 15 miles of each other.  Saturday we went to the Dooger’s in Seaside and Sunday we visited the Warrenton location.

Seaside's lite portion of fish and chips

Oyster stew again at Warrenton

Everything was fantastic at these Dooger restaurants including the food, and the service.  Oyster stew isn’t printed on the menu but they will make it especially for you.  Guess what Terry ordered at both restaurants. 

Oops … there was one thing we did not enjoy at the Warrenton location.  It was some of the parents (not the kids) at the restaurant.  However, you’ve got to remember that this was the 4th of July weekend and everybody and their brother (in this case, brother’s kids) were at the coast.  Kids were blowing straw wrappers, crying, screaming, running, crawling on the floor and the list goes on.  Did you get the picture? That kind of takes away from the enjoyment of a meal out for just about everyone else at the restaurant.  Well, maybe not for everyone but it certainly did for us.

Sorry for all the food shots.  However, we’ve spent a lot of time eating this weekend.  Anyone know how to send taste samples with a blog?