Day 15: Coast with friends

Going backward, I am in Smith’s beach house in Manzanita, Oregon, just a stone’s throw from the beach. I am at their dining table writing this blog on Friday morning before folks get going. We had a lovely evening playing card games, “Oh, Heck,” a new card game to learn. Cat scored worse than me in this card game, with Michelle winning and David chasing her score.

We did not make it out to the shore today, but I saw the sea was high from Air Volvo, and the waves appeared large to me, maybe over five feet. It is also the King Tides, so most beaches are missing in high tide. The drive along the coast was fabulous, with the steel-colored sky above when I arrived in the afternoon.

The Smiths served baked chicken dinner, using newly acquired spices (a Christmas gift from the Kramers) and root veggies. Quite simple and good. The dessert was Ginger cake.

Before this, Michelle, Cat, and I learned the Board Game Root. Initially, David was going to play, so I had included the Lizards and Vagabond, which would work in a four-person game with The Woodland Alliance and The Cats. Instead, it was three, and we should have exchanged the Vagabond for The Cats to even out the game, but it was a learning game. We struggled the first few rounds, but soon, my Lizards and Cat’s Woodland Alliance (looking like little green toasts instead of mice, so we usually call them “the toast”) were fighting for clearing. The Vagabond decided to attack me, a wise choice, and to ally with Cat’s Toast. I am unsure how the Scoundral, the Vagabond Michelle selected, plays, and we had to make up some rules quickly. Michelle kept gaining points, reaching thirty and winning; Cat was just ten points behind, and my Lizards were never a threat.

It was fun to try it again, and I will have to play again a few times to get the rules down again. Root is a strange board game as every player picks a faction in the forest, and that faction has different rules, goals, and capabilities than all the other factions. Some factions have strong interactions, while others have more conventional resource management. All the different rules and actions are all played together, making a strange mix. Root does not make it to the table often as it requires so much to learn to play well, but if you can get its complexities down, it is an excellent game.

After dinner, we played another board game, Azul, the Smith’s copy, and I had to teach it, but soon everyone was playing well, including David in this play. Soon, the game’s strategies became apparent, and Michelle tied me. Azul is a pattern game with little, pretty ceramic tiles. Recommended.

Moving backward, I started the morning by sleeping into 9 again. I had trouble sleeping, found myself awake, and had to prove hydration a few times. At 6AM, I rolled over and slept deeply for three hours. I finally rose wide awake at 9, found my slippers and robe, and located the kitchen (it had not moved but seemed further away today). I made NYC Zabar’s ground coffee. I also found the piece of pizza I left for breakfast. I carried my bounty to the home office and started to write the blog. I wrote it for over an hour when The Smiths called and suggested I reach the beach by 1:30 to enjoy Wanda’s Cafe.

I completed the Wednesday blog and then rushed to shower and dress. I packed a bag. I put out the trash. I found the traction devices for the Volvo (strange sock-like coverings for the tires–chains are impossible as there is almost no clearance) and then boarded Air Volvo. I then crossed Beaverton, stopping at the local Shell to fully fuel–I never cross the Coastal Mountains on less than a full tank. Finally, running behind, I started my direct trip to the Oregon Coast.

It was Oregon Mist today, and the windshield wipers were running the whole trip. The traffic was light, and I cruised at just below seventy most of the time. I did have a few places where drivers were just scared of the curves and the wet roads and drove ten or lower below the posted speeds. The passing lanes allowed me to get around them. Most of this trip used one lane each way on highways, but an additional lane is added here and there, with the slower traffic moving to the right to allow the faster traffic to pass them.

The drive was lovely, with some low clouds or mist floating in the valleys to make everything look like it was from a Tolkien book. Logging only impacted a few sections of trees, which might have been a safety fix as the trees looked unstable next to the highway. I skipped the turn onto Highway 53, an old-school road that crosses the mountains in twists and turns with cliffs in place of shoulders for the road and one-lane bridges, and took the highway to the coast. Navigation should rate some options! Highway 53 is an especially wicked choice when it is dark and rainy.

I missed the time for brunch, and instead, David Smith called in a pizza in Seaside that I picked up. I changed the navigation on Air Volvo to the pizza joint, but I needed something to find parking! I found public parking two blocks away and got a damp walk through Seaside. The sea was boiling, and the waves were huge at the Seaside. It was good to walk, and the sea air was pleasant.

I adjusted the navigation to head to the Smith’s beach house and soon arrived with pizza. We had that for lunch. Next, I got to share a phone conference with the recently returned Kramers (Dr. Tasha and Jason), and they had a video Christmas present opening party.

And that takes us full circle for Thursday. Thanks for reading!