Overnight Guest

Pacific City had an unusual overnight guest last night. Here at The Craftsman B&B, our guests were very normal. The unusual guest was the Coast Guard helicopter. Now we see the Coast Guard every day. They fly over, along the beach, fly over the runway in town and about once a week, they land at one end of the airstrip and taxi down to the other end, clearing the debris and sand off the runway. It's gets a little noisy when they do this, but it sounds pretty cool, it is a jet after all.

So yesterday, I hear them land and taxi, but they were here for 15 minutes, a little long. Mike and I went to investigate. The crew was looking at the tail section, and if you know anything about how a helicopter flies, you know that the tail rotor is pretty darn important. So later on in the day, another crew flew in and, I guess picked up the stranded crew. This morning, the crew arrived in style and they have been working on the broken 'copter all morning.

I sure hope they get it fixed soon. It will be a busy weekend, when crazy people come to the beach for the 4th, crazy things happen. The Coast Guard is always at the ready to help. Fisherman in trouble, hikers off the trail, they got us covered and we thank them for it.

So how much do we like the Coast Guard? Here is a part, over the front door, of our mural we painted in the living room.

And now for a close-up.

I'm glad we have a safe place for them to land when, I assume, their dashboard lit up with the warnings. Nothing more embarrassing than rescuers needing rescue. Of course, not as funny as a tow truck getting stuck, and we come to the rescue, but that's another story.

Tres Guitarras Cabaret in Pacific City

Tres Guitarras Cabaret — A Master Guitarist Performance

Saturday, July 11th, 7:00 PM.

Location: Kiawanda Community Center, Kiwanda Dr., Pacific City

Tickets: $10 advance, $12 at-the-door. Reservations: 503-965-2204

Contact: José Solano

José Solano presents a concert of three master guitarists playing everything from bossa nova, to jazz, classical, flamenco, blues, samba and original compositions. Entitled the Tres Guitarras Cabaret it features Brazilian guitarist Marco de Carvalho, Jazz Guitarist Chris Mosley and Flamenco Guitarist/Oud player Nat Hulskamp.

This is a concert not to be missed by any lover of the guitar as you are unlikely to find a more fabulous guitar ensemble playing at the master level such a wide range of guitar styles. Solano presents this performance in the intimacy of a cabaret ambiance with theater lighting and an excellent sound system. The Pelican Pub will set up the bar serving its internationally acclaimed beers.

Marco de Carvalho graduated from the prestigious Conservatory of Rio de Janeiro where he studied composition and harmony under Luis Eca and Ronaldo Miranda. He has performed widely and is now living and performing in Seattle. His repertoire extends from Villa Lobos to Antonio Carlos Jobim and much more. You may remember some of Jobim's songs made famous by Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, The Girl From Ipanema, etc. Marco also sings bossa nova in, of course, Portuguese.

Nat Hulskamp is a master flamenco guitarist and oud player. He creates with other guitarist and musicians fascinating fusions of jazz, bossa nova, Middle Eastern music and flamenco. He has traveled widely and holds a degree in ethnomusicology. As a special treat he will also perform on the oud, a lute-like instrument dating back thousands of years to Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. It's the predecessor of the guitar.

Chris Mosley is a brilliant Portland jazz guitarist. Portland's Willamette Week has said. "Mosley possesses rapid-fire dexterity and a fluidity that is as jazz as jazz gets . . . as bold as it is beautiful." He performs regularly with his jazz company, the Chris Mosley Quartet. We may be bringing in his quartet for a future engagement.

So if you didn't want to challenge to coast during the 4th of July weekend, here is your chance to hang out at the beach, grab some dinner and see a show. Still a few rooms available at The Craftsman B&B, I'll even get the tickets for you at the advanced price, just let me know you want to see the show when you book your reservation.

Ghost Forest

The winter storm on Dec 3, 2007 eroded a lot of sand off the beach in Neskowin. It uncovered a "ghost forest." Trees preserved in the sand. Now home to barnacles, mussels and star fish.


