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seaside vacation
picto-rama ∙
stumptown ∙
it's a living ∙
jet setting
february 2006
Because we were finishing
up work on our master suite so we could move in on our last two
anniversaries, we didn't celebrate in our normal way, which is to go
someplace for some R&R, even if only for a day. In years past, we've gone
camping at Vedauwoo (our first
anniversary), spent the day in
Fort Collins (our second anniversary), gone to
Crater Lake, and spent
the weekend in Seattle. And our biggest
trip to date, our first visit to Portland, when we scouted out jobs and
apartments the month before moving out here. No matter where we were,
we've always made a point of doing something special, even if it was
nothing more than dinner and shopping in a town 50 miles away.
When our last anniversary came
and went without going anywhere (other than a fabulous dinner at
McCormick & Schmick's,
anyway), we promised ourselves that after the attic was done, and the
house was refinanced, we'd spend the weekend at the coast. We figured it'd
happen around October, which is a perfect time to visit the coast. But our
lives happened, and October came and went, and we thought maybe November,
and then December, and then January.
By February, we were both
looooong overdue for a mini-vacation. At the urging of a friend, who
offered to watch the house and the cats, we decided to take our postponed
trip the week after my birthday, kind of an
anniversary/birthday/Valentine's romantic vacation. Sure, there wouldn't
be any kite-flying on the beach, but the prospect of holing up in a nice
hotel room with a view, with a good book and no demands on our time, while
wintry weather whips the waves into impressive crashes sounded, frankly,
heavenly.
We settled on a stay in Seaside, a town halfway
between Astoria and our beloved Arcadia Beach, (although we've never
really spent any time in Seaside itself). Sal scored us an awesome room
with a balcony overlooking the Promenade and a few hundred feet from the
water's edge. We had a kitchenette, a fireplace, and the second night,
moved into a room with a hot tub on the balcony facing the ocean, enclosed
in one-way glass for a private, 180 degree view.
The weather ended up being
warmer than expected, and we did a little more sightseeing than we'd
originally planned because of it, but that's never a bad thing. Took some
nice walks in the sand, snapped lots of pictures, and went for a couple of
afternoon drives when the weather hit a mild 55 degrees. Most of the time,
though, we simply relaxed in front of our amazing view, warmed by a cozy
fire, snacking on fruit and cheese and breads from the bakery, and not
making much progress on the books we'd brought with us. And although we
didn't get our stormy seas, we did get front row seats to magnificent
seaside sunsets.
(NOTE: more pictures
are sprinkled throughout the February and
March 2006 Picture A Day archives)
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