Battery, Beach, and Burgers

Had a rough start on the way to the beach.  Went to start the rig and click, click- battery dead. Hustled over to Walmart to grab a new one, Steve installed it and we were on our way.

Attempted to keep Stubbs in the back seat on his bed and blanket. That lasted for about 20 minutes when  I gave in and let him snuggle on my lap.

Made good time until we hit Astoria when we met up with all the other people on the road who were also headed to the beach. Stopped at Seaside Safeway for groceries and it seemed that was also a detour for everyone - the place was packed! Was about 3pm when we pulled into the Husted Hilton.  Weather warmed up but still cloudy. 

That evening made homemade clam dip, broiled rib eye and baked potato dinner.  Been a long time since I'd eaten steak and it turned out perfect. Alas, even though I've been avoiding chewing on my right side, a cracker took out my recent temporary crown. Decided to wing it for the weekend as my permanent crown is scheduled to be placed Tuesday morning. New battery, temp crown dislodged - I was becoming a little worried about the signs for the weekend.

Woke up Saturday morning by Stubbins about 5am for a potty break. Nose was running so popped Claritin then hit the recliner with both pup and Kleenex in hand. Low tide was 6:52 am so figured I'd wait for it to be lighter than we would hit the beach. Apparently the recliner had other ideas as I nodded off and woke about 7:30 am.  After coffee Stubbs and I headed out for a sandy walk.  He just loves the coast although now that he's getting older he needs to be carried on stairs.

Cleaned up and hit the Warrenton Goodwill along with a thrift store in Seaside.  Returned home and sat on the deck enjoying the sunshine.

Later, after watching part of The Post movie, decided it was time to think about dinner. Decided on burgers so returned to Cannon Beach to pick up more groceries. Closest store was Fresh Food or something similar to that although it should have been called Organic High Prices. I mean $3.99 for one avocado?  Wine selection taking up two-thirds of the store?  A plastic container of pasta salad in the size of a condiment container for $5.99?  Yeesh!

I grabbed shredded lettuce, tomato, sesame buns,, mushrooms, then on to the meat aisle for burger.  Steaks, filet mignon, ribs - where's the burger? Small package of bison burger for $18.99 would not suffice. Desperation caused for creativity so bought a package of ground turkey and a package of Italian sausage to mix together for burgers.  And you know what?  Those improvised burgers were scrumptious!  Didn't miss the ground beef one bit.

After dinner settled in on the deck to watch the neighborhood fireworks.  Couple of close neighbors put on an incredible display; further south was a massive show we also enjoyed.  These were not your typical run-of-the-mill, high school fundraiser fireworks.  These were humongous, top-of-the-line pyrotechnics!

This Sunday morning awoke early so Stubbs and I hit the beach at low tide.  Scored a few sand dollars, polished pieces of shell, and ran across a starfish clinging to a large rock which is normally buried in salt water.  Blue sky and the surf - nothing gets better than that!!