The Boy Scout

 

We arrived to the coast yesterday and did about a 50 mile stretch of the 101 on our way in to our hotel which is about 20 miles north of Florence and 20 miles south of Yachats, approximately mile marker number 170 for those of you that have been here before. I of course was overly excited about everything we saw along the 101 and made Scott pull over more than once to check out the view or take pictures. We also decided to grab a hot bite to eat because the hotel was in the middle of nowhere. We passed so many places offering fresh seafood. Many of these places were touristy joints and we know better than to eat there. We want to eat with the locals. Finally on our way out of town we passed this little store that had a sign out front that said fresh seafood. But what made this store different is that the sign was falling apart and they had a huge “crab boiling pot.” We went inside The South Beach Fish Market and this place was hopping; the tables were full and there was a line to order. Here you could either order fresh seafood to go by the pound or have it prepared. We decided to share a chowder and halibut fish and chips. The chowder was good but the halibut was one of those things where you would take a bit e and then sit back and close your eyes while you savored the flavor and the texture. To start you could taste the freshness and then it was prepared perfectly with just the right about of batter and seasoning, finally cooked just right, flaky but not chewy. Ahhh the coast.
We arrived at our hotel called the See Vue around 4pm and at first I was a little taken back by its outside appearance. It is a small place with maybe 12 rooms, think old run down hotel in a horror movie. But when we walked into the room that all changed as there is a huge window out the back that overlooks the ocean. Once we settled in, Scott also settled in for a nap and I took off down the beach to explore. This is when the hotel became even better, there was no one on the beach. It was just me, my camera , the waves and the seagulls. What an experience, I walked about a half mile to the south and then to the north of the hotel. About 10 minutes to the north of the hotel I ran into a family who were building sandcastles and had the most perfect bonfire. I had read during my research for the trip that fires were allowed along the coast and since this discovery I have talked non-stop about the need for a fire on the coast. When I returned from the walk Scott and I decided to head out to the lawn at sit on the lawn chairs and watch the sunset. Unfortunately another couple had the same idea and beat us to it. We then decided to walk down the path and sit on the beach. We walked about 5 minutes and I remembered the great fire from earlier.  

When we got there it had been abandoned but was still smoldering. I quickly ran back to the hotel to gather supplies for a picnic and left Scott to rebuild. When I returned my Boy Scout had a roaring bonfire. (He wanted me to write that he rubbed two pieces of wood together while I was in search of matches, so if you ever hear that version please just nod and smile.)