On the Beach - 8/9/15

Or: It's Much Too Groovy a Summer's Day...

It's a Doo-Dah Day, nothing going on. It's a Doo-Dah Day and I'm happy.

Sung to Turn Down Day...by The Cyrkle

It's much too groovy a summer's day
To waste running 'round in the city
But here on the sand I can dream away
Or look at the girls in their pretty

It's a turn down day, nothin' on my mind
It's a turn down day and I dig it

There's nothin' easier I can do
Than lyin' around doing nothing...

Fun Facts: The Cyrkle was a short-lived Rock 'N Roll band from the mid-60s. They charted two Top 40 hits, Red Rubber Ball and Turn Down Day.

See it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khOXYrK90Gk

Hahaha, that was the tune in my head and, thankfully, now it is gone. For us, it was a Doo-Dah Day and there wasn't much on our minds. I checked the Daily Agenda of Important Things To Do and, gosh, there wasn't anything on it scheduled for today.

I did have an itch to see what had happened at the sandcastle building contest on Taft Beach yesterday. We had intended to drive over there and walk around but, honest, the traffic at the bottleneck was really, really, really, really, really bad. The bottleneck is where The 101 narrows down to a two-lane highway right after the Outlet Mall. It runs down for two miles and is a constant source of slow-downs and irritation. Heavy on the irritation part. We weren't even within sight of the bottleneck and the traffic was backed up. I'm just not that partial to rush hour traffic anymore. 

Rather than subject myself to that ordeal going AND coming, I bailed. We went to the Mall and I got Carol a new strap for her binoculars. Hahaha, nice save, Jackie!!

Today we decided it might be safe enough to make the trip down to Taft just to see what the sandcastles looked like. My thought being that there would be a common consensual effort to save the sandcastles for a couple days for folks to enjoy.  That was the idea then, to motor down to Taft and walk around the beach and see what all the floof-fer-rah was about.

And, the traffic was acceptable and, this time, we made it to the beach. It was an overcast day with some low-lying clouds hanging over the mountains. Regardless of the day, it's still a nice beach to visit. They know which side of the Tourist Sandwich their bread is buttered on and they make that extra effort to keep things nice so everyone can have a good experience.

Hahaha, the same scene with a selfie from Carol. For once my ass doesn't look like the size of Texas in a picture.

CB

Except for the traffic cones, this is a pleasant boulevard. Just made for taking walks to the beach.

With a nod to nature, they've put up this sculpture honoring the salmon swimming upriver. I wonder what they have to do to keep this from rusting away in the harsh weather along the coast? Doesn't seem like it would be the best medium for a permanent piece of artwork here.

But, what do I know? Hahaha, not much!!

And the beach was busy!! Boy, Howdy!! 

It were, by our selfish standards, over-crowded!! 

And there were obvious reminders of the festivities from the night before. We saw several logs smoking and even, in one place, where the ground was smoking....a fire pit that had been covered up but not extinguished.

It still disconcerts me to see how lax Oregon is about fires and vehicles on the beach. I keep expecting the uber-liberal Oregonians to NOT allow fires nor vehicles here because of the potential for damage to the beach but, no. They obviously don't.

Hahaha, I remember, in Germany, the Boy Scouts couldn't build a campfire because the heat might damage the roots of the trees. That's the kind of attitude I expected here. 

Hey, the only thing missing now is the Big Screen TV for the game opening the 2015 Football Season tonight. Hahaha, there it was, a couch, right there in front of the smoldering log, on the beach. (See how cleverly I worked in the Title to this particular blog? Tres ingenieux, est-ce pas? Plus, this is the title to the 1959 movie about nuclear armageddon. I am smokin'!!)

Remember, the intent had been to come down and see the sandcastles that had been built the day before for the big contest? Yeah, right.

What you see here is the remnants of the Big Contest. I had, mistakenly, thought that the sandcastles would be preserved, at least for a couple days, for everyone to come out and oooh and aaah over them. I was wrong. I'm thinking they didn't last for too long a time after the contest was over.

So, we went to Plan B. Love that Plan B. Essentially it is: 

Do something else.

Simple, eh? Yeah, you betcha!

And, 99.9% of the time, it works to perfection!!

So, having seen the devastation, the horror that had once been sandcastles on the beach, we simply turned to the right and started walking. Me hunting for pictures and Carol hunting for treasures.

And, the beach, she were crowded!!

Regardless of what was going on over on the human side of the bay, it is always siesta time over on the seal side of the bay.

I think these guys are onto something. 

The fisherman, the crabbers, the waders and the gulls were all getting along famously on the human side.

And, speaking of gulls, here's a prime example of teenage gulls gone bad. This rascal saw a crab trap with some bait still left on it and nobody around. Giving into his basest impulses, he went for the gold.

