The next installment...

The fishing trip happened. The fishing happened. The catching was the only thing missing. Well, in truth the biting was missing, too.  All of this might have been acceptable, were it not for the fact that I stood by the Alsea river (where we are camped) this afternoon and watched a couple of guys net about a 30# salmon.  So, wrong river, wrong day. What are you gonna do? At least the weather was gorgeous.

 

Today was not a total loss, though. I got to have a date with my honey.  We "did" Waldport, a cute little town on the shores of Alsea Bay.  There are a handful of fun little shops. Our favorite is the flea market which, true to its name, is a collection of interesting and possibly useful second hand items. 

My sweet bride found a copy of her favorite piano sheet music book. It is one that she already owns, except that her copy belonged to her mother and is suffering from being overloved through the decades. Translation? It's in tatters. She was thrilled to have a "new" copy.

I found one thing to buy and another that I am still thinking about. The item to buy is a new hat for my sweetheart. It is not like anything she has, nor would I expect her to pick it out for herself. But I fell in love with it the moment I laid eyes on it. See what you think.

 
The other thing I found was an Aladdin's Lamp. No, no, not the kind you rub, the kind that burns kerosene via a mantel. It is in good condition and priced about $100 below the cost of a comparable new one. Still, the price was enough to give me pause, since my plan for the lamp is to use it in the event of a power failure at home. That is not a regular occurrence, so...

After our exploration of downtown, we went to the Grand Central restaurant. It is a funky little place with a varied menu.  We wanted chowder, and Grand Central delivered a serviceable example. On the other hand, we have been trying to eat lighter of late, so we ordered a bento.  The two made a wonderful combination, which we shared and thoroughly enjoyed.

After lunch we crossed the Alsea Bay bridge and explored a housing development on the peninsula that forms the north side of the bay. The homes are modest, but the location is the kind for which people pay big bucks. Apparently the CCRs don't allow for any landscaping except with the use of native plants.  Mostly, the houses are surrounded with dune grass. We found it a little depressing, especially knowing what kind of money people must have paid for these lots. 

When we got back to our Topper, we took the girls for a walk/run on the wetland that is part of Chinook RV park. Lulu, especially, loved being off leash and scampering about at full tilt. On the way to the wetland, we spotted, perhaps, the largest toadstools that I have ever seen. Alice (in Wonderland) would be proud!


Tomorrow, alas, we must head for home. It has been a lovely visit, and we will return to Waldport some time in the future. You ought to put it on your list of places to visit.