You can only see the trees during low tide and these pictures were taken during the one of the lowest tides of the year. You will have another chance to see the tide this low next month, July 20-24.

Just a short drive from The Craftsman B&B in Pacific City is the town of Neskowin. The beach there is famous for it's Proposal Rock, here it is during that low tide.

Be prepared to get your feet wet as a creek runs through the center of this beach. Named for a turn-of-the-century marriage proposal here, this tall, near-shore monolith. Be smart out here on Neskowin Beach, sneaker waves and the incoming tide have claimed many lives at this beach!

The Salmon are coming!

Right here in Pacific City, the Spring Salmon are running. Last fall, I wrote about the Fall Run. The ocean Coho season will open Saturday for ports south of Cape Falcon (Manzanita). Signs point to a productive season with a rare opportunity for anglers to harvest three Coho per day.

Coho Salmon

Fair catches of spring Chinook in Tillamook Bay are coming from the jetty on the soft tide series this week. Stronger tides should make the upper bay a better option by the weekend. Some sturgeon have been caught in the bay recently too.

Chinook Salmon

A good shot of Chinook salmon came through Pacific City on the Nestucca River this week. Tidewater anglers caught fair numbers. Three Rivers is also producing Chinook and should be fair through the month.

You can walk from The Craftsman B&B to the river to fish or watch the fisherman. Several popular spots where you can fish from the bank. Antoher great site is to hike Winema Beach, I wrote about it here. Here, you can watch the salmon swim from the ocean into the Nestucca Bay. Low tide is best, because they are taller than the water. You will see the seals and sea lions feasting. Just stay out of the water here, this is a very dangerous bar.

Ride to Work, TODAY!

The annual Ride To Work Day moves to the ‘third Monday in June.’ That's Today. It is the 18th annual Ride to Work Day. Reasons for an earlier annual Ride to Work Day include:

• The new day is not as hot in most northern hemisphere areas, and not as cold in most southern hemisphere areas. June weather is more favorable worldwide.
• The new day provides an increased opportunity for more riders to Ride to Work. Many workplaces close for summer holiday in July - especially in Europe.
• A Monday event encourages motorcycle and scooter commuting to continue during the entire week.
• Positive media exposure will increase. Sundays are slower ‘news days’ so there will be more coverage like this: “Look for more motorcycles on your commute tomorrow, as Monday is the annual Ride to Work day...”
• The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) has endorsed this day, and is promoting the ‘Third Monday in June’ worldwide as the annual Ride to Work Day.

So here at The Craftsman B&B in Pacific City, Oregon, Mike and Laura like to ride. Mike does not ride to work, when he wakes up, he is at work. Laura's office is a block away, so she walks to work. They do like to ride on Sunday afternoons. Mike rides a Ducati Monster and Laura ride a Stella scooter.

Did you know the we offer discounts to guests that ride their motorcycle, scooter or bicycle to the B&B. Stay 2 nights and get 10% off. It is one of our Green Discounts. We also discount for Ducati Monster Forum users and Oregon Scooter Club members, riding or not.

So when you are out on the roads today, keep an eye out for the 2 wheeled travelers, I hope you see a lot!

Radio Show

This morning, Mike was up and out of the house early. That's rare as he is usally making me hungry by preparing breakfast for his guests, it smells so good. I hang out in the hall between the kitchen and pantry peeking in through the gate and smelling all the good smells, you know, like bacon. The gate is there because dogs are not allowed in the kitchen.

Anyway, back to Mike leaving the house. He was off to be interviewed for a radio show that takes place in town every Friday. Held at the Bank in town, I like that place because I get cookies when I visit. When I still was able to, I would stand up and put my front feet on the counter so I could see who was going to take care of me while Mike was doing his banking.

