When we reached Pacific City, however; things started to clear up a bit. Just before entering the extremely popular Pelican Brewpub, an oasis of high-octane beer on the coast, the fog lifted and we could see for miles.
Those who follow my travels even a bit know that I have grown into a beer junkie, some would even say "Beer Snob". For a beer snob, winter is a great time, a time when brewers brew their strongest, most flavorful, most potent ales to get us all through the seemingly endless rainy season. Pelican had a number of barleywines on tap, one from each of the last five years, each maturing well with age, each above 9% ABV. I opted for a "Bad Santa", brewed as a "Black" IPA, a malty twist on their awesomely strong (while not too bitter) India Pelican Ale.
The rest of the drive was just as nice, and we worked our way north, spanning US-101 from Lincoln City to Tillamook, departing occasionally to take a more coastal route. The most significant diversion from 101, besides the path to Pacific City, was the Three Capes Route, a road that was nearly underwater for its entire length... literally six inches above sea level at points.
At Tillamook it began to get dark (being already four o'clock in the evening), so we headed East along Route 6, a sweet river route that cuts through the coastal range. We saw a lot of snow on the side of the road, and were largely unaccompanied through the valleys. The timing was perfect, and the sky grew dark just as we reached the outer suburbs of Hillsboro (home to Nike and Intel), the least interesting part of the drive.
Take It All In: http://picasaweb.google.com/mattawalker/PacificCityOceansideWithSarah
Due to popular demand, we ended up hosting an impromptu party on New Year's Eve. There's not much to say that the pictures won't do a better job of explaining, so I'll just say that we had a good mix of people, and such a great time was had by all that half the people ended up staying the night. I felt fortunate to have a cat-free basement in which I could lay inflatable beds and camping gear, and it capped off my role as host quite nicely.
See For Yourself: http://picasaweb.google.com/mattawalker/NewYearsEveParty
Oh, one final thought... one armed pushups are impossibly more difficult than they look.
