OH TOURISM!

Many of the people that live full-time in Cannon Beach count on the business brought in by people visiting from out of town.  Many of us tend to forget about that while we are driving behind them or have to wait an extra 30 seconds for the crosswalk to be passable.  One of the things that I have noticed over the years happens both in and out of the car: I often notice actions that I would interpret as coming from a person who is uptight and unprepared.  My favorite example of this is  normally observed from my driver's seat on the windy part of the main drag in Cannon Beach that we all call the S-curves.  It is a well named part of the road with blind corners and, in some places, no shoulder at all.  This is not the best place for a person who is lost to do a U-turn.... But for some people - when they are stressed out and have no idea how small our town really is - apparently it is. It is very hard to get lost in our little town so keep driving until it is safe my friends.

Just a few days ago I was stopped by a woman who was looking for tide pools and a place that she had heard about that "was like a stream or something" where here kids could swim.  As I was attempting to guide her in the correct direction, I started to sense the same feeling I get from the U-turn people.  She was asking questions like she was afraid she was going to miss Ecola creek and even when I told her that it runs all the way from the mountains to the ocean and that they would run into it if they walked north on the beach, she still seemed stressed out.  What kind of vacation is she on?  At that point I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to tell her about the 27 horses that like just up stream from where her kids would be  swimming.  She didn't look like she could have handled the task of finding another swimming place for the kiddos. 

So here is my advice to people coming to visit my town or maybe before you go on vacation anywhere...

Cannon Beach is a small town and not too complicated in which to get around.  Before you make your way out here look us up on Google map and just get an idea of the layout.  When you feel like you are getting lost or confused about where you are, just go with it.  More than likely you don't really have a time frame for relaxation... and if you do you're not doing it right.  Some of the best things done on vacations can be the things you find by accident.  Look for a farmers market, too... I hear there are some good eats at those. ;p

RAIN OR SHINE

This is the third or fourth time I have attempted to write this blog.  It seems that every time I make an attempt I get a block and set the computer aside to take a break and when I make it back it freezes up.  So perhaps this time, due to how many times I have tried, I will be able to get this out all in one sitting.  It may be rough with the sun being out...

The weather report is all sun... until this coming Tuesday.  The past two Tuesdays have shown us some rain and some shine.  They have also been two of the best markets we have seen yet.  It has been nice to see the people out and doing things even when the rain is threatening.  I think that the northwest spirit must rub off on the out-of-towners.  We met a couple from the south two weeks ago who was here on vacation.  They came back for seconds even though it rained almost the whole time they were there.  That is the way things tended to go the last two weeks.  When it rained and I was hanging out under the tent, we would get busy and I would be grilling.  Grilling in the rain... that is so NW.  

The computer did freeze again but thanks to Google Chrome I was able to get it back! Thanks for nothing Internet Explorer. 

LOTSA THOGHTS

It has been an interesting week for me and I've had many things to think about.  The market wasn't as busy as I thought it was going to be so I have been selling my extra fish to friends and today a stranger.  However things turn out you still have to make the best of them.  Last market was also the first time I served iced tea.  I chose iced tea because I had many people tell me to do it as they thought it would be a hot seller and they would buy it.  None of those people came to buy it and .... that could be because I didn't tell them I had it.  None-the-less I think lemonade is still the thing everyone seems to be in the mood for. 

MEAT!  Meat is one of the other things on my mind lately.  Some say that if I serve meat then I would be going against my name. Fish X Salad mentions nothing about meat.  Perhaps a surf and turf is in order?

I have also been rolling the idea of some packaged dressings or pesto.  Anything that will get more people to the booth.  I have a lot of rosemary and have been dreaming of making a pesto out of it with some garlic scapes.  What would you want to buy at the market to take back to your hotel if you were here in Cannon Beach?  We do have some amazing cheese being sold at the market that could be made into a dip or spread.  Really the possibilities are endless.

LOVING WORK

Some of you may know what I do for work every day.  For those of you that do not I spend my days weeding, deadheading flowers, and watering plants.  So when it comes time to do all that stuff at home you would think that I would try and avoid it.  Yesterday I spent a few hours in my garden weeding, planting, and watering.  It may have been the beer I was able to enjoy while I was doing it but I had a great time.  It is really cool to see the difference between work work and fun work when they are basically the same thing.  In one case I guess you could say that I am like an office worker that has to send email at work and then all so enjoys doing in my spare time. 

Don't get me wrong my friends, I love my job and think about how lucky I am almost every day.   When it rains I am not always so in love with my profession.  None the less it is amazing being outside all day.  That is one reason Seaing Greens has been so much fun.  Most likely I will reach the same or close to the same conclusion about cooking outside as gardening outside when it rains on me the first time.