Life has slowed down a bit this past week. Age and weather are catching up to us I guess. So while life continues on, it is moving, at least for the past week, at a slower pace. Oh, to be sure, not having the Link nearby and Seattle just a ride away is also a factor in this slowing-down. One of the big changes I've come to deal with here in LCO is that if you intend to go anywhere other than for a walk-on the beach, you're gonna have to drive.
It's been a big change for us.
And another change is that we've become devotees to the weekly free newspaper, Oregon Coast Today, for our ideas. Used to be, in Seattle, I would, most times, go to Goggle Maps and look around for a park, a museum, a place we hadn't been to before and I could always find something. And usually, that something was at the end of the Link so it was really easy.
Now, in these new times, we go to the Oregon Coast Today to get ideas of where to go and what to do. And there is always something to do listed inside. They have, in addition to some interesting articles, a comprehensive calendar for our area. And we get plenty of options; like going to the Fish Taco Cook-Off just a while ago.
And it is free, too. Woo, woo!!
And it is free, too. Woo, woo!!
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It's a great source of fun...like this. Last Sunday was Mother's Day and so I took Carol to the Panther Creek Community Club for a celebratory breakfast.
Panther Creek is a residential area in the city of Otis. You remember Otis, don't you? It's the city that has been sold twice. Plus, they have the Otis Cafe which we visited not too long ago for a very good breakfast. Hmmmmmm, does it seem to you that many of my adventures concern food?
That could account for the size of Bruno. For the unintiated, Bruno is the name my children gave to my belly. Bruno would often dictate what the family did for fun. Hahaha, Bruno must be served. I've taken very good care of Bruno over time and he's taken very good care of me in return. Plenty of great memories with Ol' Bruno.
Whew, that was a big detour, wasn't it. Back to topic.
So I had read, in the Oregon Coast Today that the Panther Creek Community Club was hosting a breakfast in honor of Mother's Day and, being semi-lazy and always hungry, I figured I could, figuratively, knock off two birds with one proverbial stone.
And we were off to ...
The Panther Creek Community Club (PC3)
The Panther Creek Community Club is just a mile or two off of The 101 and maybe 3-4 miles beyond the Otis Cafe. Not difficult to get to at all.
And it was cool. A neat and well maintained building, it looked exactly like what it is ... a place for the community to get together and have some fun.
Hahahaha, you could even see the props they use for their celebrations and dances. Here's the Christmas decorations and in the first picture, above, you can see, just to the right of the doors, the large cross that they probably use for Easter.
And there's the Community Club's juke box, too. Hahaha, pumpin' out the tunes for the dances, I bet.
But we were there for food and, after a couple snafu's, we finally got our breakfast. A waffle with all the trimmin's for this one.
And the more traditional omelet, hash browns and bangers for me. Sorry about the picture, I get so eager to eat that I forget to get a good picture before I make it all disappear.
And, for me, a more traditional take on the ol' waffle. Butter, and plenty of that, plus some good ol' maple syrup is fine for me.
Mmmmmmmm........
And, after breakfast, we perused the gift shop. Hahaha, this Community Club has it all. There were plenty of gently-used items on sale for us.
Plus, there were some quilts. Oh, they were even raffling off a quilt at the breakfast. I'm gonna take it we didn't win because they haven't called us yet.
Pretty nice work, eh?
And, for a change, I was the one to come away with something from the gift shop (hahaha, I know, poor little me). I saw a box of old postcards being sold for 5 cents a card. I thumbed through them and enjoyed the few I looked at so I offered them $15 for the whole lot and they took my offer.
The top one, with the stamps showing is from Lisbon, 1982. Then there's Santa Monica, where the warm sun and cool ocean breezes meet, from 1959.
Next down is The Villa Motel and Cottages. A fully modern, 20 unit, carpeted motel with Panel-ray heat, tile showers, garages. Some kitchens. That one is late 50s.
Finally, the bottom one is Singapore River in Singapore from 1970.
Haha, I think I remember the first one, Greetings from the Crossroads of the World. In case you didn't know, that's Panama and this card is from 1973. I'm sure I saw card in the PX when I arrived in January, 1974.
Next is a 1946 Greetings from Parkersburg, W VA. Then there is a card from the Seattle World's Fair showing the Canadian Exhibit at night from 1962.
The last one is a 1957 card touting Anaheim, California, City of Beautiful Parks. Gee, whenever I think of Anaheim, these aren't the parks that come to mind. Here's the message on this card:
Passed this place about 4P.M. Car doing fine and excellent driving condition.
Kinda wonder about that message until you see it was sent to:
Jesse's Flying 'A'
Lincoln & Mayhew
Newark, Calif.
