Can-Am Rendezvous

We left Eugene and drove North on I-5. At Tigard, we veered left through Beaverton and hit Highway 26 which we followed to 101. Our final destination was Fort Stevens State Park where we would meet up with our friends from Canada, Jacquie and Grant. We planned this gathering while we were in Mexico together. Jacquie is still teaching and this would be the beginning of her spring break. They planned to do a tour of the Oregon coast and when we found out, we invited ourselves along.

Grant did most of the planning and we communicated back and forth. After many emails we gave the meeting and trip together the title, Can-Am Rendezvous.

As we got closer to Ft. Stevens, Linda and I started wondering how we would find Grant and Jacquie upon arrival at the park.  No specific rendezvous spot had been designated in planning; we had just said “Meet at Fort Stevens on March 12” and that was it.

We arrived at the fort at about 1:15 PM and parked at the ranger station to check the bulletin board to see if a note had been left.  I went to the bathroom and when I walked out, there was Linda talking to Grant and Jacquie. They had pulled into the ranger station about two minutes after we had arrived!

Let the Can-Am Rendezvous begin!

We found two campsites and since the sun was out, we sat in our chairs and discussed the Rendezvous’ future itinerary. We hiked to the beach and visited the wreck of the Peteiredalertook some photos and returned to camp. When the sun set we gathered for dinner with our Canadian friends and enjoyed the traditional Canadian feast of Smokies on a Bun. The excitement of the day made us very tired and we said our good nights, excited about the days to come.

Monday morning we all piled into Grant and Jacquie’s RV and Grant drove us to Astoria where we spent the morning in the Columbia River Maritime Museum. We really enjoyed everything the museum offered and we would highly recommend it as a “Must See”.

We finished our tour and walked around downtown where we found a place to eat called The Wet Dog Café. We all enjoyed our meals. Grant and I ordered Mako Shark Fish and Chips. Don’t let anyone tell you we don’t live on the edge at this rendezvous.

After our meal and a bit of drying out, we got back on the road and drove to Fort Stevens State Historical Site. We walked around the various Batterys and visited the small museum. Of course, it was raining the entire time, but we have adapted to that already. Once Grant pulled himself away from the museum volunteer, we went back to camp where Linda and I fixed dinner.

With our hunger suppressed, Grant and Jacquie taught us a very complex card game called Skip-Bo. Linda kicked our butts in two strategic battles and then we went to bed, exhausted.