Last weekend we escaped to the Seaside, Oregon with our long time friends that we actually met at a birthing class 24 years ago! We are "empty nesters" now and are feeling the freedom of our new life.
We ran into my good friend Becky at Bagels by the Sea while having breakfast. Since she has a Seaside beach house we asked her where a good place to eat lunch was. We took her up on one of her suggestions and were pleasantly pleased as you can tell by the guys faces!
We've driven by this place a dozen times and never given it a second thought! But I have a feeling from now on it will be a destination whenever we are in the neighborhood. They have fabulous smoked anything! Pork, chicken, salmon, oysters. etc. with their special BBQ sauce, it's melt in your mouth perfection. A little plus is they bring you mini corn muffins and honey as you wait for your meal. Windows and outside seating look out on a small waterway that even had Blue Herron to entertain us. This place is definitely worth checking out, beats, clam chower! Just look for the hot pink building as you just begin to enter Seaside on Hwy 101, just past the 1st stop light "Avenue U" going north on the left hand side. Look for the "Flying Pig" flag and big black smokers out front.
After lunch, the guys went back to the house to play cribbage, guitars and tap naps while "the bad girls" decided to check out the local shops!
There was Mermaid Mist in the air as we ventured North to Gearhart to our first stop, Pacific Crest Cottage. To our delight we discovered a local artist treasures of the sea "Mermaid Crowns"! We couldn't help but try them out for size! What fun! I think the sea is calling me!
Check out the shops backyard fire pit! What a great use of an old window!
We headed back to Seaside to discover some fun shops in the old "Gilbert District". Karen had too much fun trying on silly glasses...my favorite I think are the guitars!
A fun and funky place to check out in Seaside is the "Sun Rose Gallery" 606 Broadway in Seaside they have wonderful mosaic art as well as jewelry, and home and garden treasures. I even picked up a wonderful summer read there "Broken for you", it's one of those books that when you finish it, you actually miss the characters! It's a great book about art and healing wounds from the past. Of course we couldn't resist taking a picture with the "Mosaic Mama" that greets you at the front door! She has an outfit complete with a skirt made out of plastic shopping bags! Now that's recycling in it's finest!
I thought I had seen it all in Seaside but we ran across a new place to check out. For all of you crafters out there, this is a dream shop. "Creative Beginnings" They have it all from beautiful yarn, paint and journaling supplies, incredible handmade papers to beads, scrap booking! To top it off it's in a beautiful space at 620 S. Holladay Dr Ste. 1
I have this thing about checking out bathrooms in different shops and to my surprise the owner had painted one of my favorite quotes on the bathroom wall! She even had a basket filled with the quote printed on paper for customers to take because she had so many request for paper to copy the quote down. Here it is for you to enjoy...
"Our deepeest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that others won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It is not just some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. And as we are liberated from our own fear our presence automatically liberates others." -from A Return to Love- Marianne Williamson
Pickathon is a leader in green festivals. One stage is reached by a short hike in the woods and is powered by solar energy. On our way to hear some music on the "woods stage" we had to cross the "Boggie Trail", no there were no ugly mean trolls, we just had to dance our way past!
Creative campers had nature art every turn we made! 
I found the perfect spot to hear one of my favorite artist "Laura Gibson" a giant plus is she is from Portland. Check her out she has a beautiful voice! 
One of the things I love about the Pickathon is the variety of music and the variety of people that attend the festival!
