We just got back from a weekend on the Oregon coast. Kristen's dad and step-mom, invited us out to stay in a condo they were renting on Nye Beach (near Newport). It was a long weekend of food, drink and relaxation. We almost kicked the 3-gal keg of beer I brought which is good because we sure won't be able bring it with us to Belgium. There's a lot of homebrewed beer left to drink before September. Especially since I brewed my last batch this past Thursday before we left for the coast. One is a Barleywine that will age for the duration that we are in Europe and the other is a simple beer to drink before. I'll probably leave all the left-over bottled beer with Jake because he is ready and willing to polish them off.

Anyway, to continue with the original thread... Kristen, Jenna (her sister) and I drove to the coast on Thursday night. About a two hour drive which we spent looking for a Taco Bell (we had a big craving). We never found one until after we had stopped at a seafood restaurant in Depoe Bay (10 minutes from our destination). Our dinner was the start of a gluttenous, stuff-our-faces-with-food weekend. A small sampling of things consumed: breakfast quiche, cinnamon rolls, caramel corn, pounds of pacific shrimp, many bowls of chowder, dungeness crab, smoked salmon, chips and salsa, raspberry/boysenberry margaritas, gin and tonics, apple pie, s'mores, chai tea, chocolate croissants, kiwi-wit homebrew, fried seafood, steamed clams, birthday cake, halibut, berries and more and more and more. Every day after dinner I proclaimed I would never eat again, but every day I did anyway.

Aside from eating and drinking, we did some touristy things (walking along the waterfront) and taking group photos at different landmarks. We also sat around reading, chatting, and people-watching. In addition we: walked a lot on the beach, waded in the frigid water (35 deg F at the warmest), played Balderdash, fired some works on the 4th, shared "scary stories" and laughed a lot. Those are some of the things we all did, tomorrow I'll tell you about a couple of things I did on my own.

To be continued... I have an appointment to keep.

--RP--