The OrWa diaries, Day 3: Facts, fiction, fish

Four things I learned today about myself and the world, while driving from Heceta Head to Newport, Ore.:

— The town of Yachats is a gem, tucked in along the green coastal hills about midway between Florence and Newport.

I stopped there for a prowl around and a quick, excellent pasta, prosciutto and peas lunch at Heidi’s Homemade Food.

— Unless it’s up close in good light, it’s just not that exciting to see a sea lion anymore.

Especially if that sea lion is one of those lounging in the half-light of Sea Lion Caves, an industrial-sized tourist, ah, opportunity just south of Heceta Head. (You ride an elevator 200 feet down to a cave that is said to be “the world’s largest sea cave.” At the bottom you see the beasts, and a great view of Heceta Head to the north.)  It just didn’t feel like the best investment of $11.  But it had a hard act to follow. I visited after a night at the Heceta Head Lighthouse, a hike to the beach and a seven-course breakfast.  Good stuff.

— To see if a crab is alive, fishermen often apply light pressure to the family jewels. the crab’s jewels, that is.

Joshua Barrett, a 29-year-old fisherman and fish vendor in Newport, passed this tidbit along between slicing, dicing and other chores on the docked boat where Cody’s Sea to You Seafood sells fresh crab, halibut and “bled” tuna. The waterfront area is an interesting mix — plenty of legitimate, dirty, smelly, honest-to-God fishing and boating work was going on, but it was neighbored by several blocks of faux waterfront commerce, like what you see at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. (They even have a wax museum here.) Anyway, Barrett was more interesting than any of that. He knew that crabs have eyes that move to allow 360-degree vision. He had fought in Afghanistan (Army). He had a master’s degree in divinity, and was working on another one in psychology. Also, he seemed fully conversant in particle physics (although I am not, so he could have been bluffing).

— I’m a bad liar. This I know because I am a guest tonight at the Sylvia Beach Hotel, a bohemian retreat (no phones or TVs in rooms, and no WiFi) that names its rooms after famous authors and urges guests to stay for dinner, sit family-style and engage with strangers in a table game of “two truths and a lie.”

There was plenty of time to spin these tales; it was a 10-course meal (good salmon), which (for those of you scoring at home) made 18 courses for me for the day.

Anyway, the lies. My buddy Clay persuaded some of us to believe that George Clooney once spilled beer on him. Martha, of Georgia, accidentally told the truth and was disqualified. Carter, Martha’s husband, persuaded all of us that he has four kids, when in fact he has two. Pam claimed to play the clarinet, and some believed. Pam’s husband, Peter, fabricated a pet cat from his youth, fooling some of us. Amanda, a young Oregonian, flummoxed us by layering her lies, including imaginary brothers, an imaginary husband and the ability to speak Japanese and Korean. Susan, another Oregonian, persuaded nobody when claiming to be a painter.

Then it was my turn, and out spilled the tale of my bungee jump in Zimbabwe. At Victoria Falls, by the Zambia border. Arranged through the Victoria Falls Hotel, where monkeys cavort on the roof, occasionally heaving fruit down on guests dining al fresco. Nobody bought it, even though the monkeys part was once true. So now it’s time to retire upstairs to my room, the Edgar Allan Poe, in which a gleaming knife is suspended above my bed.

Unless, of course, I’m lying.

— Christopher Reynolds/Los Angeles Times

[Photos: Top: Yachats, Ore.; Middle: Lunch at Heidi's Homemade Food; Bottom: Fish vendor with crabs in Newport, Ore.]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 2:40 pm by Christopher Reynolds and is filed under Islands & Beaches, News, Tips & Advice, Oregon, Oregon Washington road trip, Outdoors & Adventure, Pacific Northwest, Washington. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.