Well, actually that's not Polly, it's Fred. And, yes, he'd very much like a cracker. Or some cheese. Or, if you could spare it, an amusing little chardonnay with just a hint of herring guts. Fred likes to eat.
| Fred was our constant houseguest at The Channel House, an amazing little bed and breakfast in Depoe Bay on the Oregon Coast. We'd stayed there two years ago when we moved from Texas up to Washington, thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. Now, we were looking forward to a return trip as a final treat in the last days of the Odyssey. We were also looking forward to a shower, as you can see by that picture of me at the right, waiting impatiently for my clams and chips in Newport, Oregon. How long can it take to deep-fat fry some clams? |  |
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Depoe Bay is an interesting place -- it claims to be the World's Smallest Protected Harbor. The coastline here is made up of basaltic rock, unbroken for miles except for this little hole in the wall about 30 yards wide that forms the entrance to Depoe Bay. The Channel House sits right above this opening, looking out at the ocean and down on the harbor entrance. It's great fun to sit on the deck in a wicker chair, whale-watching and watching the boats navigate this tiny little entrance to the harbor. There you see Kristanne doing just that. Looks pretty good, huh? |
| The Channel House is pretty much the essence of luxury. In addition to ocean-front views, your deck features a jacuzzi. Nothing like soaking in a hot tub, sipping on a glass of wine, and watching the sun go down over the Pacific. Our room featured a kitchen, a bedroom, a living room with fireplace, and the aforementioned amazing deck. It was called, "The Cuckoo's Nest." We found out later that this was because the scene in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" where Nicholson leads the boatload of patients out to sea was filmed right from our deck! We looked around for Chief but didn't see him anywhere. Just as well -- he would have probably eaten all our complimentary chocolates. |  |
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In addition to watching the ocean for signs of whales, one of the other fun things to do was watch the Coast Guard drill. At apparently random intervals, these guys would sound their siren and go racing out of the harbor into the open sea for a mile or so. Then, after an hour or so out there just kinda hanging out, they'd come back. One of the neat things they would practice on the return trip was to just hold position in that channel there at the left. That's the opening in the sea wall that leads to Depoe Bay's protected harbor. We figured that during rough weather, a fair amount of rescues take place right there at the entrance to the harbor, so they work on being able to just hang out there in the boat without bashing into the rocks. Pretty interesting to watch. Later on at dusk, they even brought a helicopter out to work on night rescues. Watching them, I couldn't help but think that they had much more interesting jobs than most of the technical writers I know. That's why I'm enlisting in the Coast Guard as soon as I get back to Seattle. Well, it's either that or read a couple Tom Clancy action/adventure novels. I haven't decided. |
We spent an incredibly restful night listening to the waves and hot-tubbing on the deck...what a wonderful treat to celebrate the last days of the Odyssey. This place is a special one for both of us and we will most likely keep coming back on and off for years. If you're ever in Oregon, give it a try. The only disappointment you'll feel is when you have to leave, as you can see below.
See you next time on the Odyssey as we head up to Fort Canby in Washington State to hook up with my nephew Marcus for the final days of the Odyssey. Have a great Labor Day Weekend, y'all!
Total Miles for 8/27 = 52