Cannon Beach
It's been three months since we visited my parents at Christmas, so it must be time for them to visit Anders.
We drove in to Portland and met my parents for dinner at Screen Door, which is currently one of our favorite restaurants in the city. Corinne decided that we should split a slice of their ban-offee (banana creme) pie. But about a quarter of the way through the piece, she decided that I needed to get my own piece; she didn't want to share.
My parents had never been to the Oregon coast, so after dinner we continued west to spend a few days in Cannon Beach. I had rented a small cottage for us that was within walking distance of both the downtown and the beach. The cottage was small, but it was just the right size to act as our "home base" while we explored.
The biggest attraction in Cannon Beach is, well, the beach. So that was the place to start. Despite it being March, the weather was actually sunny and warm. We walked from the cottage to the beach for a great view of Haystack Rock, the signature feature of Cannon Beach.
Anders loved walking on the beach and playing in the sand. He probably doesn't have much memory of his previous visit to the beach last summer.
He wasn't quite as excited about the surf, particularly after dad misjudged the size of one of the waves and Anders fell backwards into the water. Oops. (Corinne watched the whole thing happen with a camera in her hand, but she managed to neither prevent the accident nor catch it on film! Oh well.) It's a good thing that the cottage was within walking distance for some dry clothes.
After our walk on the beach, we left Cannon Beach and headed south to Tillamook and the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Corinne has fond memories of a 1992 family trip to Tillamook and the fudge and cheese curds that she ate on that visit. During our last trip through the town of Tillamook, the cheese factory was actually closed, so this time it was a primary destination. We took the factory tour, sampled some cheese, and bought cheese, cheese curds and fudge to take home. (The fudge definitely did not live up to Corinne's expectations, but I was not surprised.)
And we ended with some Tillamook ice cream. Anders likes ice cream!
Debbie had recommended a place across the street from the Tillamook factory that makes sausage and jerky, so that was our next stop. Debby D's is one of those old-school, family operated shops. After we finished sampling the wares, we took home some beef sticks, sausage, and salmon jerky to go with our cheese.
We returned to Cannon Beach and walked to dinner at Morris' Fireside Restaurant. (Note: Oddly, their website highlights that they didn't have restrooms until 1976.)
The following morning we went out for breakfast at the Lazy Susan Cafe.
After breakfast we walked back to the beach. This time we walked all the way to Haystack Rock, although I think we carried Anders at least part of the way.
With my dad's two new hips, he had no problem with all of the walking that we did. He brought his cane with him just in case, and Anders thought it was pretty cool.
After a couple days in Cannon Beach, we drove back to Trout Lake for a few days of relaxation at home.
On this trip my parents actually spent a day on either end exploring Portland, including talking to a realtor and looking at real estate. Maybe the long-rumored Daly family move to the west coast might happen after all! Now if only the NJ housing market would pick up a little bit so that they can sell their current place...
- Mike, Corinne, and Anders Rocket
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