Come on in, the water's fine!

Well, okay, so I lied.

I adore the Oregon coast, but the water is usually too frigid to dip one's toes.

And the sneaker waves can kill.

Not to mention the logs that sometimes roll in the surf.

And kill.

And it's usually windy and/or foggy and cold.

But sometimes, ah, sometimes, the sun rules the sky and then it is bliss.

Truth be told, the best thing to do on Oregon beaches is not go in the water.

Which leaves walking, running, building sandcastles, collecting rocks and shells and driftwood, clamming, and photography.

Something for everyone.

On Friday, friend Karen and I went to spend the weekend at her beach house. Our husbands were running in the Hood to Coast relay, a huge annual event of which we steer clear. We visited the local art co-op and spent the rest of the night ensconced with our laptops, watching movies on Netflix.

I am newly addicted to Doc Martin, a BritCom set in Cornwall. I watched about dozen of them on Friday and Sunday and finished the series since I've been home.

Note to Karen: I've repented and have hereby quit pirating your Netflix account.

But not, I am ashamed to say, before I finished!

I've been thinking in a broad Cornish brogue since Friday.

On Saturday we started driving up the coast to pick up our spouses in Seaside.

We stopped in Bay City, just north of Tillamook, of Tillamook cheese fame, in my eternal search for the best clam chowder.

It was here....

...that I found Nirvana.

I was going to buy some of that fresh tuna, but it had all been pre-ordered.

Curse those pre-ordering people!

Karen enjoyed her boring salad. The lettuce was crisp with a nice poppyseed dressing and fresh shrimp.

We licked the platters clean.

But the chowder ruled the day, as we all agreed on the way back home when we treated our hubbies to dinner at the same restaurant.

Three hours later.

We waited for the van just south of Seaside and waved to all the vans that were heading home full of sweaty, tired runners. This is typical of the warped sense of humour of the teams.

There was a pirate van, flying the skull and crossbones from the back and "Free candy for boobies" written on the window, but I missed the shot.

Sorry, Pirate!

Finally, our boys showed up.

We drove back to the beach house.

The scenery en route was so-so.

This is the view from the house.

Meh.

I'm so lucky to have generous friends that even act as if they like me.

In other news:
I bought a new camera. I think I love it. Nikon Coolpix S9100 with an 18X zoom and HD movie recording.
We leave for England in less than three weeks. Help! So much to do.
I think we had summer last week. Hope no one missed it!
My tomatoes are starting to ripen.
Jon and Jenny are buying a house. So excited for them.
Annie survived Hurricane Irene.

I'm sure there is more to tell, but I'm tired and must go to bed.
'Nighty night.