Oregon Coast

Starting off, I owe the Vernonia bike trail an apology. The leg close to town is no big deal, but it stretches all the way to Stub Stewart State Park (old RR bed) and beyond. Easy grades, trees, ferns, green, green. Might be worth staying in this park and hopping on the bikes.
And speaking of Stub Stewart S.P., Janice had a nice campfire turnout and peddled a few books. By the next morning, it was drizzle, but this gave way as we drove to Ft. Stevens SP on the NW corner of Oregon. (This is a former miltary post dating back to the Civil War!} After another campfire presentation, we did a day trip to Astoria which was radiant in 80+ degree weather. Janice sold books for the Maritime Museum, while I cruised unsuccessfully looking for a driving range or a golf course. The only driving range was a 5- acre cow pasture and about 25 cows huddled in the driving stalls. No bull. I paused briefly to stop next to some apartments where I pirated a wi-fi signal, since our campsite was buried under a canopy of trees—no satellite view. We followed this with a bike ride along the Astoria waterfront (good ride—where were all of the other bikes??) interrupted by a beer stop at the Rogue brewery on the waterfont. $5.00 a beer!
We finished the day at the Baked Alaska, our ‘former‘ favorite restaurant in Astoria. Located on the Columbia riverfront, we had railing seats on the water, and a glass of Pinot Gris (Janice) and good ‘ol Chardonnay for me. The table was set, so to speak. Unlike three years ago, when we were attended by a charming waiter dividing his time between us and the TV, where Oregon State University was winning the college BB world series, our waitress this time merely flopped our food in front of us. Just doin' a job. And dessert—where the only choice of cheesecake was peanut butter-chocolate, well, we headed into the night searching unsuccessfully for an ice cream cone, but Astoria had rolled up the sidewalks.
We sped back to the beach in time to see the sun dropping out of sight, next to the corpse of the SS Iredale.

A new day, heading downcoast, we landed at Cannon Beach RV park, where again, trees blocked our internet access. However, we have tapped their wi-fi signal, which is somewhat diluted by the 100 other rigs. After setting up camp, we headed back up coast to explore Seaside.
We hopped on our bikes and cruised the promenade along the shore. Beautiful day. After securing a souvenir magnet, Janice went to work, visiting the town’s two bookstores. She was advised at the second one (Beach Books) that her book was selling very well, and they gratefully accepted her offer to sign the remaining 2 copies in the store.

The best $3.00 we spent this trip was for admission to Ecola State Park. Stunning beach views and we are planning a return for a coast-cliffs hike. Final stop of the day was Cannon Beach downtown. It had a Carmel feel to it, and we were stunned by the prices at the local grocery store and at the fish market. The local folk must have some kind of code they use at the cash register to get a ‘local’ discount, while the merchants stick it to the tourists. Crab for $7.99/lb and salmon for $17.99/lb? Where are the fishermen on the Oregon coast? How about some cheap, fresh fish? Looking forward to our next stop at Safeway.
















Early morning flash: We bailed out of the Cannon Beach Park due to the poor quality of the wi-fi signal and have moved to the Circle Creek RV Park. Janice scooted to the Safeway in nearby Seaside to escape the extortionate grocers in Cannon Beach..