Surf's Up

Long Boards invade Pacific City this weekend. I'm not one to get in the water, but many of our friends in town are, and do. Come "hang ten" with the long board legends.

Friday night, the Delicate Palate Bistro will host the registration party. Fish Tacos and cheap Mexican beer are on the menu. Get your hoodie for the season too, that way you'll fit in while on the beach, we don't want you looking like a tourist.

The Craftsman B&B has co-sponsored this event for a few years. We do it to support our local surf shop owner and board builder, Brian Bates of Seven Surf Boards.

The Dory Fleet will also be busy this weekend, so spend some time on the beach.

End of an Era

For those of you who follow my blog and those of you you check in on occasion, I thank you. This is my last blog entry. I will be handing over the keyboard to Mike and Laura and a replacement blogger to be named later.

As most of you know, I have been surviving bone cancer in my back leg for the last six months. The past week, I didn't feel like doing anything, not even surfing the Internet or blogging. So I saved up enough energy to write this last post. Mike promised he will keep on blogging for me and maybe Laura will add some posts too. After all, we all want you to know what's happening around The Craftsman B&B and our tiny beach town of Pacific City.

Looking back, I had it pretty good. I was born in January 1998 to Kobe and Pearl, their human parents are great friends to my human parents. I was the second biggest of the litter and stole Mike's heart the day he came "just to look at the puppies." I went home with them that day. I got crate trained and with Mike and Laura's schedule, I was only in it to sleep overnight and nap a few hours a day for most of the time I lived in Lake Oswego. When we moved to Pacific City, I was free of the crate, but had my own secret space to chill, it was under the espresso machine. I never really liked the beach, I don't like getting wet. The smells were pretty good though and I got to mark my territory all over town. I learned my way to the hardware store and the bank in town and always got a cookie. I love to greet the guests and make sure they got checked in OK.

I'll keep this short. I am a good dog, had a good life, but my body just gave up one me. I got really good at hopping on 3 legs, but at 100 pounds, it took a toll and wore me out. For all those friends and guests I've met, I will always remember your scent.

1/17/1998 - 7/30/2009
Oscar Meier

Replicator at The Craftsman B&B

Do we have a replicator at The Craftsman Bed & Breakfast? Well, as close to one as I have ever seen. Yesterday, Mike was clearing off his desk and ran across a note. It was a wine book one of our guests recommended we read and thought our other wine geek guests would like to read. So Mike went on the Internet and found the book, Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine. He ordered it at 12:23 PM. The book arrived at our post office today and was in the house before 11:00 AM. Inconceivable!

So when the Internet first started big with on-line shopping and EBAY, Mike thought about the replicator. Every house should have one. You order a snorkel, mask and flippers and out they come, like paper out of a printer.

For us, living in the tiny beach town of Pacific City, Internet shopping is a great deal for us. We don't have to drive to Salem or Portland to get things. We order on-line and it shows up at our doorstep, or the post office a block away. This has saved so many car trips, fuel and time. Our coffee for the espresso maker comes 2nd day air from Switzerland.

That's not the only instant gratification that happens here at The Craftsman B&B. We always tell our guests to let us know if they need anything, and we deliver. So if you want to be pampered, have your wishes come true, come stay with me at the B&B. If Mike can't get you what you need, just whisper your wish in my ear, dogs have special connections too.

Solo Travel at a Bed & Breakfast

Here at The Craftsman B&B, we have had quite a few solo travelers. A few have been on business trips, but most are single ladies that want to get away. B&B's are for couples, honeymooners and anniversaries you may think. Well, we do get those here too, but don't let that bother you. If fact, if you are bothered by seeing other people having a good time while on vacation, then any kind of travel probably isn't for you.

Some of you my dread eating alone in restaurants and that has prevented you from trying to travel solo. There are solutions to this challenge. First, at a Bed & Breakfast, one meal is already taken care of, breakfast. Find restaurants where you can eat in the bar. Your alone, but with a group of people. And if you just want to read while eating, you can do that too. I'm sure you single ladies know the "fake wedding ring" trick, hey, it works. Eat early, before the crowds if you are uncomfortable.

Here are some reasons that would make you want to travel solo:

• Sick and tired of trying to arrange trips with friends and fit every ones schedules.
• Altering what you want to do versus what your friends want to do.
• Waiting for friends to get moving in the morning or between any activity.
• Adjusting your activities based on the budgets of your friends.
• Altering your sleep, nap and chill time when traveling with others.
  

Here are some advantages to solo travel:

• Freedom.
• Choice of sights.
• Solo travel is stress free.
• Sitting in front of a special art piece or view for for as long as you want.
• Visiting sites or taking tours you want to see at your own pace.
• Eating at your pace and what, where and when you want.
• A road trip where you can jam out to your favorite music, sing along with out the groans of your friends.
• Ability to alter your plans as you see fit.
  

