After leaving my quiet little camp site at the Ilwaco KOA, I headed over the border into Oregon. I’d done a search for vegan friendly restaurants in Astoria and came up with few options. I chose to stop at Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe. It was completely overcast and kind of gloomy and chilly out, so I figured taking my time over breakfast and coffee could be ‘allowed’.
The reviews for Blue Scorcher had been mixed on the veg*n review sites, but I took it as a good sign that there was a line out the door. I joined the crowd, half of which seemed to know each other. A woman ahead of me in line remarked on how very busy they were and asked, rhetocially, I assume, where all these people had come from. I raised my hand and answered “Maryland!”. And so began a lively conversation with several of the people in line. Terry the beekeeper was only around long enough to grab his order before heading to his booth at the farmers market down the road. I had a longer conversation with a lovely woman named Alison who invited me to join her and her friends at their table.
After ordering with the help of the friendly staff, I joined Alison at her table with her mother, Natalie, and their friends Christina, Art, Kay, Don, Dick and Pat (did I get them all?!?!). I spent a long, leisurely breakfast chatting with the group, getting tips on both local places to visit and on Arches National Park in Utah.
After parting ways, I took their advice to heart and made sure to stop at several places they’d recommended. The first stop was a hike down to a secluded beach:
The hike to and from was gorgeous, but included a rope and wood bridge that made me dizzy…
For a while all my stops were beautiful, but a fog bank started rolling in and blocking my views:
One of the spots I’d really wanted to see was Seal Rock, but it was…well…
I felt like I could explore the Oregon Coast for months and months…
I’d been so tired the last few days though and with so little down time, I’d gone ahead and booked a motel in Eugene for the night.
The Timbers Motel is this strange mix of modern and 70’s vibe. I kind of love it. The place I called to ask if they deliver here turned out to be a literal 2 minute walk away…like 3 buildings. So, I had yummy food from Sweet Basil for dinner.