Out of Africa

#1 and Barbie are off on the adventure of a lifetime. They started with a Paris stop and then a canal boat journey within France.  They are now on an African safari.  The best part of this trip is that it resulted in blog hits for me from France and Zimbabwe. #1 reported that he repeatedly heard the same phrase in two different tribal languages.  He finally asked the guide what was being said. It translated to “get the hell out of here”.

I had another tooth yanked Wednesday. It usually goes pretty well.  This one was quick and there was not too much swelling or pain. I’m trying to determine if this is because I’m lucky or because I’m a stoic superhuman, as I’ve always thought myself to be. They packaged up the tooth as it had a gold crown.  I stuck it in the mail, tooth and all, and sent it to some concern in Philly that will give me some dough for it.

We got back from our Oregon sojourn Monday. The flight up was uneventful except for the style maven that was wearing a dull brown V-neck slanket with a red scarf.  I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. We picked up our rental Camry at PDX and headed to Cannon Beach, where we met Portland’s Young Couple of the Year, as designated by myself, my dear daughter and AG. We got some pics at Haystack Rock, a 235-foot-tall sea stack, but we did not catch the herd of elk the place is known for. We took some pics that I liked, because I did not look as decrepit as usual. Maybe it was something in the sea air.

We hit the Pelican Brewery for dinner that first night. The wife and I had poke bowls we were not particularly impressed with, but we are extremely demanding customers.  Fortunately the IPAs on tap hit the spot. The next night we stopped at The Alchemy Lounge, which was attached to the main hotel on the strip. They have several units spread out in the area and we stayed at one of their outposts up the street. The dinner and drinks there were very good, until I ordered the mac and cheese as our final dish. I could have made a better one before I even learned to cook. Or maybe I’m just being extremely demanding.

We went up to the quaint town of Astoria for a Saturday road trip. We stopped at the Fort George brewery, which surprisingly had excellent pizza. And of course, the IPAs were great. We did notice a few people walking around in sleepwear. Maybe they were just out for a quick coffee.  I also saw one guy in the most hideous track suit I have ever seen.  It may have been inspired by a Jackson Pollock painting.

By Sunday afternoon my wife and I were alone with our thoughts, which is often a precarious place to be. We headed to Bandon, which is known for golf and not much else. We liked our room at the Bandon Inn.  We had a king size bed, which allows us to get along better. We had dinner at an Italian place that reminded me of places I used to go to in upstate NY many decades ago. The food was passable.

My wife, an excellent trip planner, had put together a great coastal tour where we saw several rock formations, bridges and beaches I doubt have had many human visitors. We stopped for a panini in a small coastal town. If I had taken notes as my wife often exhorted me to, I could tell you its name.  Back in Bandon, we scoped out the ideal spot to watch NBA finals game three. The Arcade had a few gambling machines I stayed away from, along with a vibrant bingo scene.  The first pot was worth $300. Before the festivities began, they played the Star-Spangled Banner.  I stood with the crowd, in order to lower the chances of getting my ass kicked. We then got to the Crab Shack about 20 minutes before closing.  Sadly, they were out of oysters, which we had later in our trip, but the fish sandwiches were fine.

We saw more of the coast on our drive to McMinnville. We stopped in Florence for lunch.  My wife thought the town was cute, and I agreed wholeheartedly.  The fact that the weather was gorgeous likely helped.  That good weather continued for the rest of our Oregon stay, although a tad too warm in Portland. McMinnville is a very cool town, with good food and several tasting rooms. We hit two wineries, Cana’s Feast and Dominio IV. We chatted up our gracious hosts and were pleasantly surprised by the tasting costs. Dominio IV was on a farm.  They invited us to go cherry picking but said we had to watch our step.  The pourer said she had twisted her ankle a few times.  So DJ decided that perhaps he should remain seated, sip wine and forego the cherries.

Our two dinners in McMinnville were excellent. The first night we stopped at The Bitter Monk to catch some of game 4 before dinner at La Rambla, where we had oyster and top-notch tapas. We went to Bistro Maison for night two, which featured more oysters and a killer Coq Au Vin. I can’t remember what my wife had, but she enjoyed it along with some of my dinner. We are good sharers.

We were then off to Portland for the weekend.  The girl and AG treated us to dinner at Arden for our birthdays. It really was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. The $75 per prix fixe meal is more than a bargain. The three rounds of chow they brought were all outstanding.  You gotta go.  Tell them DJ sent you.

The next night we went to the Moda Center to see the Portland Fire beat the Dallas Wings by one with a last second foul shot. Paige Bueckers was injured so we did not have a chance to see her stellar play.

For our last night in Portland, we were supposed to have dinner with AG’s parents, but her mom came down with a case of COVID, so we had to make other plans. We made a quick stop at their house and AG went in to steal some of their chicken and the scrumptious smoked salmon that her dad had prepared. The girl grilled up the purloined chicken just right and we had a nice meal.

Back on Gull, we had a fun Facetime call with our sweet grandchildren this morning. The girl is beginning to crawl, and the boy is content to sit there and watch her. Have I told you they are both SUPER CUTE.  I did find out earlier this week that this company decided to steal my name.

https://www.depop.com/