In which we went somewhere!

Worked Saturday and did, like, an insanely busy twelve-hundred dollar day at the cheese shop.

Sunday we slept in and cuddled, which was fucking lovely, and then cleaned the house, packed out, and drove to Portland.

Arrived around eight o’clock, and crashed at my friend Leila’s house. My other high school friend, Deb, was also visiting, so we played pinochle! I can’t even tell you how long its been since I got to play pinochle. My better half took to it like a duck to water, and yours truly played a perfect hand!

The next day Leila fed us Syrian breakfast, which, I now know, causes Deb to yell “MAC DOOCE!” over and over, because she loves makdous (stuffed pickled eggplant). Both women are currently divorcing their husbands and are in various states of hurt and anger, so that sucks, but it was fantastic to see them after so long.

After eating we drove to Rockaway Beach via the scenic highway, which was absolutely scenic as fuck; love that Tillamook National Forest. Checked in at our hotel, which is right on the beach, with a private ocean-facing balcony and a fireplace, walked along the sand awhile, and then went out to dinner. Halibut fish and chips!

We literally left the sliding glass door cracked all night for the glorious sound of surf. Plus it’s well over 40F so it made for perfect sleeping conditions.

Tuesday we drove up and down the coast, just being tourists. Taco truck, the dollar store for slippers (because my leather shoes were still wet from the beach the day before), Goodwill (because why not; I got a set of Christmas candle holders that were cute), the Blue Heron cheese company, and a stereotypical coast gift shop with salt water taffy and junk jewelry and shells and weird crap. So fun and nostalgic.

Spent the evening just hanging out in the room. Got takeout, watched movies, drank adult beverages, stood on the balcony enjoying the sea. It smells SO GOOD!

Today we visited the Tillamook cheese visitor’s center, which is fucking MASSIVE, ate at a diner, drove around, got rained on, but mostly just lounged in the hotel. Ate leftovers for dinner.

Tomorrow we’ll be driving home, but we still have a few days of vacation left to lounge around in the house doing absolutely nothing, which is glorious, not gonna lie.

Other than Leila and Deb, who are vaccinated, we’ve been masked and distanced, so hopefully we’re not a goddamned disease vector. We haven’t been anywhere since we drove out from Minneapolis over two years ago, so this has been fantastic.