Birthday Fun

I suppose my birthday celebration began two days before the actual event, because on Thursday Bill did something he doesn’t like to do…spend time in a city. I wanted to visit Powell’s City of Books, “the largest independently owned book store in the world”, which is located in downtown Portland, Oregon. We found it without much trouble and located a great parking spot for the motorhome. After walking around the city for awhile and getting lunch from a food truck, we went to the book store.

Wow! Powell’s occupies an entire city block and stocks more than a million new and used books! I bought some used quilting books and purchased a few gifts before leaving. It was great fun!

The celebration continued when we decided to go out to eat on my “birthday-eve”. After securing a campsite, we drove into the small fishing town of Newport, Oregon and found a bar/restaurant with views of the Yaquina Bay. We drank a couple of beers there as we looked upon (and heard) the barking sea lions hanging out on the rocks near the piers. It was interesting talking to a young fisherman who told us the sea lions were all males (the females prefer the warmer waters of California). He shook his head in dismay and explained the sea lions stay in this area because they can eat the fish right off the hooks as the fishing boats come in. “We wouldn’t have this abundance of sea lions if they (county government) would only let the orcas come closer into the bay,” he lamented. Orcas? Wow, again!

Not finding the menu very enticing, we walked down the street to a small, but popular, restaurant called Local Ocean Seafood. Double-wow! I couldn’t decide whether to get the pan-fried Yaquina Bay oysters or the Fishwive's Stew, so we decided to get both and share. It was one of the best meals I can remember. The stew had Dungeness crab, scallops, shrimp, mussels, clams, and fish in a rich, tomato garlicky broth. The oysters were large, tasty, and plentiful. The glass of crisp Chardonnay paired well with the feast, and we went home full and very happy.

But it gets better…my birthday was yesterday, and it began with an hour-long walk on the beach along the Pacific Ocean. This beach was large and sandy and the sun was shining…a perfect start to the day. Next stop, lunch. Again we scored a great restaurant. It is a family-owned and run place called Newport Café. I again had pan-fried local oysters, this time on a sandwich. Delicious!

Lucky for me, Newport has a Starbucks where I had my favorite Pumpkin Spice Latte, and a quilt shop, where of course, I had to buy MORE fabric. But wait, it gets better…

We noticed signs indicating you could buy fish right off the fishing boats. I absolutely love salmon, so we inquired about buying some from the fisherman on the “Ocean Lady”.

You have to buy the whole fish ($9.50 a pound), but he would gut, fillet, and cut it into dinner-sized portions for free. They were Chinook (sometimes known as King) salmon and were caught the day before. I asked for the smallest one he had, which was a little over ten pounds. Sold!

We took it right back to the RV, where we double-wrapped each piece, put the pieces in baggies, and stored them in our freezer. We can’t cook it on our travels (too smelly and Bill won't let me "tarnish" our grill), so I’ll have to wait until we get home before I taste it…can’t wait!

The day continued with a beautiful drive down Highway 101, which follows the Pacific Coast. We ended up with a campsite in Florence, Oregon, again on the water. The stores in the historic part of town were in walking distance from the campground, so I had the opportunity to walk around and shop without a restless husband hovering around. We ended my birthday extravaganza with another great seafood dinner.

It was certainly a birthday to remember...I didn't even mind getting another year older!