Our Airbnb hosts in Lincoln City were simply among some of the best we've had. The morning we were scheduled to leave, the husband, David, took us out crabbing. He had been planning to meet a friend to go fishing, and he offered to throw his crab pots in and see what he could catch and send with us on our journey. He took his kayak out, put it in the water where the Siletz River empties in to the North Pacific Ocean. It was a perfect weather morning, cool air and beautiful blue skies with a striated layer of light clouds.
While David set out on his kayak with the crab pots, Ky watched from the shore and I popped the drone up.
Within 15 minutes David had ten Dungeness crabs in one of the pots! Two were keepers and eight went back in the water to grow up for another day's catch. What generosity! We drove away with two live crabs in a styrofoam cooler, excited about dinner that evening!
If you're driving up Hwy 101 in northern Oregon, and you want a world class self guided factory tour, stop at Tillamook Creamery. If you are a big fan of cheese and ice cream you will be gaga over this place. They have come a long way from the old methods of cheese making, and the quantities they produce in the new fangled machinery daily are staggering. Did you know it takes 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese! These and many other facts are there for your edification. It was a morning of learning as well as eating lots of cheese samples and a salted caramel ice cream which just thinking about it makes me want to go back - or at least go to the grocery store.
Halfway on our journey from Lincoln City to Sequim, we were happy to find pickleball at the Lighthouse Oceanfront Resort in Long Beach, WA, where we could get out and stretch our legs playing the best sport in the world. Thanks again to Places2Play! There is a great indoor venue at a tennis center at the Resort, with space for eight courts. Indoor is good choice in the northwest as you might imagine, due to the propensity for it to rain more than just a small portion of the year. That's a nice way of saying it rains a whole bunch, but you knew that since everything is so green, right. The resort right on the water would be a fantastic place to plan a group trip. Contact the pro there to arrange such an event.
As usual, we joined in on games right away with the friendly bunch there and played around with various people getting to know a lot of them. Towards the end we played a couple of excellent rounds with Diana & her young doubles partner, Nick. How I envy young legs that dart back and forth across the court with lightening speed! Notice his fancy paddle too!
The best pickleball games are always followed up with lunch. We were invited to join in at North Beach Tavern with Diana, Kevin, Nancy & Steve. They have a great selection of local and craft beers and exceptional pizza with amazing service. We highly recommend the place which is at 102 Pioneer Rd, Long Beach, WA. Tell them Coffeys2Go sent you and if you say "Remember the guy with the tin foil hat?", they'll know who you're talking about. I just thought Ky needed on to protect himself from me reading his mind, and he's a pretty good sport. The look suited him don't you think?!
Days just don't get much better than this. I hope yours are filled with things that make you happy too!
Happy Lobbing from Long Beach, WA
If you go:
Lighthouse Waterfront Resort https://www.lighthouseresort.net/
Google Plus Code: 9WRV+W7 Long Beach, Washington
Contact: Roman Sada, USTA Pro & Pickleball Instructor (360)642-3622
Days and cost vary by season