Drivin' South...

I've re-added the pictures though they don't match the text now. Use your imagination...






















My latest fortune cookie said: "Driving south will bring you much happiness". Who could pass up a challenge like that. It was time to drive south!

Saturday morning was the day. We were up and off to take a drive, have some breakfast and do a little antique store "looking" in honor of my mom. It was a relaxingly wonderful day that she would have loved. We still have plenty of snow hanging around here on the coast, so the drive was really pretty through what is usually our coastal rainforest, but instead is an enchanted winter world. There are still some very icy spots between Cannon Beach and Nehalem that are not seeing the sun through the trees.


This is from the top of the bluff on Highway 101 looking down into Manzanita. The snow on the beach and the coastal range is just incredibly beautiful. Quite a few people were walking on the beach on this chilly day. How often do you get to walk in the snow on the beach? Quite a novelty, it is.


We planned our day so that we would be able to have a late mid-morning breakfast at Wanda's Cafe' in Nehalem. Wanda's is one of our favorite places to stop. It is located in a little house decorated so very cute with old vintange toasters, radios, mixers, etc. Just a small little place that has wondeful breakfasts, lunches, and bakery items. I had the smoked salmon omelette served with cottage potatoes and a warm biscuit with homemade blackberry jam. MMMM.....


Here is Riff drinking his caramel cappacino while waiting for his green chile' omelette. The coffee was wondeful. The eats were to die for. The conversation was delightful. Out the window we watched as the local tow-truck took care of an SUV who had hit the icy patch coming down the steep hill into town and had ended up upside down. Nobody was hurt, thank heavens, but it sure was the talk of the town.


After breakfast we wandered around in Nehalems wonderful antique shop. We found several very reasonably priced wardrobes and sideboards that would look great in our new house. We may have to go back! From Nehalem we headed south to Wheeler. This little tiny town of 350 people has an incredibly huge antique store. We could (and did) wander around in there for hours. Wheeler also has a wonderful quilting store with beautiful fabrics. I went in, wandered around, but I have so many projects going, that I actually refrained and didn't purchase a thing. Good restraint, don't you think?!


This is on the way back to Cannon Beach. Just thought this picture turned out beautiful.


We decided we were hungry again, so pulled into the Warren House Pub in Cannon Beach. This is a brew pub that we have wanted to go to, but had never quite made it. They have a gazillion beers on tab, so I indulged in their hard cider, which was wonderful, and Riff had something amber. I was very excited to see Manhattan Clam Chowder on the menu ~ Yeah! Some chowder that I can actually eat, no dairy in that! Riff ordered the Oyster Burger and we had a great late lunch while watching the last quarter of some silly football game...

We wound our way up 101 to home, stopped at the video store, chose "Memoirs of a Geisha", "Goal!" and "The Libertine". Home to our jammies, plugged in "Memoirs" and settled down to a great movie while waiting for midnight when it was time to pick Dustin up from his snowboarding trip to Mount Hood. It was a long, wonderful day. Felt like a little mini-vacation. We need to indulge this way more often.

May you all be blessed with some time alone and away...
(hmm... Can't seem to see my pictures now. They were here, now they're not.)