05/14/2024
May 14, 2024
Hi, Y’all from Depot Bay, Oregon, on the beautiful Oregon coast.
Karen and I are taking some time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life here at the coast for a few days. We drove down yesterday and, on the way, met with some longtime friends from Salem, Kim and James Baggett, for lunch.
On arrival at Depot Bay (DB) we got settled in and both took naps. Beautiful view here at the condo and the weather doesn’t get much better at the coast. A little wind, but clear skies and no rain (if you don’t count the seagull droppings!). Stayed in the room and had sandwiches for dinner, which was plenty after the large lunch at La Hacienda Real in Salem. We did take a walk around the complex later in the afternoon, got some good pictures of the waves, birds and sealions.
This morning we were up early for coffee (in the room) and more wave watching. Karen headed for the shower and I went for a walk to find a coffee shop down the road. We like DB because it is relaxing and there is not a lot of ‘activities’ to draw you out of the condo. However, this is still a popular tourist town on the coast and it surprises me that there are so few coffee shops available. I count only 3 (not counting a couple of drive-throughs) within walking distance. There is the Arch Rock Caffe the advertises opening at 7:00 AM, but I’ve found that means 7:00 ish. Also, it is not open on Tuesday or Wednesday (today is Tuesday). Another, the Left Coast Coffee Co, doesn’t open til 9:00, which seems odd for a coffee company, but they are open every day. The third, the Pirate Coffee Co, opens at 8:00 AM and closes at 3:00, which is closer to what I imagine coffee shop hours to be. Anyway, all that to say that when I get up around 6:00-6:30 there is not a lot to offer for ‘sit-down’ coffee places.
I did take a walk down the coast (makes it sound like a walked a long way, huh?), watched the waves near the actual bay at Depot Bay, and by the time I got back to Pirate Coffee it was open. Gave me a chance to sit with a cup of coffee and do my bible study for the morning (working through the Book of Daniel if you are interested). While I was there, their music stopped and they had to reboot the phone they were using. So, being the nice guy that I am, I cranked up some good old country on my phone til they could get back to theirs. I’m not sure they appreciated my choice of music though, ‘cause as soon as their phone rebooted, they ‘let me’ turn mine off. They were very nice about it, but they didn’t breakout in song when “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” came on.
Just down the road (south) where the three coffee shops are they also have a couple of the obligatory pot shops (oops, I mean ma*****na dispensaries). I talked to a guy who asked the time and said he was waiting for the one across the street (Mr. Nice Guy) to open at 9:00. He must have been anxious for it to open ‘cause I passed him on the way back, 10 minutes later, and he asked the time again. The other one I saw (Pete’s Farm Dispensary) was next to the Pirate Coffee Co and doesn’t open til 11:00!
Well, one more thing then I’ll close for today. We decided that we needed to go out for lunch and we drove into Newport (about 13 miles down the coast) for lunch and a quick WalMart stop to replace my ‘fit-over’ sunglasses I broke on the way down here. For lunch we stopped at a place we’d been to before called the Newport Café. Bet ya can’t guess what town it was in, can ya! Great food and plenty of it (more than we needed, for sure). They have 3 monster burgers, weighing in at 3 #, 5 # and 8 #. The 8 # burger has 8 # of meat, 8 eggs, and ham and cheese! $55.00 but will feed a fire crew (well, maybe).
I’ll try to post some pictures with this blog and will try to hit some more highlights tomorrow. Til then, y’all be safe.