Thank you Mrs. Wilda Rust of Minneville, OR for saving all these small treasures for me to enjoy. Her family and friends were prolific travelers as I have cards from Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and all over the U.S.A.
Don't ask, I don't know what the heck I'm gonna do with them all. But I will tell you it was fun going through and reading them. Many of them are from the 40s, 50s and 60s. Most of them are from the 70s through to around 2000.
And, finally, on our way out after breakfast, we got to see this beauty, a 1950 Nash Ambassador.
Oh. My. Gosh!!
Hahaha, I've got to hurry up and win that Lottery so I can buy these things, restore them and then tool around town in classic comfort and splendor.
This strikes a chord with me as the car my parents owned when they moved to California was, I believe, a 1954 Nash Ambassador. I can vaguely remember riding in that big car when we traveled back to Oklahoma. And then they got that 1957 Ford Fairlane Station Wagon. Hahaha, good memories.
Here's Preacher and Fran with their Nash Rambler in El Monte, 1954.
And so we spent a gentle day, after being fed well, just enjoying life and relaxing.
And after a day of rest, I was all fired up and ready to give the Mini a well-deserved bath. Boy, howdy, did she need it.
Hahaha, it's tough keeping the Mini clean there on the beach. No, I'm serious, it's difficult. I'm gonna have to keep an eye out for any rust spots or other problems that come along with living this close to the coast.
And our bird feeders.
And since we both did a great job, we both deserved a treat. Off we went to a Small-Town American Treat, DQ ice cream.
But, stupid DQ, they don't open until 1100. Wha...!?!?!
So off we went to Everywhere America McDonalds and an ice cream cone!!
We deserved it.
And with another day, another small adventure. This time we decided to take another walk on the beach. Come on, you can join us. Hahaha, and we're gonna see a lot of gulls today.
Like this guy. Mind you, I have 5 pictures of him. Why? He was sitting on these rocks and would stay there until a wave came along and then he'd flap up in the air a couple feet high, hover there for just a moment and then settle back down onto the rock again. And he did this several times before I noticed him and took my shots.
Until, finally, he gave up his game and took off. He left me wondering just what was going on in his little bird-brain as he was popping up and down on the rock.
Ah, the things you see when you take the time to look.
We've had a pretty good week's worth of weather. Oh, there are clouds ... over there, thankfully.
And it was pleasant out. One of the things I've learned is that it is mostly cool here on this stretch of beach. And with the constant wind, it's even a bit chillier. Ah, well, I'll get used to it, I guess.
We got out just as the tide was at it's lowest. Plenty of tide pools to visit behind each of these rocks.
And, you guessed it, plenty of gulls to take pictures of. Oh, c'mon, I warned you.
I took these with my small SX160 camera. The one I accidentally dropped into the sand about two weeks ago. Oh, I was using some colorful language right after that!! I wiped it off the best I could and then cleaned it as much as possible with brushes, a blower and some rags.
At first, the lens covers wouldn't retract completely but I worked the sand out. Then it was the zoom. It would go a certain distance out and then stop and force the camera to shut down because of the 'error'. Oh, the words, the words.
I think I've gotten it cleaned out completely. At least it seems to be functioning well. I think I wore out some small bits of sand that got into the lens mechanism. Hahaha, my philosophy is that if you ignore a problem long enough, it will just go away. And this time it worked. After my initial cleaning, I just used the camera and if it went into error and shut down I'd just wait and then start it up again and try not to go so far out with the zoom.
And now it seems to be working well.
And that's the reason I bring the small camera out on the beach and not the larger, more expensive and more complicated camera.
Hahaha, ain't I the clever one.
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| Ya puts your left foot in ... ya puts your left foot out ... |
These guys were lined up at the buffet. It's a good life when the tide goes out. At least for the gulls it is.
And, just because.
The tide being out shows you graphically why this isn't a good beach for surfing. Not safe at all.
Looking north along our beach towards Cascade Head. Next week we'll try that end of the beach at low tide to see if we can get around the Head and see what's on the other side.
These rock formations give us our tide pools.
And, there were plenty of these guys today. I still get a kick out of seeing starfish in the tide pools.
The water goes in a bit further at this point on the beach. I imagine the rock shelf is a bit lower there. On either side you can walk further out before you get to the waterline.
And you can always see some anemones in the tide pools.
And there you are. Several more adventures stored safely into the Memory Bank. While I'm out capturing pictures with my camera, Carol is capturing shells and rocks for her growing collection. Keen fun.
Oh, I know these aren't the blood-rushing, exhilarating adventures most young people want. No, these are made for me in my waning days; they are satisfying, interesting and entertaining adventures.
Just my speed.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
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