Cannon Beach, Oregon

Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach, Oregon, is one of those places I have always dreamed of seeing.  As we walked the beach toward it, it almost seemed to be a man-made structure because it was such a fantastic sight.

Haystack Rock was formed by lava flows.  It is 235 feet in height, home to crabs, starfish, sea slugs and a place for nesting birds such as tufted puffins, gulls and cormorants.  It is a protected Marine Garden, as it should be. 

The village of Cannon Beach itself is a lively town, filled with tourists this time of year.  The beach....perfect.  It was such a pleasure to again be on the Pacific, having traveled from the Atlantic.  As a dear friend commented to me, "from sea to shining sea."  Yes, we have traveled that far and more.  I stopped checking the odometer after we reached 5000. 

Schnitzel and the Trout meets Wives with Knives

Almost five years ago, I met Cathy from Wives with Knives.  I did not literally meet her, but we connected as we were both starting blogs and sometimes the technology was a little overwhelming.  We helped each other and consoled each other.  Not only did we read each others blogs, we started emailing each other.  In a true sense, we really got to know each other. 

I contacted Cathy this last winter and told her that we were planning a trip to Oregon when we arrived in Montana for the summer.  An invitation to meet was graciously extended by Cathy.  The Trout and I looked forward to this day for a long time.  We were invited to lunch at Cathy's.  You can imagine how the excitement escalated from there.

When Cathy opened the door, I hugged my long-time friend.  We had some good laughs, some good conversations about how much we all love to travel to France.

This absolutely gorgeous table, outside in the beautiful Oregon sunshine is what greeted us for lunch.  For Cathy's delicious Northwest version of Salad Nicoise, please go to her blog here.

Everything was prepared to perfection.  The fresh mint in the couscous was especially special for me.  I loved it.  We had no problem eating our plates clean.  What a beautiful treat, Cathy.

And you ask if there was dessert?  The Oregon local marionberry in a pie shell that was so flaky.

And that is Tillamook Vanilla Bean ice cream on top.  Two scoops...do you see that?  I did not feel guilty at all eating this wonderful ice cream.

Thank you, Cathy.  We are looking forward to meeting you again someday soon.