"Is that where the pirate ship was supposed to come from?" (Day 6)

(Ed. Note- The Christmasbaby Blog is going to be a play by play of our trip to Portland last week. What you'll be reading, matey's, is my observances/experiences of the trip for your amusement. Links to applicable restaurants/sites will be included in case you're planning a trip any time soon. Dates listed are from Saturday, June 12th through Friday the 18th.)

Today was a great day and a little sad since it marked our final full day on the West coast but it beside the wedding it was the day I was most excited about- Cannon Beach. Ocean. Salt water. And while I wasn't planning on body surfing in that chilly nonsense I was bound and determined to (A) check out Haystack Rock where the filmed the ending of "The Goonies" and (B) get my feet wet.

We breakfasted at Wanda's Cafe' and Bakery in Nehalem which was awwwesome. (http://www.restaurantica.com/or/nehalem/wandas-cafe-bakery/23322650/) Moda opted for the Huevo's Rancheros and I dug into an omelete with scallions/asparagus/goat cheese with a side of chicken apple sausage (Yum). Highly recommended. Then it was off to da beach!
http://www.cannon-beach.net/

We doffed our kicks and went for a lovely walk to the rock, stopping to splash a bit here and there and not really minding the chill. (And you damn straight I wore my Hawaiian Chunk shirt. I refrained, however, from truffling or shuffling. Nobody wants to see that) We checked out the anemones, starfish, and other wildlife. And man. That's a big frickin' rock. However it did prompt the question from Mo "Is that where the pirate ship was supposed to come out of?"

A fine misty drizzle started up on our way back to the car and I was sort of saddened to know that we'd be missing the fun upcoming stuff like the sandcastle building contest and the beach front 10K. (How awesome would that have been?!?) It was that kind of day. What we were in the mood for after our little hike was a good Bloody Mary and some snick snacks before heading out. And where else would we have gone besides Mo's? Of COURSE we went to Mo's.
http://www.moschowder.com/home.cfm?dir_cat=13368 (And did someone pick up an ironic hoodie with the name of the restaurant? OF COURSE SHE DID!) It was pretty damn good chowder, but I was a little surprised that they were "out" of oysters. The BM was pretty good and we split a "Mo's" ale. OF COURSE WE DID!

Overall, and enjoyable day that started sunning up once we left. OF COURSE IT DID! Final thought on the beach- I was actually surprised that they didn't have one piece of "Goonies" related schwag or a sign or anything up and about. That must've been saved for Astoria up the road.

We peddled up the coast to Seaside, stopping for coffee and to poke our noses into the local museum before heading back to the lodge. (Having decided that it would be criminal NOT to stay a second night at the quaint hot tub lodge. OF COURSE WE DID!) After popping into some antique stores we went back to the room where we alternately watched the sunset on the porch steps, read, drank wine, schmoogled the friendly local cats, and (in my case) napped before we couldn't take much more serenity and were ready for dinner. Our first choice, a cute little bistro across the street, was closed for seating for the evening so we doubled back and headed over to the Sea Shack-http://www.theseashack.biz/

Capitalizing on our 10% local restaurant discount, we had made another intial trip promise that we'd have some "really awesome seafood". While the seafood and ambience didn't disappoint (we were seated in a quiet area with a terrific view of the sunset over the bay) it wasn't, uber-remarkable? Moda's salmon was delicious but hard to navigate when it was swimming in butter. My dungeness crab was savory and delightful but I forgot how much of a pain in the ass it can be toward the end. (All the cracking and the dah bah dee bah doo. Rigamarole)

We hoofed it back for more hottub time and wound down by making short work of our vineyard wine and watching "He's just not that into misogynitic Rom-Com's that set back the woman's movement 45 years..." What? That movie sucked taint.