Day Three: Hell Road to Cannon Beach

Dustin and I ate breakfast at Mother's Bistro. It wasn't far from our hotel so we walked. It was pretty rainy out so we both put our hoods up and huddled together under the umbrella our hotel had provided. This would be normal in Florida but here we were the weird ones. Most locals didn't even bother with umbrellas. They straight up cat walked down the sidewalk in the rain. I feel like they were all thinking "Damn Portland, back at it again with that rain!" and just owned it. It made me feel like a wuss. Now I'm not afraid of getting wet because of my makeup or hair. Nope. My issue is with my glasses. Do you know how annoying it is to have drops of rain in your line of vision? You don't unless you wear glasses like I do. It's annoying. It's why I love raincoats with giant hoods. Maybe next time I make my way up to the Pacific Northwest I'll invest in those glasses with built in wipers.

Anyway, back to Mother's Bistro. This place was so damn cute. I loved the bright, light, modern country feel it had going on. When we sat down I told Dustin "This place reminds me of Erin." It's just a place I know she would have loved. Even the shirts the waiters wore were cute. I'm not sure about their slogan though...Ha! 

This place was really fun to people watch both the ones walking outside and the ones sitting down inside. There were the two guys next to Dustin and I. Guy 1 talked Guy 2's ear off. Like Guy 2 couldn't even get a word in. I wasn't trying to listen to their conversation but we were seated very close to them so it was impossible not to. They seemed like friends who hadn't seen each other in awhile and were meeting up for breakfast to catch up on life while one was in from out of town. It was interesting. And then there were the three girls behind Dustin who were very loud because they were excited about something.

Dustin got some kind of biscuit creation and I ordered a pancake masterpiece. The portions were insane. Dustin and I couldn't come close to finishing our meals. I was really bummed about it because it was so good. I did have an incident where I spilled a glob of syrup on the table. I flagged down our waiter and asked for some napkins so I could clean it up myself. He was so nice to clean it up for me. I apologized about being so clumsy. He then said "Oh I'm sure I've got you beat". Then he told us how he lost his footing one time while working and fell through the window and ended up at the ER. Yikes! He totally has me beat.

Dustin and I were so stuffed we had to go back to the hotel to digest for 45 min before venturing out for the day. You know the ol' unbutton your pants and sit around like Jabba the Hutt until the total gross yet satisfying feeling passes. 

We hit the road headed west. Our destination was Cannon Beach. I had never even heard about this specific beach until it was featured on Little People, Big World. Yep, I'm an avid viewer. They would show the Roloff family by these giant rocks on the beach and I always thought how cool it was. Speaking of the Roloffs, I actually wanted to stop at their farm. I even read that they will do tours for $300. Who the fuck is going to spend $300 on that? I'd be willing to pay $10. Needless to say we did not stop there. 

The highway out of Portland turned into a crazy two lane road that winded through the mountains. It was beautiful, sure, but mostly terrifying. I am convinced I would have had a full blown panic attack had I not been on anxiety medication. There were so many layers. First of all, it was very rainy (and the roads were very wet). Secondly, there were pretty steep drops next to me without any railing. Third, there were giant trucks hauling lumber in front of us, next to us, and behind us. And lastly, people were driving like assholes. We watched an almost terrible accident. The idiot behind us passed us and almost hit a car in the other lane. I have no idea what is worth risking your life like that. I felt bad for Dustin because he and I are used to those straight and flat Florida highways where you can actually look at your surroundings and have only one hand on the wheel. Dustin had to stay focused the entire time. By the time we made it to the beach he said he was mentally drained. I don't blame him one bit. I really appreciate him driving. As bad as I was as a passenger, I would have been 10x worse behind the wheel. We found a public parking lot and just sat for a bit. We both were having problems with our phone. My phone kept saying "no service" which really pissed me off since I had a signal through our entire Hell Rd. adventure. We finally got out and just started walking. I needed a bathroom something fierce. Thankfully we found the coffee shop/gallery and they let me use theirs. We then found access to the beach. We walked by all of these cute little beach rentals with the smell of breakfast in the air. It was still raining and pretty damn cold. But the kind of cold that's totally doable and makes you feel so alive that you just want to jump around like you're 12 years old about to see the Spice Girls live. I've never walked on a west coast beach. I saw the beach from the Pier in Los Angeles but that was as close as I got when I was there when I was 17. So it was super cool to walk on the sand. When people think of walking on the beach it usually involves their toes in the sand. My duck boots felt great on the sand though! The fact that it was cold and wet didn't ruin anything for me. Dustin on the other hand wasn't a fan of the rain. He just hid his face away in his hoodie most of the time. I made him peak out for pictures of course. We stood on the beach and watched people jog with their dogs and chase waves with their kids (yeah in boots and jackets). It was a pretty dreary day but there were still people enjoying themselves which was nice. I found a cool stone and gave it to Dustin to put in his backpack as a keepsake. Part of the west coast is now on the east coast! I was both excited and sad as we walked off the beach back onto the main road. And when I say main road it's still very small. This was a seriously quaint beach town. Dustin's friend Patrick saw the photo I had posted at the beach and suggested we pop over to Archimedes Gallery to view some of his work. We did just that! We spotted his stuff right away because he has a very noticeable style. I had Dustin pose in front of them so we could show him. We walked up and down the streets of the little town and decided to stop at Tom's Fish & Chips for lunch. The vibe of the restaurant was very "beachy fast food" but the actual food was so fresh. Like they literally had just caught the fish they served us. It was delicious! We filled our bellies and headed back to Portland via Hell Rd. 

 

When we got back to town we dropped off the rental at the hotel and walked around. I wanted to go back to Powell's Books because that place is the shit. So we went back and I spent more money. We had dinner across the street at a pizza place called Sizzle Pie. I got a huge slice of cheese pizza and aside from the grease it was great. I saw most people had big leafy salads with their pizza. I totally regret not trying their salad because it looked so good. Next time! We walked downtown some more eventually finding ourselves at yet another doughnut shop. This time we got doughnuts from Blue Star. My friend had recommended it and I know she does not mess around when it comes to sweets. We got two hard apple cider fritters, a cinnamon and sugar, and a maple bacon. We didn't eat them until later in our hotel room as dessert. They were perfection. They were so incredibly good. Like you just don't even know. Blue Star doughnuts weren't as fancy and they didn't have the variety Voo Doo had but they were on the same level when it came to taste and quality. 

Total Steps: 14,456

Active Minutes: 84 min.