Dear Liza,
When we needed inside space and lunch after an hour in the wind and sand, we fetched the car and drove to the main part of town. Many shops and restaurants were open, but with restrictions like here in Portland: Shorter hours and take out only. Our first choice, Bill’s Tavern Brewhouse, was one such place and would have to wait for another time.
But just across the street, The Driftwood Restaurant and Lounge, was open, welcoming, and had expanded into the parking lot in order to give enough space between tables. We wanted to get out of the chill, though, and there was just one table left inside. Hooray!
It felt odd, after these long weeks, to sit at a table in a public place, and order food. Odd, but wonderful.
Our waitress, Susan, was masked and pleasant, and brought us beer (beer!) and food I hadn’t cooked. We ate and basked in the new normality as we watched the morning clouds blow away to flood our window with sunshine.
Once we were warm and sated, we headed off to explore. The shops that were open had these adorable reminders to stay safe.
We looked at art through gallery windows and stopped at the candy shop for Grandpa Nelson’s beloved salt water taffy. The public art was delightful! I love this newly-installed fountain and sculpture of ravens, but foolishly neglected to note its title or artist.
On our way back to the car, we stopped on the top of a bluff to have another long look at the beach and nearly got hit by a kite! A very young fellow was below us, trying to reel in his kite, and it was doing that bob-and-weave thing kites do when they don’t want to land. We had a chat and I thanked him for making our day at the beach extra special.
We said goodbye to the sand, wind, and rocks before climbing into the car and realizing how tired we all were! Thank goodness for Auntie Bridgett’s stamina in getting us home.
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 