Willapa Bay

A while back I was chatting with Uncle Don and had mentioned how great it would be to meet up halfway sometime - like in Long Beach.  And he said something like "wow, we were thinking the same thing!"  So we started planning, got our own Air B&Bs, and settled on a weekend!

On the first day we hung out, played games, and got a bunch of fried food at a local restaurant.  On the second day, I had made reservations in Astoria at Fort George Brewing where we spent a couple hours, had lunch, drank beer, and bought beer.  Afterwards, we headed uphill to the Astoria Column for the amazing view.  Then we popped down to Pilot House Distilling which we hadn't actually been to before.  I didn't have anything because I was driving, but I bought plenty!

After that, we headed back to Ocean Park where our rental was.  I dropped everyone off and then headed up to Oysterville to pick up an order of oysters and clam chowder that I had reserved.  It was perfect.  The oysters had literally been harvested that morning!  Back to the rental where I grilled up the oysters and heated up the clam chowder.  The oysters were awesome served with a BBQ sauce I had made at home and brought with.  That night we had a campfire and made s'mores while full-moon watching.  We also played croquet on the lawn!  It was a great evening and a great place to stay.

The next morning, we took off and headed south on 101 to a place I wanted to have Dohnele try out for paddleboarding: Nehalem Bay.  We'd actually never been there before and it was nice.  I hate entrance fees, but as a result of having one, the place was well-kept.  After paddleboarding and on our way home, we stopped at an outdoor market in Garibaldi.  I took a nap and Dohnele and the kids shopped.