Here are advantages of solo travel and B&B's:

• Innkeepers look after their guests. There job is to make sure you have a great stay.
• Innkeepers know the area. They can help you plan a day out, can recommend sights and restaurants.
• A B&B is safe, usually in a neighborhood, not a row of hotels, they are family homes and friendly people stay in B&B's.
• Most B&B's have free wi-fi, you can keep up with your social media as you would at home, but post pictures and update your status of your great adventure.
  

Here are the advantages of staying at The Craftsman B&B during your solo travels:

• We feed you pretty good and you could skip lunch or have a light lunch on a bench overlooking the ocean.
• There are several great restaurants here in Pacific City where you can eat in the bar.
• If you prefer to order to-go from a restaurant, we will provide you all the dishes you may need and clean up for you afterwards.
• Enjoy your dinner on the deck or dining room.
• We have 187ml bottles of champagne, the perfect glass and 375ml bottles of wine, good for 2 glasses.

So if you are considering solo travel, try a night at a B&B. Make your first solo trip a short, quick one. Maybe overnight, within a tank of gas of your home. I know, if you try it, you will like it. The added bonus of solo travel at The Craftsman B&B is we discount the room rate. And I'm always here to greet you when you return, you can rub my belly as long as you want. I also like to sit with you while you read in the living room, making sure your safe and happy.

Fireworks at the Beach

Fireworks at the beach? Why is that a question you may ask. Well, in the past, I haven't done very well with fireworks. The booms are too much for me. So a few years ago, I started to take doggie downers on the Fourth, to mellow me out.

Well this year, it was all wrong. First of all, I am older and don't eat as much as I used to. I am not as active as I used to be, on 3 legs and all. So I got my pill in peanut butter stuffed into a bone. I ate it. I fall for that trick every time. Then the plan was for me to eat my dinner. More food, more better. Well, as I am stubburn, I didn't eat my dinner and then, Wham! The drugs kicked in. I paniced and made a run to my safe spot by the front door. I didn't make it, those floors are slick. Mike and Laura moved me to my spot and I stayed there until after breakfast this morning, 17 hours later.

I decided to go outside and let the sun set me right. Mike brought out my breakfast, last night dinner, and some water. I was hungry, so I ate it and I even got another scoop of food. I'll save that for later.

I will recover today, but that was a real knock out. Next time, how about half a pill.

So what did I miss? Nothing! It was a hot day in the Willamette Valley, that draws the fog inland. So about 9:00 p.m. last night, we were in pea soup fog. We could hear the booms, but not see the fireworks in the sky. Laura even stayed up past her normal bedtime to watch.

Oh well, we had a full house here at The Craftsman B&B and every enjoyed their stay. Out on the beach, they were able to see the show, our deck, not so much.

Just say no to Plastic Water Bottles

I love plastic water bottles. I like to chew on them until the top comes off and then I'm told to leave it. Well now at The Craftsman Bed & Breakfast, Innkeeper Mike hates plastic bottles. We have always had bottled water for our guests, it's a nice amenity we provided for free, unlike hotels that charge $10.00 for a bottle of water.

We are trying to be as green as possible, so we have always recycled the used bottles. Then, Oregon amended the bottle bill to include water bottles along with the soda bottles and cans it has had for years. So now, you pay a bottle deposit for a water. We think that's a good thing, but we can do better.

Introducing the Craftsman B&B's sturdy and durable 16 oz. stainless steel bottle w/ carabiner. BPA free, environmental and recyclable.

While you stay at the B&B, we will have these bottles filled with filtered water and chilled in the guest 'fridge. Use the bottle while you are here, leave it, we'll clean it and refill it for our next guest. If you like it, you can buy one too. Show all your friends that you have done something good for the planet and how you know to vacation in style, at The Craftsman B&B, in the, still small town of Pacific City, Oregon.

If you can't wait until your next visit, e-mail me at oscar@craftsmanbb.com and for $15.00, I'll ship one to you.

A Twist in the story

I have blogged in the past about our local (and loco) winemakers, Sean and Chenin. They take care of me when Mike and Laura leave me for a vacation. I'm not taking it personal, but if I had to live with me, I'd need a vacation too. So back to the winemakers. Their tasting room, Twist, is right here in Pacific City! I don't go over there much, because the bamboo floors are a little too slick for my 3 legs that still work. But I drop in to say hi.

Well, they had another drop in, the guys from BREWPUBLIC.com. They wrote a great story about Twist, the wine, the beer, the winemakers and Pacific City, read it here.

Not much else to say it's a great story. OK, I do have something to say. When you come to Pacific City for the beer and wine, I think you should stay with me, at The Craftsman B&B.