Let's Eat - 7/23-24/15

Or: Her Canadian Cousins, Eh!!

We've been looking forward to Carol's Canadian Cousins, Brian and Lorraine, visiting Lincoln City for some time now and they were here this past week. They've been to the Central Coast of Oregon before and, now that Cousin Carol is here, felt it was the ideal spot for another vacation from cloudy, rainy, cold and dreary Canada. 

They stayed at the Sea & Sand RV Park near Lincoln Beach.

It is a well-maintained RV park with its own beachfront.

And, by golly, we were just in time for lunch. There's Brian, setting the table.

And what a delicious meal it was, too. You probably know of my overwhelming fascination with and devotion to the art of eating...Mmmmmmm!!

And so, you should know that I really appreciated this meal. Baked potatoes that had cheese baked into them, barbecued chicken and a mushroom and squash salad. Hahaha, I was eating large...and often. 

Oh, and they had Polish Sausages, too!! Turkey Polish Sausages.

Again, Mmmmmmmm...

And here we are, dining al fresco.

Brian and Lorraine (B&L) brought their three kids down with them. There's Zoey in the upper left and T.J. below her. That's Grandma on the right.

After a hearty and satisfying lunch, we decided to take the dawgs down to the beach for a walk. There's a footpath from the park down to the beach.

And, of course, I saw plenty of picture opportunities. Hahaha, I get a kick out of these miniature weeds. Pretty nice, eh?

And dandelions. Thank you, Mrs. Maynard.

And we made it to the beach. This span of coast is different than where we live. I think the drop of the sea shelf is faster here and the waves crash closer to the shore.

It is a nice beach and, on this sunny and warm day, relatively empty. Like most beaches around here.

Hahaha, as soon as Carol hits the beach, she's on the look-out for agate, shells and other treasures. She quickly got B&L in on the hunt.

But this one was more interested in what the big people were up to than what was on the ground.

And the Winnah! Lorraine found a shrimp!! First one we've seen on a beach.

And then, they spotted a small starfish washed up on the beach.

Carol quickly collected him up and we got this picture. When Carol turned him over, she could feel him trying to move along her hand and realized he was still alive. Figuring, rightly, that he'd have a better chance at surviving back in the surf rather than in her hand, she reluctantly tossed him back into the ocean.

Good luck, Starfish Buddy!!

It's enjoyable, strolling along a beach with no real purpose, chatting with friends. 

Letting the dawgs off the leash for a while so they could enjoy a romp along the shore.

Lorraine kept Grandma on the leash...she needed encouragement every-so-often to keep up with the rest of the pack. You get to a certain age and the allure of the beach is, really, lost on you.

And the Dawgs made friends wherever they went.

Zoey seemed not to mind the crashing surf or the water.

But, after a good walk, we were all ready to go back to the trailer and sit for a while, talking. And we did. The park they stayed in is, as I mentioned earlier, well maintained. They've kept as much of the local plant life as possible and worked to integrate their park into the natural landscape.

Well, we enjoyed the lunch and the visit and so, naturally, we had to invite them over to Gull House for lunch. And we did. And...

...they came over for lunch the next day. And what a lunch it was. I tell ya, I had two great lunches in as many days. Oh, what a lucky fellow am I!?!

Carol made some red beans and rice and Jambolaya, Cajun-Style. Along with some of her spicy cornbread and sausages. 

Eatin' good in the Hood!!

Mmmmmmmmm.....

Everyone enjoyed the meal. 

This one was wondering how to cage some more food from Mommy and Daddy.

After lunch, we went for a drive over to a small fair (?) being held in Otis. They were holding a get-together for a bunch of Bikers.

We suggested it to B&L and left it up to them if they wanted to go. Hahaha, It was a no-brainer for them. Brian is an avid rider and he and Lorraine often go for rides on his bike.

We were off.

It turned out, to me, to be more like a chance to get together and have a large party. There was an admission fee to get in but none of us were real impressed with the attractions.

Hahahahah, it was like Summer Camp for Bikers. And so we, regretfully, turned the truck around and headed back to LCO.

Where we promptly decided on.....(drum roll, please).....going for a walk on the beach!! And we were off!! 

It was a bright, sunny and hot day.

We could tell it was bright and sunny because of the umbrellas on the beach. I wouldn't have thought this possible just a couple weeks ago. But, today, there was just the hint of a breeze out. You couldn't even get a kite in the air.

And we were back doing what we do on a beach....hunting for treasure.

Like this!! An agate and shell fragments. 

Woo-Woo!!

The tide had been out and was just beginning to come back again. Lorraine and I both wanted to see some starfish and so I waded out to the rocks to see #1 how deep it was, and #2 if any starfish were out there to be seen.

The answer to #1 was; not very. It got the hem of my shorts wet. And for #2 I didn't see a single doggone starfish. Bummer.

Looking back, there's Brian, Lorraine and Carol on our not-too-busy beach.

As I was wading back, I saw this odd phenomena, a wave coming from the shore towards the ocean. What the...!?!?!

These kids had plenty of room to spread out and build their castles.

OK, I am, at times, a wee bit stubborn. I just moved down a couple of rocks and went back out to check for starfish, again.

Nada. Zip. Zilch. A goose-egg. It was as empty as an Obama Healthcare promise.

But I was pretty close to the waves and so....

I've always wanted to get a dramatic shot of the waves crashing ashore.

Hahahaha, a swing and a miss. But I'll keep on a-trying. Count on it.

There were plenty of these Moon Jellyfish washed up on the beach.

Way too many, honestly.

And Lorraine was fascinated by them.

Even though she assured me it was like picking up some jelly, I still declined the opportunity.

Uh, no thanks.

Some of the ambitious castle building going on today.

And a Dad, introducing his daughter to the ocean for the very first time.

Hahaha, our little entourage.

And Lorraine found herself another Moon Jelly.

Hahaha, No thanks. You can keep it!!

It was a nice day for being on the beach.

I just liked the color and the arrangement of these chairs. Odd thing was I couldn't identify anyone that might have belonged to them.

Now this kid has the right idea. Get right into it and cool down. Here's where the little stream that runs alongside our house empties into the Pacific. It pools for a bit before making it to the ocean and it is a pond magnet for the littles.

But, y'know, they can play in this on the beach and Mom and Dad don't have to worry about any rip tides. Works for me!!

Another great walk. The sand got a little hot as we walked back to the beach access.

Carol and I had a great afternoon entertaining our first guests here at Gull House. And I hope that B&L had a good time, too.

Good times and good food mixed with some good people. Wow, what a pleasant couple of days.

Hahaha, because, as we all know, life is good. 

     Hooah!!