A Special Celebration at the Oregon Coast

Our weekend to Lincoln City and the Oregon Coast was fantastic!  We left Friday morning and cruised down I-5 through McMinnville to get our motel, the Starfish Manor Oceanfront Hotel.  I made the reservation so Michael and I could celebrate his 10-year anniversary on Friday of his kidney transplant.  The hotel I found on-line; it was rated one of the most romantic spots on the Oregon Coast and we could see why.  The rooms were small but filled with a microwave, fridge, dishes, sunken tub, fireplace, two-headed shower, robes, dimmer lighting and rose petals strewn across the bed.  It was located right on the ocean, plus no kids or pets.  It was heaven.

As we were checking out the room, I found an unusual item - a room journal.  Several couples had written down their experiences at the beach, including in the room.  Most were PG but there were a few that were XXX-rated.  Entertaining and of course I had to jot down our experiences.  As much as I wanted to write a long story in the vein of "Fifty Shades of Grey" I held back and simply included a G-rated paragraph.

We spent Friday in the heart of Lincoln City, outlet shopping, eating seafood, strolling on the beach, and in general relaxing.  Saturday morning we made our way back to the beach for a quick visit then hit the road for Hwy 101 toward Tillamook.  Both Friday and Saturday were absolutely gorgeous tee-shirt weather at the beach, for which we were extremely grateful.

We stopped for cheese samples and lunch at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  We then continued on through Garibaldi,  Manzanita, Rockaway Beach then Cannon Beach to visit my brother's shop Dueber's for the first time.  Unfortunately, he wasn't working but we were able to see his bustling business and also receive the family discount for our purchases!  Thanks Jay!!

After the shop, we were hankering for some crab cakes.  We asked around and were told "next to the Dragonfly Gallery is where Angry Sue makes the best crab cakes!"  Well, that sounded like quite the testament so we made our way to the Dragonfly.  Our mouths started watering when we spotted a coffee and eatery sign; alas, upon investigation we discovered that Angry Sue had not made crab cakes in that area for over a year.

However, that bit of information did not deter us from our search.  We made our way back to the car then drove to Ecola Seafood Market and Restaurant.  It was very busy and very warm with lots of people; to be honest I was getting cranky!  We ordered four fresh crab cakes to go then made our way to the back of the market and waited.  Served piping hot in a brown box with homemade tarter and cocktail sauce, we hastily made our exit to the car then back on to Hwy 101 for home.  As Michael drove, I scooped up bites of sweet, soft, and creamy crab cake -one bite for him then one bite for me.  It was yummy and worth the wait.

We returned home Saturday night around 6:30 pm - tired with sandy shoes and traces of taffy, pumpkin nut fudge, and crab cake on our lips.  It was another memorable trip and a fantastic celebration!