The last day...

Of my 4-day vacation, that is. After working 10 days straight, I got a 4-day weekend - and during the actual weekend, no less!

As a sort of pseudo-honeymoon / treat, Fred and I took off to the coast, along with Vlad and Mishu. Saturday morning greeted us with overcast skies and a threatening of rain, and I just didn't care. I was going to be away from work, away from PDX, and away from anything that remotely looked like responsibility for 36 hours, and I was going to be damned glad, thank you.

We took off at around 8:30, and stopped off at Camp 18 for breakfast, about 1.5 hours away, nestled in the middle of nowhere on Highway 26. They serve some of the biggest breakfasts I've seen outside the Original Hotcake House, and the prices are actually a little better than over at OHH. I got the 2-egg waffle meal, which included a waffle an inch thick with loads of butter and real maple syrup, 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon and 2 sausage links. Fred and Mish got the Camp 18 omlette, which was about 4 eggs, with about 2 cups of meat and cheese stuffed into them, and a side of home fries. Vlad got breakfast, too, but I can't remember for the life of me what it was - I was FAR too grubbing on the waffle. LOL.

Most amusing moment there: When the waitress came up and asked what we wanted to drink, there were 2 requests for coffee, I asked for a hot chocolate, and Mishu (being a smart-ass) asked for a shot of vodka. The gal just looked at her and said "really?". Mish, not really thinking, said "yeah", and away the gal sailed. It was then that reality hit, and Mishu looked at me and asked "Do they actually serve alcohol here?" "Yes," I said. "Well, shit," she said, looking sheepish. "I always knew that was going to come back and bite me in the ass."

So, Mishu started her day with a shot of vodka, and then had breakfast. Fred has a pic of her just before she shot it, with the breakfast menu in front of her. Bwa ha ha ha.

Afterwards, we headed back on the road and over to Seaside, where we split up for a bit. Vlad and Mishu headed over to the Arcade to play games and ride bumper cars. Fred and I went to the aquarium to get splashed by seals and wander through the little exibits they had.

The day continued on lazily, and we headed down to Newport, where we checked in at the hotel (3rd floor, no elevator, but a great view!) and rested for a couple of hours before deciding we should find a place to eat. There was discussion of Thai, but I pointed out that we could (honestly) get Thai anywhere. We were at the beach! Let's get seafood, dammit!

So, after consulting with the front desk, we ended up at the old pier, just across from the Wax museum at Port Dock One. Now, most people who know me know that I'm pretty picky about my seafood. Especially when we're in an area where, honestly speaking, you can walk out about a mile and catch your own... It should be fresh, flavorful, and cooked correctly, or you shouldn't be living in a sea town. Port Dock One was a HUGE surprise for everyone.

First of all, there weren't many people in there. The prices weren't outrageous ($10-$14 per person, average, unless you get a fairly spendy item), and the overall decor was nice, but not ornate. We got an order of calamari and an order of crab cakes. I avoided the calamari (sorry, folks, I'm allergic to 1 seafood, and intend to keep it that way), but I have to say the crab cakes were really quite good. Not a lot of filler, and the only thing I would have changed on it was the sauce - I like to have a choice in whether to have it on my crab cakes or not. In this case, it was a good sauce (garlic and mildly spicy red pepper sauce), but it was poured over each of the crab cakes. I would have liked to try them without the sauce first. Just me... The calamari, I was told by everyone, was quite tasty and sort of melted in your mouth - not chewy at all. Exactly as it should have been. Someone in the kitchen was paying attention during cephelopod-cooking 101!

Ron and I each got the captain's plate, which was a pile of clams, 2-3 scallops, 2 pieces of halibut, 3 prawns, butterflied, and a pile of fries. Mish got surf and turf, and Fred got the Port Dock One's platter, which was a razor clam, scallops, prawns, and salmon, veggies and fries. I have to say - I never had clams, not even in cooking school done by our chefs, that weren't chewy. These were NOT chewy at all - they were firm, the texture was great, and the flavor was wonderful. The sea scallops (the big 1"-ers) flaked and melted into your mouth, perfectly done. The halibut was also amazingly good, not oily or oddly flavored, but clean. And the prawns were fabulous. By the time Fred was working on the razor clam, I was FAR too full - but he said that it was a little on the chewy side, but it was to be expected because of how the clam is shaped. I'll take his word for it - I've cooked everything else but razor clam, so I have no clue.

The total cost was about $25 per person, including drinks, which honestly, was not bad at all for dinner at the coast. I completely recommend this place, and am going to go back as soon as I can to have more of their food. Nummy!!!

We went back to the hotel, waited around about an hour, then packed up all of the fire gear and headed to the beach so Fred could play. It was horribly windy out, and Fred ended up frying most of his eyebrows off, as well as having singes on his beard / mustache. He got a small audience, though, so played the crowd (of course, LOL), until it just got to a point where it was too silly to try and fight the wind. Lesson learned that evening: When dealing with 45-50 MPH winds, don't breathe fire directly WITH the wind. It curls up around your face and draws the fire right back...

Sunday found us at the continental breakfast at the motel kitchen. WAFFLES!!! Don't ask me why, but I've got this thing lately for waffles. I was thrilled. They had two waffle irons, and it was "make your own". Everything was pre-measured out, and they turned out great - at least for me and Fred. Mishu went down after us, and apparently they were having power issues, so had to shut down the irons. It almost - ALMOST - made me want one, but for the lack of storage and counter space in our kitchen.

Ron and Mishu decided to beach-comb while Fred and I headed to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. I adore the aquarium, and I don't get to go every year, like I want... But I was glad that I got to go this time. Their exhibit this year is "CLAWS" - a journey into all things crustaceon-ish under the sea. They even had the humungous Japanese sea crabs that have leg-spans of up to 6 feet! AMAZING. Fred and I were speculating that we could get two, one for me and him to share, and one for Speedboy. Tee hee! I'm sure that some of the other visitors weren't as amused, but if you can't handle knowing where your food comes from, you shouldn't be eating it.

Fred had never been into the underwater walkways where you go from the docks out to the open, shark-infested waters, so that was really cool. It was very crowded, and a few children were overly rowdy, so my claustraphobia started to strike. But I handled it well. We headed out and over to the gift shop area, where we found a poison dart frog and frog stickers for Mishu, a wind-up walking crab for Ron, a "totally shrimp" cookbook for me, and a tube of pirates for Fred. Fred also got a squishy octopus for free - he was going to buy one, but they were all out - so the nice lady at the counter gave him the one on her register.

We headed over to the "Pirate's Plunder" thrift shop afterwards, where Mishu and Ron got Fred and I gifts - Fred got an uber-cool shot-glass, and I got a "What's Your Poison" oven mit with skull-and-crossbones motif all over it. Totally sweet.

Arctic Circle was the last stop on our journey before we headed home. We had burgers and fries, because, while you can get those anywhere, the Arctic Circle in specific has closed in PDX forever, and we just don't have one anymore... And it makes me sad. *sigh*

We got home around 5-ish, and ended up having leftovers for dinner, glad that we were home, and glad that we had the chance to wend our way up and down the coast once more. I had a good time.

~M