A Weekend in Manzanita

Joel and I were really looking forward to our weekend with friends in Manzanita, Oregon. We left around noon on Friday and headed south via the beautiful Highway 101, which travels down the coastline of Washington into Oregon. We made a quick stop in South Bend so Joel could use the bathroom. As I was sitting the car, awaiting Joel's return, I noticed that we had parked right next to the World's Largest Oyster! WHAT! So of course we took a few pictures in front of what turned out to be a giant concrete replica of a giant oyster.

Side Note: Google says the world's largest oyster is 13" long and 6" wide, found by Richard Mesce in Humboldt Bay, California.

Our friends, Mark, Andi, Sean and Jessica had arrived in Manzanita on Thursday, so by the time we arrived Friday evening, the party was already underway. Once Joel and I were settled, we all walked down to El Mariachi Loco to get some dinner. The food was great, our drinks strong, and the service excellent. Andi tells us this is a popular spot for dinner and we could tell why! Give it a try if you are ever in the area.

Birthday shots for the Birthday Boy

We spend the rest of our Friday night hanging out at the beach house, playing games and enjoying each others company.



 

Saturday morning, Joel and I woke up early for a morning run on the beach. Joel was a bit sceptical of how enjoyable this activity might be, but was quickly won over. I love running on the beach because the soft surface is easier on my shins and the scenery keeps me from boredom. When we turned around after reaching 2.5 miles, Joel pointed out that my footprints were in a perfectly straight line. It looked like a person with one leg was hopping down the beach. Joel's foot prints looked like a duck went for a run in tennis shoes. These observations kept us entertained for much longer than they should have.

It was a great morning for a run on the beach.

Fresh from our five mile run, we returned to the beach house to make breakfast for everyone. We each took a meal and cooked for the group; a great way to spilt up the work. Joel and I decided to make our version of the Egg McMuffin which featured egg whites, Morning Star breakfast patties, smoked Gouda cheese and English muffins. We made it a complete breakfast with hash browns, cantaloupe and grapes.

After stuffing ourselves with breakfast, we headed down to the Tilamuck Cheese factory, in the city of Tilamuck, of course! Even though Joel and I have been here before, we had a great time. I don't know what is about watching things move around on conveyor belts, but I could watch it for ever. Joel was especially excited for the bin of scrap cheese. Tilamuck packages up all the little scraps of cheese cut off the larger blocks and sell them at "amazing prices", according to Joel. He bought so much cheese and is so excited for all the grilled cheese sandwiches, cheeseburgers and gourmet sandwiches in his future. We treated our selves to some ice cream and then hit road to our next destination of the day.

This where they put the carefully weighed cheese into the packaging.

Those are almost 50 lb blocks of cheese!

Joel could have watched them forever!

Free cheese? Yes, please!

Joel and his cheese!

Time for some ice cream!

Home to Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach is a popular destination for many visitors to the Oregon Coast. We had a quick couple of drinks in Bill's Tavern and Brew House before walking down to the beach. Joel once told me that Haystack Rock is one of the most photographed rocks or something like that. Made famous from its appearance in The Goonies and Kindergarten Cop, the rock is actually a protected area for birds and natural wildlife.

Joel, Me, Jess, Sean, Andi and Mark

The water was pretty cold!



I'm not really sure what was happening here... silly friends!

We walked up and down the beach, took a few pictures and decided to head back to the house. Back in Manzanita, we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out down at the beach and lounging around the house.

Andi watching Chloe dig herself to China.

It isn't a trip to the beach without one picture of your own feet in the sand!

On Sunday we headed for home, stopping in Astoria to visit a few famous landmarks; The Goonies house and the school from Kindergarten Cop. After getting caught up with our movie history, we headed to Longview for some amazing tacos. Joel and I had been hearing about these tacos all weekend and Joel was eager to try them out. I could tell, Joel was a bit disappointment this meant we wouldn't be driving home via the coastal highway, one of his favorite drives, but he was so eager to try the tacos, he went along with the plan.

Goonies!

Kindergarten Cop!

Joel loves to drive, seriously, he loves it.

Don Pedro's may not look like much, but the food is amazing! Joel and I thought it tasted so good, we bought our dinner here and took it home with us. That's right. We wanted to eat the same thing again, in just a few hours. How is that for a review! If you ever find yourself in the Longview neighborhood, stop by and try the tacos! I thought the El Pastor tacos were the best I've ever had. Joel said to me several times during the three hour drive back to Seattle, "Just our luck, we finally find an amazing taco place, and it is located in Longview!".

 

 

These were sooooo good!

What a great weekend!