Cannon Beach

I woke up at the Oregon Coast this morning.   I went to sleep here too, which is good because I really hate it when I go to sleep in Portland and wake up somewhere else.   I’m here for a friend of mine’s 40^th birthday.   We’re at Cannon Beach, which is one of the coolest towns in Oregon, if not the United States, if not the world.  

I first came to Cannon Beach in 1990, I think.   I flew out to Oregon from Washington, DC and ended up spending the night here.   I bought a kite that day.   I still have that kite.   I know exactly where it is.   I’ve probably only flown it once or twice since then, but I keep it around.   This is probably because I’m a little bit of a hoarder.   I keep it though because I’m sure that it will get flown again.   Now that I think about it, I should have brought it for this weekend.  

It’s raining here; this is not a surprise.   I would have to guess that the Oregon Coast gets about 340 days of rain a year.   I’ve been to this coast line hundreds of times and I can count the sunny days on one hand.   I can count the sunny days during the winter on one finger.   I love it though.   The Oregon Coast is one of the most beautiful places in the world.    It is marked by cliffs and rock formations.   The seas seem to always be rough.    I have so many memories of this area, wonderful, good, bad, and horrible.   When I come here they all flood back.   I love how a place can do that to you.

I’m going to walk down to the bakery here in town.   I need to get a loaf of Haystack Bread.   There is rock formation here called “Haystack Rock”.   It is domed, like a haystack, about 100 yards off the coast.   The bread is just a domed loaf of sweet bread that looks vaguely like the rock formation.   I’ve never been to Cannon Beach without getting a loaf and this trip will be no exception.   My day today will be much like the other days I’ve spent here over the years.    I will do many of the same things.   I will go to Bill’s Tavern.   I will eat my Haystack Bread.   I will go shopping in town.   I will walk on the beach and possibly go to Ecola State Park.   I will be a tourist.   I know I will have a good time today.