Blue Eyes took me to Seaside over the weekend.
It was an amazing and fun time and he was right. It was exactly what I needed.
He lives 45 minutes away from me and regardless of what we’re doing, he usually comes to my house before we go anywhere. Because this trip was his idea and his treat I offered to drive to his house and leave my car, saving him a 45 minute drive. To get us to Seaside, he drove further north into Washington and took me through Longview before we drove south and dropped down into Astoria, Oregon.
I’d never been to the Oregon coast the way he went and it was a beautiful drive, even if it did seem to take an additional hour. I’d also never been to Astoria. He knew that which is why he chose to take me that way.
Astoria is where The Goonies was filmed and while the town has other things going for it (like some bitchin’ breweries) they may be most proud of their affiliation with the movie.
Personally, I was taken with the bridge. It’s over 4 miles in length and separates the Columbia River with the Pacific Ocean — it was stunning, but that may just be me. I love bridges.
We had dinner at The Wet Dog Cafe. Food was awesome but the beer was better. They had a Strawberry Blonde beer that was amazing. Considering I’m a light weight in every sense of the word, I hadn’t drunk beer (or any alcohol) in a few weeks, I’d been on a pretty lean raw food diet for the prior 16 days, and did I mention I was a light weight? The two beers I drank made me, well, let’s say “loopy,” shall we?
After we left Astoria it was a quick 15 minute drive on into Seaside. The sun was shining and it was a perfect temperature. Not a scorcher (that’s a rare occurrence at any Oregon coast town) but lovingly warm. There were people everywhere! We checked into the hotel and walked along the promenade gawking at all the volleyball players competing in the tournament. There were nets set up everywhere. It looked like hundreds of them.
It was a perfect people-watching activity, however, given my loopiness we didn’t last long because I needed a nap!
On Sunday morning we got up early and walked along the prom. It was early enough, volleyball hadn’t started so it was quite a bit more peaceful and it was cold because the fog was in thick and heavy. It was great though. Only downfall? The runners who kept passing us . . . we all know how I feel about other runners these days. . . jealous. Thankfully I love runners so much I was able to exercise extreme control and NOT trip any of them.
We had a nice breakfast together at Pig N Pancake. I’m not a Pig N Pancake fan because it always smells like bacon and I’m not a fan of bacon or the smell of bacon but it was another good people watching place and it was packed full of volleyball players. I ate my fruit, while Blue Eyes ate banana pancakes and we made up stories about people we were watching. It was a good time, for sure.
We went back to the hotel to nap for a bit before we checked out at 11. By the time we checked out the sun had burned off the fog and it was another lovely day at the Oregon coast. We spent more time window shopping and then made our way to Old Tyme Photos. The night before we had passed the place and I had mentioned how I always wanted to go into one of those places but never did because I was sure it was too expensive. I had forgotten the conversation already (I blame it on the beer) but Blue Eyes had not. As we were walking by the place he went in and I followed. Turns out, it wasn’t THAT expensive but I’ll tell you one thing, it was a TON of fun and worth every penny! We had six poses to choose from and while we struggled with two of them we both agreed this was the best.
I. LOVE. THIS. PICTURE! But seriously. . . . who knew a corset could be so painful!
My mother told me this morning when I spoke to her that I had come a long way since my marriage. She said this picture was a prime example of that distance. She said “you look so happy!” I am. This man makes me incredibly happy on so many different levels, I cannot begin to tell you.
After we finished with the picture we had ice cream and then carmel corn for lunch (yep, it was my idea) and then he drove me home. Or rather he drove me to his house where my car was waiting. Before I left his house he gave me a gift. As if the time in Seaside had not already been enough. What he gave me he called “an early birthday present” since it’s August and my birthday is a mere two weeks away.
He handed me the little box and I fretted a bit inside (shut-up, you know I like to fret). This was the first “gift” he had ever given me, aside from taking me places and purchasing food. By the size of the box I knew it was jewelry and what I fretted about was if I was going to like it. Did he know me well enough to buy me jewelry? I don’t wear a lot of jewelry first of all, but had he really been paying attention when I did wear jewelry to know what I would like? Was I going to have to pretend to like something that I really didn’t, in an effort to not hurt his feelings? This is the shit that went through my head as I removed the ribbon and opened the box.
No pretending was necessary. . . I love them!
It would appear he’s been paying attention.
Happy.
Very Happy.
Love the bridge though it looks scary.
It does look kind of scary, even in person, but once you’re on it the view of the river and the ocean is enough to take your mind off of it
Where did he get the earrings? I want some! Glad you can have some happy moments like this during your recovery time.
He bought them from My Inpirational Jewelry. They have a website store (myinspirationaljewelry.com) and they have an ebay store named the same thing. I’m positive, knowing him, he got them from ebay.
those are very cute earrings! I might have to buy myself a pair!
Love the costume photo!
They are cute! You should definitely get a pair!!
Those running earrings are ideal for you. It would be cool if you could run that bridge, except for maybe that steep slope in the middle. And cool posing shot, it should be hung up on your wall or something.
I thought about running the bridge as we were coming across it, however as we approached the steep slope (which is on the Oregon side) I saw a bicyclist trudging along and he looked weary — it made me rethink running it!
Those earrings are beyond adorable. They kind of make me want to get my ears pierced! And that bridge looks like it would be great to run on. Breathtaking.
The bridge is beautiful and I thought about running it as we crossed it, however,I don’t think they want that. There isn’t a lot of room on the sides. There was a biker crossing it as we went over it and he didn’t have much room — which made me worry for HIM. Still it’s a nice thought! Thanks for stopping by!
What a beautiful bridge and experience! I lived in Vancouver, WA for a year and enjoyed Portland! Blue Eyes has great taste, as do you, apparently =)
I love the Pacific Northwest, truly. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed your time in the area! Thanks for stopping by my blog
♥ the earrings!
I am pretty sure we stayed at a hotel right under that bridge when we did The Family Bus Tour From Hell (for my parent’s 50th anniversary; this included all 8 of us siblings and spouses {less mine} and 20 something grandkids, 10 of them being 8 and under; for 2 weeks. Did I mention this was the trip from hell?}
I’ll try to post pictures at some point. Stunning scenery, for sure. While I don’t mind looking at bridges, I sure as heck don’t like going over suspension bridges and others that span large areas of water. Or mountain gorges. They make me look down, which makes me think about what happens if you fall over the side………….
I just checked the itinerary, and yep, it was in Astoria. Fwiw.
That trip sounds horrible, 20 kids, 10 under 8? On a bus. Trip from hell sounds appropriate —
Suspension bridges are a little freaky, I get the fear, but I am incredibly fascinated by bridges. Portland has many bridges all unique and beautiful — I’ve walked them, run them, biked them (all but two that are not accessible on bike or foot except once a year when the entire city can bike across them). I even ran the Portland Marathon solely for the opportunity to run across the St. Johns Bridge which is simply stunning, even though the incline up to the bridge kicked my butt pretty good! I’m on my way to look at your pictures now.