Crinklys Pacific NW jaunt (5/29-6/20/2021) Day 13 Hiking the coast and checking out Tillamook (6/10)

Do yoga and then shower which is a mistake as we are about to get sweaty on the hike but guess I am no fortune teller. Drive into Ecola state park and park at Indian head and hike down to crescent beach. Was a nice hike and beautiful scenery but you can also just walk along the beach a ways from town and get there as well which lessens the need to hike down to it for me but whatever. Then we drive over and do the Clatsop loop trail, taking the road up and the trail down as was advised to do. 

Morning beach views

Went down to the beach to check it out

Found this big guy as we were hiking.

Lil lighthouse on a lil island

Back from the hike and get to take this view in one last time

Cheese Land!!!

Beers at de Garde... pretty good selection :)

Back to home base to spend some more time enjoying these beach views

Party on the beach apparently

Enjoying the hazy nature of the distant views

lil cave to explore on the side of the rock

Birds are protected up there, there are signs in front of the rock saying not to disturb them.

wish there was more of a high tide so the reflections could be bigger

So people at night bring wood out here and have fires then just leave whatever wood didnt burn in the sand after they put it out. on such a pristine beach, just didnt expect to find this here.

The road is boring as hiking most roads are but it is different scenery than the trail so that was fine. Get to the top at the Hikers camp and the view out onto the water from there was meh so we head down the lighthouse view path which was pretty nice; had a couple viewing outlooks to see the lil island with the lighthouse on it. On the way down, a bird crapped on Mike which he did not appreciate. After hiking, we get in the car and drive down to Tillamook which had a beautiful drive through a valley. Went to Werners for lunch and beer which was great as the food was delicious (especially after all that hiking), but the beers were extremely limited as they are moving production locations. Head to the Tillamook creamery to get a tour and it was very uninspiring for what I was expecting. There was no tasting of cheese, the line for ice cream was hella long, and the wait to get into the building to do a selfguided tour was also long - all due to covid. Eventually we get in and do the self guided tour which is informative and what not but lets be honest, I really went to try all the cheeses :) After we are done there, we head over to De Guarde brewery to meet Trevor, see the building and try some of their beers. So many options and all were incredibly delicious; my favorite was this chamomile sour beer - I dont usually get much flavor from softer floral ingredients but this beer was delicious. The place itself is very rustic feeling and the brewery is organized chaos and pretty impressive; it was unlike any brewery I think I have seen previously/since - they have oak barrels everywhere and no fermenters as they ferment in the barrels. Head back to cannon beach through that same beautiful valley we came in on and go to Toms fish and chips for dinner; it was ok but definitely overhyped and tastes very commercially not like fish and chips Ive had at pubs and what not. Back to the place and grab some beers to go walk along the beach for sunset and having some beers while we chill. Once we are done enjoying the scenery, head back for bed.

Crinklys Pacific NW jaunt (5/29-6/20/2021) Day 12 Going to check out Astoria (6/9)

Do some yoga and get ready for the day (packing up and loading the car) before we drive up to Astoria. Drive through the countryside which is beautiful and then eventually get into town. Go to Fort George brewery for lunch and some drinks as they have great food and beer there. Walk along the boardwalk for a ways and its pretty underwhelming so we turn around and head back into the main part of town and wind up at reach break brewing to see what they have going on for such a small operation. 

Flight at Ft. George brewery

View from Astoria of Washington in the distance

Ships chilling in the sea

Bridge connecting the 2 states

Got a little closer

Just your normal beach views here

So otherworldly looking

People chilling on the beach on this fine day

walking to the big rock

reflective shot <3

This area is just stunning

Lil slice of heaven right there

They got a couple food trucks slinging grub and some pretty decent sours so I have a flight and we enjoy the music as they for some reason had banjo music playing. After we are done there, we get back to the car and drive down to cannon beach to check into our place which shares a parking lot with Pelican brewery. We put our name on the list there and then walk to the beach to check it out and continue to walk around town a bit as we are passing time until our reservation is available. Have dinner at pelican and a few beers which are ok; its a chain brewpub so wasnt expecting too much excitement around their beers even though they do have some options outside the normal pub selection. After we eat, we go back to the beach to watch the sunset and walk more along the beach enjoying the scenery before heading back to the place to get some sleep.

