Rain and Wind and Storm Oh My!

Last night Steve treated me to a tasty birthday meal at Driftwood. Of course he told them it was my birthday so at the conclusion of our meal the waitress brought out a sundae with single candle burning bright. Then everyone at the restaurant - from a group of couples near us to a long table filled with older women- joined in to sing me Happy Birthday. It was a special moment.

Not sure the reason why but ended up fighting the insomnia bug last night. Was up until 2am, laying in bed on my phone and posting my usual TGIF Facebook meme. Lo and behold three of my friends Like the post so had to ask why they were up so late? Obviously the same bug, perhaps menopause, had infected us all.

Of course woke up about 6am. Let Stubbs out, brewed the coffee, then relaxed while waiting for the sun to break. Last night and all day today became, in the words of Winnie the Pooh, a very blustery day.

Tide was low about 10:30am. Was going to skip my beach walk but Steve told me about a friend of his who found a glass float. Of course I took that as a challenge so bundled up to head to the surf, leaving Stubbs back as the weather seemed too trepidatious for the pup.

Boy oh boy was it stormy! Rain coming in sheets, wind pushing against me as I treked south in search of beach treasure.  Thankfully had wrapped my long Pendleton scarf, Christmas gift from Steve, around me. Ended up having to wrap the scarf over my head to keep my hoodie in place.  The ends of the scarf fell underneath my jacket, flipping in the wind. So if you picture in your mind a babushka wearing Russian lady mixed with a Hassidic Jew, that was me on the beach this morning.

Blessedly, the wind was on my back during the return walk. Found several shells and some rope but most importantly found myself soaking wet clear to my toes. Hopped in the shower to warm up, then headed to Seaside.

First stop - Rideaid to pick up Wet-N-Wild taupe brow pencils.  Only color that matches my brows and Rite Aid appears to be the single source for this 99 cent item.

On to the Outlet Mall. Couldn't find just the right birthday gift for Sam's girlfriend Kaitlyn but did make a 75% haul at Bath & Body Works.

Last stop was downtown Seaside to meander through the shops. Correction - meander through trying to find a shop that was open! Apparently during winter season many of the shops are only open Saturday and Sunday. Thankfully the Carousel Mall was open because I was in need of a new Seaside shirt.

You know when you have a t-shirt that becomes a fav? Comfy feel, perfect length, roomy v-neck instead of a crew style strangling your neck as it attempts to crawl up over your chin? Yeah, that's my old Seaside shirt from many moons ago which is now faded with a rip tear.

Found a similar style replacement shirt along with a black Bigfoot tee. Hey - it made me smile. Sale special at the store was to be rewarded with a free tee. Headed back to the shirts when the cashier pointed to a miniature rack filled with ugly colors and informed me that sad selection was the "free shirt" section. After considerable digging found another Sasquatch shirt in light yellow, which will be used as a pajama shirt.

Booked it home, cleaned up then met brother Jay for dinner at Castaways in Cannon Beach. Hands down the best restaurant in town. Had a mai tai along with appetizer of seared scallops on a polenta square topped with bacon, maple sauce and popcorn. It was delicious! Then seafood linguine for dinner - creamy, lobster sauce and I had to hold myself back from licking the plate. Topped off the evening with shared bananas flambe with ice cream. Unbelieveable meal!! Pictures below are of the scallops, linguine, and Steve's filet mignon meal.

Now here I sit in my sweats relaxing with a full tummy and sore feet due to my sand and rock hike. Today was a fabulous day!