We’re almost all caught up here! Hooray! We’ve only just left Seaside, so one more post update and we’ll be reporting our adventures in real time again.

We left Astoria on Sunday the 21st with Lisa and Rhema and drove down to Seaside to have lunch before they headed back to Portland. After lunch at Seaside Brewing, Andy and I checked into the RV park where we’d be staying. We were treated to another day of unseasonably beautiful weather on the coast that lasted almost an entire week!

We were so pleased with our spot—the bright indoor pool, hot tub and sauna, and the bike-able proximity to town—that we decided to stay a while longer. Not to mention the fact that one of the main reasons we went back to Seaside instead of going north to Long Beach, WA, is that we’d had our hopes set high to catch some crabs, and we could get our in-state shellfish licenses if we stuck around!

We rented crab pots and rode our bikes up to the 12th Street bridge to drop them in.

If this isn’t evidence that Andy’s the cutest, then I don’t know what is. He duct taped a box onto his bike rack and wrote the tide tables on it, marked the minimum size for keeper crabs, and illustrated a reminder of the difference between the males and females. You can’t keep the ladies!

Halfway through our stay, Andy ordered some crab traps online so we could leave them in longer. With the rings, you’re supposed to check them every 20 minutes or so, but with the traps, if a crab comes in, he’s there to stay! Andy strapped them onto the crab box with bungee cords and we tried again.

This guy.

Throughout our stay, the locals were eager to share their advice on the best crab bait. Fish heads, chicken, squid, frozen turkey legs, cat food, herring. . . the list goes on, but we stuck with chicken. We were also told that this month has been especially bad for crabbing, proven by the fact that we didn’t see anyone catch any, despite all the traps hanging from the bridge. Sadly, we had no luck crabbing either, but we have high hopes for Wheeler! (That’s right, we’re heading south now. . . details to follow.)

Of course, the other appeal to Seaside is beach time. . .

Patio lunches at Seaside Brewery. . .

Outdoor kitty time. . .

 

The Wine and Beer Haus (they have Stone Ruination on tap, so Andy was a very happy camper!). . .

And having friends come to visit! Lisa and Rhema came to spend the weekend with us again, and we had a blast. Rhema climbed a huge rock.

Just kidding.

The wind was blowing like crazy on the beach!

Rhema gave us some pointers on throwing a frisbee golf putter. I’ve never seen anyone throw a frisbee as far as this guy can!

Every frisbee golfer could use a fetching-obsessed dog while practicing.

Lisa and I were cracking up watching Kona dig rows of holes!

When the weather turned stormy, we visited the Aquarium, played some Cribbage and Settlers in the Turtle, swam, shot some pool, and ate pizza. A great weekend!

Well, a mostly great weekend. When we got up on Sunday morning, Andy noticed that my bike had been stolen! Boooooo. I’m heartbroken. I loved that bike. And it feels so ratty to know some jerk was skulking around outside the Turtle while we slept. Grrr. 😦 Also, what gives?? First my phone and now my bike! *Sigh*

But we’re all still healthy, happy and active, so in the grand scheme of things, I suppose it’s a minor setback. Anyway, as a bike is a necessity for our lifestyle, we picked one up at the bike shop in town, so my heart will heal and I’ll still be able to get where I’m going. Plus, it’s purple!

The following weekend our friend Dan came up to visit with his friend Sarah. They stayed at the most charming hotel called Ashore. It’s quite small, but it has loads of accommodations. A small deep pool, a wet sauna, and a darling wine bar that stays open until 11pm! We enjoyed them all. Plus a night walk through town to check our traps and admire the little coastal homes.

We had breakfast at a place called The Firehouse Grill, and YUM! Perfect fluffy biscuits, fat strips of bacon, spicy sausage, fresh grilled veggies. . . wait, to be clear, I didn’t order all those things—we sampled each other’s breakfasts. It was a relaxing and enjoyable weekend; so fun to see Dan again, and great to meet Sarah! Thanks for coming up, guys! 🙂

We left that morning, which was yesterday, which means we’re all caught up here! We’re back at our middle-of-nowhere tent site outside Wheeler on our way to Montana. But more on that next time!