Crinklys Pacific NW jaunt (5/29-6/20/2021) Day 11 A night of wine in Dundee (6/8)

Woke up and did yoga and packed. Had breakfast with everyone and then drove up to the Ken Wright cellars for a wine tasting; the tasting room was in town so there were no views of vineyards but the room and patio were both incredibly pretty. After that tasting we drive to Domaine de Broglie for another tasting which is in a beautiful spot within the trees overlooking hills of vineyards.

I dont know why but being in the trees and seeing a vineyard is cool

View from the Domaine balcony

Cousin enjoying his wine as we walk around the vineyard

Just a couple cousins sharing laughs with some views

just having some wine at dinner

After that tasting we go over to Knudsen vineyards for a tasting there which is also right next to rolling hills of vineyards; it is really pretty such that we go walking around the grounds after our flight to get some views. After we finish there, we go to furioso vineyard because they are overlooking a whole hill of vineyards and the city so we have to have one more tasting there before going to our hotel and checking in so we can relax for a little bit before walking to trellis for dinner; the food there was very good and since we are in wine country, we accompany our meal with a bottle of wine from the region. On the way back we stopped at lumpys tavern for a drink or 2 to check out the local watering hole which is your textbook definition of a dive bar; bunch of people playing pool with some slot machines as all bars seem to have slot machines here. We lose a little bit of money at the machines and then walk back to call it a night.

Crinklys Pacific NW jaunt (5/29-6/20/2021) Day 10 Wine tasting and hanging with family around Salem (6/7)

Get up and do some yoga before having breakfast with everyone and having a shower to start the day. Go to Bethel Heights winery to do a tasting while taking in some gorgeous views. Then head down to Christom winery for another flight. 

These pretty flowers are everywhere up here

Cool way to present a flight

Winery Views

Flowers everywhere...

The people were so friendly and both places had some pretty good wines. After weve had our fill of wines, we go back to the house to do some laundry and get ready for dinner. Head into town to check out Ram Brewpub which had decent food (pub grub) and what I will call the normal selection of brews for a brewpub; all of them were ok, nothing too special but definitely drinkable and enjoyable. After dinner we drove around town for a little bit to see what was there then headed back to the place to hang out a bit more and have some beers until it is time for bed.  

Crinklys Pacific NW jaunt (5/29-6/20/2021) Day 9 On to Salem with the cuzzo (6/6)

Today we go our separate ways. Start the day with some yoga and then we all get packed up and head into Portland for me to pick up the car that Ill use for the next week or so. After picking it up, we go to this cool little neighborhood nearby to grab a coffee at woodlawn and then some lunch down the street at breakside brewery. 

breakfast flight hahah

Flight at great notion looks delicious

The dog knows

Some of the art outside of Mutantis

Has some pretty good beer (a gin barrel aged wit? so good) and decent ass food. Then go down the street  to check out Mutantis which is a gluten free brewery and bottle shop. Have a couple tasters there of some of the gluten free options (they have a great selection of styles) and they arent that bad for being gluten free. After checking out that lil place we get in the cars and go nearby to check out great notion brewery which had easily the best beers of the day; they had a decent selection and all were really good. 2 of the guys have to go back at this point so me and my cousin get in the car and head south to Salem to go visit my "aunt" (whole life called her aunt, found out later in life than Id like to admit that she is my mom's friend so fake aunt but family is family hahaha). She is on the outskirts of town so we drive through some of the wine country to get there. We eventually get in and spend the night just sipping on some wine, having a delicious dinner, chit chatting while catching up, and enjoying the views of the back garden which has tons of hummingbirds flying around. So cool! :) Eventually we head to bed after a great day/evening.