And he scored!! It's hard to see the trap there, but the bait is attached to it and so, when he pulled on his tasty morsel, he took the trap along with him.

Ahhhh, good gulls gone bad.

It was a laid-back day. Plenty of time to enjoy the day.

And on the other side, the kids are playing in the surf, too.

And the clouds, aka the fog, were moving in slowly but surely. This is looking back towards Siletz Bay. You can make out, if you look closely, the prone, inanimate lumps that are the Harbor Seals along the shore there.

We humans need to work on our beach lounging to achieve the nirvana the seals have.

This lady seems to be making a good start!!

This is a long shot of the seal side of the bay. These guys are on a peninsula that can be reached by driving a good distance around the bay and coming up through a residential area. Fortunately, it is difficult to get to and so the human foot traffic is negligible. Equally fortunate is that most people that do go out there stay a good distance away from the seals so as not to disturb them and drive them away. 

And that doggone fog just kept on creeping in.

Then we saw this guy. He was the purest expression of joy on the beach today. He was just plain having a great time with his buddy.

He'd cast into the surf and dog would hop up and down and race out a couple feet into the surf after it and then come back to his buddy.

Over and over again. And dog never lost interest in what was going on. He was dancing and prancing and schlepping up and down the beach just having a great time.

I have about 20 pictures of these two. My only regret? I had not brought any of our cards. I would have liked to have given him one and offered to e-mail him the pictures if he wanted them. He'd just have to e-mail me so I would have his address. 

That was the first instance today where I regretted not bringing my cards. Ratz!!

And, for reasons only known to her, this young lady had found a good piece of driftwood and was using it to dig into the sand. 

Go for it!!

And these guys were throwing a rubber covered missile back and forth. Hahaha, guys. They are simple creatures.

Squirrel!!

The surf was up today but very few people were going in the water.

Except for this one. She would spot something and wait until the surf went out and then make a quick dash for her treasure and the spring back to safety. Every time!!

And the clouds were rolling in.

Ah, a seal's life. Doesn't really matter if it's foggy or not if all you do is nap on the beach.

Here's a guy throwing his crab trap out into the water. The bait sits in the center of a net and when they feel a nibble or every-so-often, they pull it in. When they pull on it, the trap sides rise up and capture whatever is in it on the net and they pull it in.

It works. They had two buckets full of some sizable and crabby crabs.

I gotta respect these folks. They paid for their vacation and, dammit, rain, sun or fog, they're gonna get out on the beach and enjoy it!!

And, maybe, take a little cruise around the bay while they're there, too.

We'd made the circuit and were heading towards the business part of Taft. Hey!! Look!! Some fellow kayakers!! Hahaha, they're easy to spot.

The folks at Taft are as eclectic as their Lincoln City counterparts in their yard decorations. Still, I appreciate the effort put into making their front yards something more than just a lawn and a fence. 

Hmmmmm, is this a Blue Moon Guy?

No surprise here. I came, I saw, I shot.

'Nuff said.

And this. Pretty going out and coming in.

Whup!! There it is!!

Another entry into my on-going Lighthouse Decoration Project. This one is inside the front window of a house along the beach. That one pelican looks pissed.

Then we saw this beauty. Hahahaha, love the design. It may not be aerodynamic but, damn, it is pleasing to the eye. And it is not a beige colored set of slats. Coolio, y'all.

Then we bumped into Tiki's at 51st. Someone had fun putting this together.

And she's still having fun. I was on the sidewalk and asked for a picture of her and her buddy.

Fer sure, Dude. She even got him to pose for me.

She's still having fun.

Each neighborhood in LCO has an archway type sign announcing the district, or neighborhood. Here's Taft's entry. Remember, back in the early 60s, five (or six, depending on who you get your information from) different small communities banded together as one to reduce city expenses. Each neighborhood tried to keep a bit of their individual identity. I don't expect this is as important now, 50+ years later, than it was back then.

I included this because it is so well done. Plus, this house should be in Florida not here on the Left Coast in Oregon. Cool, eh?

Whup!! Reflected Window Selfie!!

We've gotten out of the habit. It tells in this shot. Hey, we'll work on it.

Feeling the hunger generated by having way too much fun and having not eaten all morning, we found a place to grease. 

We stopped at Highway 101 Burgers. 

Can you see their gimmick? Their hook to make the place fun? You will.

You can tell this is an independent. Note the two signs on the counter. 

Now, these folks make burgers. Oh, and a grilled cheese if you must. But they are there to make burgers. 

They have the original, which is what I got. A burger with no cheese.

Then there is the 101, a cheeseburger...

The 202, a cheeseburger with two patties...

The 303, a cheeseburger with three patties...

And, the 404, a cheeseburger with four patties....

See what I mean!?!

Laid back, clean, efficient and utilitarian. No need for fluff or frills here, it's a burger joint.

