It rained all night. Boy, was I glad we weren’t tent camping! When the rain stopped this morning, we took the opportunity to walk along the dunes and the beach. The tide was out and the hard packed sand made it perfect for walking, running, biking, chasing kids and dogs, and horseback riding. There were people doing all these things while the weather was good.

Dunes separating the campground and the beach

Not us

After that, it started raining again so we headed into Manzanita for lunch. Manzanita is a ritzy little seaside town similar to Carmel. Lots of expensive realty, restaurants, coffee houses and gift shops. We had lunch at the Big Wave Café. Shawn had fresh halibut fish & chips and I had clam chowder and crab cakes with habanero aioli. We also enjoyed a bottle of Oregon Chardonnay from Westrey in Dundee Hills. We slipped into Bread & Ocean Bakery just as they were putting up the closed sign and grabbed their last loaf of sourdough. We are still on a quest for good sourdough. A final stop at Manzanita Espresso & News for a coffee and then back to camp.

The rest of the afternoon has been spent enjoying the fresh rain-filled air and reading. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

Daily Ratings & Stats
Nehalem Bay State Park – 4 stars
Big Wave Café – 4 stars
Bread & Ocean Bakery – holding out on a rating until dinner
Manzanita Espresso & News – 4 stars
Steps taken – 10,408 so far