Tripometer – 7859 mi
Gas Gauge – 607.372 gal
Location – Fort Stevens State Park, Hammond, OR
Lodging – $32
Cans of OFF – 4
Today started slowly. The rain last night extended well into the day today. The dark rain skies conspired with the drawn shades on the trailer to keep us both in bed until after 10am. (Yes, Kelly, asleep until 10am – several hours later than, well, almost ever.) Once coffee was had we ventured into town to find some food and a bath for the dog. (He hasn’t been bathed since this trip started and he’s starting to smell a bit ripe, swimming almost every day or not.)
Preface: We’re trying not to talk about food too much in the blog, but this meal was amazing and SO different.
When Googling restaurants in and around Astoria, a particular place stood out for us. Drina Daisy Bosnian Restaurant. Both of us are somewhat adventurous eaters but neither of us have even seen or heard of a Bosnian restaurant. We simply had to check this out. We really scored choosing this place for lunch. The appetizer was a smoked meat and cheese platter. For main entrees Paul had lamb chops and Kelly had stuffed cabbage leaves. Dessert was Baklava with coffee served in the traditional manner. HOLY COW what a meal, and not expensive at all. Now, that makes for a great meal, but to make this an unforgettable meal the atmosphere has to be spot on, right? What made this meal for us was the husband / wife team that ran the restaurant. It was pretty clear that these two have been running a restaurant together the entire time they’ve been married. The awards, reviews, and articles on the walls would indicate that they’ve been doing it quite well. What we found so memorable was the fact that they screamed and yelled at each other the entire time we were in the restaurant – about everything. Here’s the twist – they would carry on and fuss constantly but when needed, they would get within a whisper’s distance and talk about the important or serious topics without any bickering. The screaming and yelling was a coping mechanism that neither really payed any attention to. They were both wonderful folks and we had time to talk at length to both of them before our meal was over. Drina, the wife and chef, said to Paul as she handed him the lamb chops, in a very thick accent, ‘In my country we use hands’.
After Ranger’s bath Kelly wanted to have beers at the Rogue Brewery. Astoria, the closest town of any size to Fort Stevens State Park is a beautiful old fishing town. A brand we all know, Bumble Bee Tuna Company was started in Astoria, Oregon in 1899 and operated here until 1980. The Rogue Brewery, which is a brand that Kelly dearly loves, now occupies space in what once was the original Bumble Bee Cannery on Pier 39. The old cannery had several smaller businesses as well as a Bumble Bee museum with fishing boats, canning equipment and enough historic advertising to blur anyone’s eyes. We had a wonderful Saturday evening having a few good beers while listening to the sea lions on the fishing pier about 300 yards away ‘Ork Ork Ork’ endlessly. We spent the first half of our evening outside with the dog under the table, but the rain and temperature forced us inside shortly after dark.
When we left the mountains of Canada, we expected to find warmer temperatures soon after descending altitude, but instead we found that fall had come to the Northwest and temperatures are barely touching 65 most days. Returning to the trailer this evening Kelly smelled the inevitable – mildew (Paul’s smeller still isn’t working). It has been raining on and off for about a week now. Condensation on the tents above our beds has caused minor rain storms to break out over our beds in the middle of the night if you roll over too hard. We desperately need to get us and this rig to warmer, drier weather and soon.