Here's their hook. They give you a marker and you can tag the window...if you can find the space. Can't tag the walls or the tables but the signs, the windows and the tires are all open game.

Very original for the Highway 101 Burgers.

I photo-bombed Carol's selfie. Nice expression, Jack!! There's Bob on the left. You'll meet him later.

CB

And they had a Simpson's pin-ball machine. Hahaha, modern times. A cartoon runs for 20+ years and shows up everywhere.

Lots of road signs here...and all of them looked much like this one.

But you got some original and innovative artwork, like this entry from Nancy, Vancouver, B.C.

And then we met Bob and Sharon. They're from Hurricane, Utah,  and have been vacationing up here for years. We met them because Sharon unfortunately launched her soda all over the table. Naturally Carol jumped up to help and got a cloth to help wipe it up. And, just as naturally, I began ribbing them for the spill. And I was merciless.

But they were good sports and we were soon laughing together and talking. So, rather than keep on turning around to talk, I invited them over to our table and they came and we had a lively conversation over lunch.

Speaking of lunch, here's my Original Highway 101 Burgers Burger. What a cool idea, putting the name in the Thousand Island!! And, another plus, this Oregon Eatery served Coca-Cola and not that crappy Pepsi. Hahaha, Win-Win, y'all!!

Carol got the 101 which is just an Original Burger with cheese. I enjoyed my burger but I enjoyed the ambiance even more. The folks there were friendly and it was fun.

OK, remember the burgers? They went from the 101 up to the 404. 

Bob got himself a 404!! That's a burger with four hamburger patties!!

That's ri-donk-cu-lous!!

This guy, Bob, has to be at least as old as me and he was tackling this Bad Boy as if it were a couple of vanilla wafers.

Oh, and Sharon wasn't a slouch, either. She had the 202.

They took'em both down. Without even a backwards glance or a burp.

Gone!!

I was impressed and still feeling full from my funky little Original single-patty burger.

Hahaha, remember I talked about having fun? I badgered Chris, the owner, until she gave me a marker and I went for the one window in the whole joint that didn't have anything on it.

And I tagged it!!

Just for the fun of it.

Shortly after, we left Bob and Sharon and headed back out to finish our walk.

And I didn't have a card to leave with Bob. Ratz. I won't make this mistake again.

When we walked back out to The 101, the street, not the restaurant, we were greeted by this....all heading in the direction we would soon be driving.

And it didn't move for a minute or two. I mean, the cars, trucks, vans and campers sat there idling. Oh, joy.

In no particular rush to get back into that mess, we wandered around and stopped by the Jennifer Sears Glass Art Studio. You can make an appointment and have someone teach you how to make your own glass float or sculpture. The lady on the left was making a glass ball with the young man in the green shirt. Her anxious hubby, the guy on the right, was recording the whole thing with his camera.

Some of the art you can buy there. The woman in the gray beach hoodie was waiting for her turn to create some beautiful art.

And when we walked out, we ran into this Bag Lady. Or is she a Float Lady? She was wheeling some more art work to the 

store across the street. Not a sight you see everyday, right?

Just wandering around, sorta heading back to the Mini when we met this woman who was stripping the side of her garage. We got started talking about the dog. She's working with her to keep her from announcing the arrival of anybody or anything by barking loudly. Worked with us.

They're stripping the weather damaged wood away from the side and then they're going to put up some new siding. I offered her some help. I said I would leave Carol and come back and pick her up around five or so but she declined the help. Hubby was over at Ace's getting some more wood.

And in the next yard, this. 

And this.

And these.

And these.

I like seeing these.

And I thought this was good. It's hard to see now, but there is an emphatic NO!! on the side of the pooping dog. First time I've ever seen this metal sign.

And around the corner we saw this. It's an upside-down dory used as a shelter for the grill. What a cool idea. You can see they've put a lot of effort into this backyard.

I like the patterns and color here. Paving stones in the roundabout at the end of the street. 

Hmmmmm, a project maybe? Patterns? What do you think?

And, finally, this house. We both liked this place. The lines, the color and the siding are great. Well done. It's better in person. 

Oh, and the garage door? It slides to the right on a rail. Great idea.

Hahaha, there you go. Another adventure.

Y'know, we live in a wonderful time and place where you have the chance to just tool around and do the things that you want to; not what you have to do to survive. We are fortunate and blessed.

Hahaha, to end this screed, we'll go back to that groovy tune, Turn Down Day...

Don't you know

It's a turn down day, nothin' on my mind

It's a turn down day and I dig it

Things that are waitin' to mess with my mind

Will just have to wait 'til tomorrow

Boo-yah!!

And it was fun. It was a Doo-Dah Day full of nothing but it was completely filled. And I dig it!

Hahahaha, life is good. 

Groovy, Baby.

     Hooah!!