Friday afternoon we loaded our stuff, Darla, Nitro, and a trailer full of old lumber recycled from the hot tub house (which was recycled into a garage) and headed for the cabin.Our Fearless Leader pointed the way.
We got to the cabin mid-afternoon and while Bob busted out the lawn mower, Darla and I walked through town to see what was going on.
After Bob got all his work done, we went to the Lost Roo for dinner and a beer. They were really busy, but we managed to squeeze in to the bar area.
No, this Lost Roo!
The City of Long Beach was offering "complimentary sanitation disposal" services. In other words, free garbage dumping. So Saturday, Bob tore the old booby-trap laden deck off the cabin and started building the new one. We had a lot of recycled materials from him converting the hot tub house into another garage so before long he had a great new deck. Erik joined us mid-day and helped Bob finish the job up.
Meanwhile, Darla and I were driving around the peninsula hitting the "28-mile garage sale". I found a new baseboard heater for the cabin bedroom for $10 so it was pretty profitable. So while Bob is slaving away on the new porch, Darla and I stopped in downtown Long Beach at Aloha Charlie's Fish Company and had awesome fish tacos while listening to a great band on the opposite corner of the street.It felt like a "real" vacation place.
Sunday morning Erik, Darla, Bob and I went to the Astoria Sunday Market. They have more hand-crafted items than most markets so it's always a good one to go to.
After our trip to the market, we headed to the Wet Dog Cafe' for a bite of lunch and a beer brewed right there at the Wet Dog. We like this place because you can see the ships anchored at the mouth of the Columbia River waiting to go upstream to Portland and beyond.
After our outing to Astoria, it was nap time for us.THIS is something I never, ever, in my wildest dreams, figured I'd see. I figured I must have not woken up from my nap and was dreaming this.
After naps, dinner, walks on the beach, we were all lounging around again. It was a relaxing weekend.
Last trip I discovered traces of mice and ants in the cabin for the first time. I think it's because they razed Obie's, an abandoned gas station that was on our block. I set traps and had one unfortunate meeting of mouse and trap but there must be more. I have always figured we were immune because the cabin smells like Killer Cat. Well, it appears we were not immune.
Even with mice rattling around in the cabin, Nitro napped.
and napped,
No wonder the mice are laughing at our cat.
I decided the way to deal with the mice was the "scorched earth" policy. We went to the store and got an entire arsenal of non-toxic but nontheless deadly mouse stuff. We couldn't risk using the ever-so-effective mouse pellets in case a mouse were to drop a pellet that a grand dog could possibly find. The ant bait says "non-toxic" yet kills the ants effectively. How does that work? Anyway, we deployed these items of pest warfare, writing a careful list on the whiteboard where each item lurks so we can quickly recall them in case the dog(s) are with us.
Monday we headed home and were glad the traffic wasn't too bad considering it was a holiday. When we pulled in to the driveway, Nitro was all excited to be done with his long car ride so Bob let him "drive" into the backyard. This is also something I thought I'd never, ever see in my lifetime...even several of them.
This is my beautiful smoke tree in the backyard. The colors are really pretty. It's even better when the "smoke-like" flowers come out.
Remember those who fought for our country...
and family that went before us...
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