Back from the beach!

Back from my trip to the beach with Niceguy. We had a great time!

We stayed up way too late Monday night/Tuesday morning, and Bill dropped off the video camera at just before 7am, so needless to say, Niceguy and I slept in, and left in the early afternoon for the beach.

We got to the hotel around 3:30pm, got situated in the room (5th floor ocean front room with a fireplace, sorry didn't get any pictures of the room), and then took off to explore Lincoln City for food. Niceguy spotted this little Thai place, and we decided to try it out. I tell ya, the boy can pick em. The food was fantastic!

After dinner we stopped by the store and picked up some basics, and headed back to the hotel. After a few minutes watching the weather and news on TV, we went for a walk on the beach. We watched the sunset, took tons of pictures, and found a nice place to sit down that was just far enough from the hotel that the floodlights didn't hinder the view of the stars. Nearby we found a well-used fire pit, so Niceguy collected some driftwood and tinder, and after a few attempts got a 10 minute fire going. He ran back to the room, picked up a few beers, the binoculars, and some more paper and small pieces of driftwood, and we sat on the beach for 4 hours playing with the fire, and watching the stars and boats out at sea.

The next morning we made a run to the store, and picked up more beer, a fire-log and some firewood for an even better(and more stable) fire Wednesday night. We stopped by the casino, lost $40, and headed out for a drive to the shops in Depoe Bay. While these shops are packed to the gills with touristy stuff, they have some nice stuff too. We found the Newport Bay Candle Company. OH MY GAWD! Their gel candles are amazing! I bought one. Couldn't help it.
Niceguy found a store full of military memorabilia and various trinkets. He found a pin for the 82nd Airborne that he couldn't put down. He wore it the entire rest of the trip, and all the way home. He's proud of his military service. =)

We decided since the weather said it was supposed to rain that night, we'd try to find a water proof jacket for me, and were unsuccessful in the Depoe Bay shops. So we hopped in the car, and continued south on the Pacific Coast Highway to Newport, where I knew there was a Walmart. Of all stores, I assumed Walmart would have some sort of jacket. Well assuming wasn't the brightest idea..... *grumble* So we hit the Taco Bell in the parking lot, and then went to Fred Meyer up the street. After scanning through the women's jackets that were minimum $80 with a 25% off discount, I got irritated and headed to the men's department. After finding a REALLY nice jacket that was $12.50 after the 50% off discount, we headed back to Lincoln City to relax and get ready for the fire on the beach we'd been waiting for all day.

Niceguy took a short nap, and I opened the balcony door and sat down to read my book. The sun quietly set behind the clouds while we watched from the balcony, and we collected our party supplies and headed down to the beach.

After only 4 or 5 minutes, the fire was going, warm and comfortable. It was too cloudy to star-gaze, so we did a lot of talking. Niceguy really enjoyed keeping the fire going. He kept trying to find bigger and better driftwood. Kept rotating the logs so the fire would last just a few minutes longer, and another few minutes, and another few minutes.... It was an amazing 4 hours. There were huge driftwood logs conveniently placed around the fire-pit for seating, and I can tell you, my butt is still sore from sitting on them for so long. *chuckle* But I wouldn't trade the night for anything.

We got back to the hotel nearing 2am, and Niceguy setup a movie on his laptop. He was snoring quietly long before I fell asleep, and with an 11am check-out, I forced myself to go to sleep so I could drive home without killing us.

The next morning, I popped out of bed the second the alarm went off. We got everything together, and checked out of the room. We stopped at the store for some morning wake-up juice, and decided to try our luck at the casino again.

Niceguy has his favorite machines, as I do mine, but I have to limit myself or I'll go nuts. That boy had some awesome luck! Keep in mind, we played penny slots the entire time. He was up $40 on his first machine shortly after I'd already lost my first $20. He cashed out at $10 ahead, and we moved to other machines. I lost that $10 in a matter of seconds, but he hit two progressive jackpots(Not too amazing, $25 and $8) in the first few minutes, and then played it all out. On our way out, we decided to drop our last $20 into an interesting Ebay penny slot machine. He was up $30, and then hit a sour streak, and lost it all. Never expect to leave a casino with money, lol, but I tell ya, that was a lot of fun.

We drove back to Depoe Bay so I could get more candles. The one I picked up made the hotel room smell so good, I had to get more for home. On our way back to Lincoln City, we tried to stop at a couple of beaches that ended up being just overlooks or look-outs. I wanted one last walk on the beach. We stopped at a little Mexican fast food place that was pretty good. I am impressed. Niceguy knows his food. lol. After getting lost in the city, we finally settled on an overly-populated beach and went for a walk in the opposite direction of the crowds. By the time we'd finished our walk, we'd decided our next trip to the beach will probably be in the next few months if we can afford it. Hell, I'd go tomorrow if I could afford it.All in all, this was a great trip. Relaxing, lots of beach time, good shopping, good food, and really good company. I can't wait to go again. My apartment balcony just doesn't have the same appeal as a 5th floor, beach-front balcony....

Love and hugs to all!