The radio show is hosted by Jacie Voegeli, a local real estate agent and friend, she's always nice to me when she stops in for a visit. They talked about the B&B, Pacific City and the Oktoberfest event coming up this fall. You can listen to the show in 2 parts. Part #1 and Part #2, each about 10 minutes. Aired on KCUP News/Talk 1230 AM and 100.7-2 HD FM. Their sister station, BOSS Radio 100.7 FM, helps us out with events for the Pacific City Association too.

So check it out, download it to your iPod and enjoy the voice of my master. Yeah, like I have a master.

Summer Planning

Wow, the phone has been very busy the last couple of days and the Internet has been buzzing too here at The Craftsman B&B in Pacific City, Oregon. Here on the coast, Summer doesn't really start until July 4th weekend and we have been getting a lot of bookings for the upcoming season. Have you made your reservations?

Here are some Summertime events here in my neighborhood:

July 4th this year is on a Saturday and is also Clover's Day in the next town up the road, Cloverdale. This years theme is "Red White and Moo!" Don't miss the parade in downtown Cloverdale.

Next event for the day, cruise in for an Old Fashioned Strawberry Social. Held at the Kiawanda Community Center in Pacific City there will be a classic car show and strawberry shortcake.

Afterwords, head to the Cape for the Kiwanda Music Festival, bands playing all afternoon and into the evening.

To top it off, after the sun goes down, which around here in closer to 9:00 p.m. head for the beach to watch the fireworks show. Better yet, watch it from the deck of the B&B. That way you can avoid the smoke off campfires and "amateur" pyrotechnics.

Yes, the beach seems to attract fireworks from all over. As a lot of visitors live in wooded suburbia of the Willamette Valley, they think the beach is the best place to set off all the illegal fireworks they have collected. As a dog with sensitive ears, I hate that, so again this year, I will be on doggie downers for the show. When I hear a lot of fireworks, I just want to sit in the same chair as you, get as close to you as possible and being nearly 100 pounds, Mike and Laura don't want me sitting on their head.

So please come to Pacific City and enjoy the day's celebrations, parade, car show, strawberries and fireworks done by the pros. If you feel the need to set of your own fireworks, go to Sand Lake, Seaside or Lincoln City, then plan your next trip to stay with me at The Craftsman B&B. This way you can see what a crazy beach town is like compared to our mellow, still tiny beach town.

The photo is by rcampoamor on Flicker.com.

New Addition to the Family

What? It's not what you think. Here at The Craftsman B&B in Pacific City, Oregon, we are all about Craftsman style. Traditional, original, reproductions and modern interpretations of the style, ideas of the period and movement away from the frilly Victorian design. Our goal was to have our guests open the door to 1921, the year this house was built. While this piece wasn't around in 1921, it very well could have been. This is the latest member to the family, a Stickley Dining Room table.

Here is the pie sliced cherry veneer top. It also has 2 leaves so we can seat the whole house.

This table is not an original piece from the era, but an updated take. Made by Stickley, loved by us. We got a phone call from my human parents, the original Mike and Laura. They had a baby 2 years ago and as he is getting more mobile, they were afraid of him crashing his toys into the table and scratching, denting, you know, boy stuff. So they asked us if we wanted to have it in our house. We jumped at the idea and they drove it down just in time for the May Party. That was a good thing, as we had a lot of help getting it into the house and putting it back together. During the party the tables shared the Dining Room, the last event for the old table for years to come.
We have made our versions of Stickley furniture, purchased some too. Mike made the chairs, based on period details, fumed white oak and finished with a danish oil. Next coat will get a darker tint to blend better with the new table.

So for those of you that like our old table, original to the house and the finish on the top of the pedestal worn off from 80 years of feet rubbing on them, don't worry it's still part of the family, just not in the center of the Dinning Room.

So come and stay with us at the B&B to see our new addition. You may find me laying at the base of a table leg, there is an image, in the brushed nickle feet, of a very good looking dog.