2008-09-28

Conclusion to the Oregonian Adventure.

Okay, the thrilling conclusion to my Oregonian Adventure.

Monday, September 15th, 2008:

The wedding's done, I got my fill of Portland titty bars, I turned 38. Now it's Monday, and it's back into the rental car and off to the coast, to Cannon Beach.

The beach itself is really beautiful. Because I'm always lookin' for the Pop Culture Angle, I'll say that Cannon Beach's claim to fame is Haystack Rock, featured in "The Goonies."

While I was on the beach snapping this picture, my parents of course managed to make two new best friends (they average about six or seven of these new best friends per vacation; leave one or the both of them alone for even a second, and they'll find someone with some random, bizarro connection, and have that person telling them his or life story in a matter of minutes): a couple of women who, as it JUST SO HAPPENS, used to live in Zephyrhills, Florida, just a 15 minute drive from where *I* used to live. Amazing! "My wife and I met in college!" my dad tells them (as he likes to tell EVERYONE). "That's our daughter down there....down on the beach there....she lived in Pasco County, too!"

Cannon Beach's commercial drag is pretty similar to any beach community's. You've got several cute little knick-knack shoppes, peddling crystal-straddling angels, lavender panty drawer sachets, and other tasteless bric-a-brac. You have the "edgy" store selling scratchy hemp bracelets and batik sarongs. And maybe two or three places selling giant bags of saltwater taffy and slabs of greasy fudge. And yet you're compelled to go into EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM, like you haven't seen the exact same shit in Newburyport, Ocean City or Myrtle Beach.

But honestly, I quite liked Cannon Beach and would definitely stay there for a few days.

We spend what we think is our final night in Portland at the hotel, having a surprisingly decent dinner at its "Lakeside Cafe."

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008:

My folks pick up their new rental car, the one that they will take down to Northern California (to visit an old Air Force buddy of my dad's), in the morning, and hand over the keys to the other vehicle to us. We have to get it back to the rental car place by 5. My cousin Mike is in the middle of an editing job, and will meet up with us in the early afternoon.

The houseboy and I hit Powell's, which is MASSIVE, and poke around in various vintage and record shops until we meet up with Mike. We spend a few hours tooling up and down Hawthorne Boulevard, meeting Mike's friends at Artichoke Music, and picking up a couple of gifties for Foot Foot at The Cat's Meow. We have an unbelievably deelish dinner at Screen Door. Mike drops us off at the airport.

And then, well...you know what happens next. But let's don't have this color our entire trip, no?

lisamcc at 7:39 p.m.

previous | next