Rockaway Beach Scouting Report (Hillsboro, Tillamook: city hall, to rent, movers)

[Random_Walk]

Spent the weekend in the new digs, preparing it for moving in.

So far...

Rockaway Beach is semi-isolated, but still easy to get to. It just takes time (almost two hours from downtown PDX, over roads that will warm the cockles of any Ozarker's heart.... if you're from certain parts of Arkansas, it'll feel just like the old Hwy 72 - twists, turns, and all).

The town itself is very warm-hearted. Met with gobs of local folks (and not a few weekenders vacationing), and found that this may well be a very nice small town to put down roots in. Found out which spots are at the top of the list to meet up with everyone. Church was lightly populated, but were younger than I thought, and very active in their worship. There were a lot of activities going on today: The Lions club had a pancake breakfast, there was bingo at the community center, St. Mary's By The Sea (the small Catholic Church) had a small Mardi-Gras party, and a public get-together earlier, hosted by the families of the two babies who were baptized this morning.

Nuts and bolts time: Utilities were drop-easy to set up, and were done over the phone. Still got a giggle out of the acronym for the Public Utility District (yes, it's what you think it is), but they took it (and my deposit) in good humor. The satellite guy showed on time, and had no trouble finding the place. Internet is scheduled to arrive when we move in next weekend.

Amazingly,you get a choice of suppliers: Charter (cable/Internet), DirecTV, Dish, CenturyLink (DSL Internet).

City hall is small (expected), and there are enough of the local necessities (grocery, etc) to get nearly everything you need (except gas, which means going to nearby Garibaldi or further to Tillamook to fill up).

Jobs-wise? I don't know yet... I sort of brought my own job with me (telecommuting), but even this weekend, there was a fairly brisk tourist trade, with some B&B's and hotels hanging out "no vacancy" signs. I suspect that jobs in the service industry are plentiful, and there was some construction work going on (mostly maintenance/renovation-related). There were also signs of recent timber activity a bit further inland.

That's about it for now... will add more as events warrant. Time to go to bed, and spend most of tomorrow night filling boxes.

[Random_Walk]

Update:

Got moved in, and had an adventure doing it.

Coming into town from Hillsboro involved going over Hwy 6... it was snowing like mad, but the roads stayed (mostly) clear. The moving guys got over without any undue trouble.

The stairs were a bit tight for the large couch, so they and I got together and hoisted it over the balcony with ropes... in some rather ugly winds, but we made it. It was raining most of the time. I can tell you right now that these guys are top-notch, and the rates were incredibly reasonable. The move cost a total of $800 to get here - an 80-mile journey and a difficult place to get furniture into.

The heat is taking forever to get things up to temperature (it's livable now), and I can tell right off that I moved into a brand new place (mostly because the DSL line and coaxial cable had to be strung up and connected at nearly every point along the way). Got the rural route box all rigged up today, and the tiny post office in Rockaway Beach had exactly one employee; she was incredibly friendly (rare for a postal employee), and cheerfully welcomed us as she laid out the hours, the box, etc. The DSL gent came in earlier than the company said they would (caught us by surprise - had to drive back up from Tillamook early) - he was totally friendly and the whole thing was smooth and easy.

Like the weekend before, there was a lot of little things to see and do locally. I spent most of the time unpacking bits and bobs though.

Overall, I'm glad I did it. I'll know for certain in a few weeks, though.

[Nell Plotts]

Congratulations on the successful move. Rockaway is one of Oregon's traditional beach towns. I hadn't been there in years until DH & I drove through on 101 last summer, the homes on the hill were a great surprise. My family would vacation there at least a week each year. There was a natatorium, a sea water swimming pool. I found no trace of it today. One of my 'chums' was the son of the town butcher who had a ham radio setup. He and his father had the call letters WHO and WOW. We would love to hear from other radio geeks all around the world. The father has doubtless since passed, his son would be in his early 70s.

[Random_Walk]

For what it's worth, I did find a Ham receiver today in one of the thrift shops today. We needed a replacement TV for one we had in the bedroom (gotta love solid-state electronics... no warning, just "poof" and it died), and I noticed it.

BTW - the crab races are coming up in Garibaldi (March 10-11). Never been to one before...

[Nell Plotts]

Ask the thrift shop if they know the provenance of the radio. There is a reasonable chance it came from that family.

[Random_Walk]

Update:

The Garibaldi Crab Races (http://http://ouroregoncoast.com/tillamook-garibaldi/999-garibaldi-oregon-annual-crab-races.html - broken link) are on this weekend! (March 10-11).

The missus and I went out today - costs only $5 per adult ($3/kid from 5-18, under 5 is free). It was a very fun get-together! A ton of folks - half locals, half tourists, all got together and had a great time. Once you get in, you can sign up to participate in the races for fun little prizes. Or, you can put in for some of the bigger raffle ticket items. You can also score a full dungeness crab dinner for $15, and they know how to cook it so that it turns out excellent (first time my missus ever ate crab the old-fashioned way... she loved it. )

All proceeds go towards charity (via the local Lions Club), and it was a packed house. In spite of the large numbers, parking was easy to find, and everything in Garibaldi is close enough so that after you eat and mess around a bit, you can walk around downtown - there's a surprising number of shops that were open, and many of them had quite a few neat bits in them.

First time I'd ever gone to it, but I highly recommend it. Fun for all ages, you meet a ton of interesting people, and everyone was friendly and happy.

[Random_Walk]

Update? No problem:

Sunburned to a crisp. Every muscle I have aches. I still can't get this stupid grin off my face.

Went out on Tillamook Bay, and myself and two friends pulled in 30 Dungeness crab, plus 18 clams piece (12 Horse/Gaper clams and 6 Cockles, which is limit). Spent all day doing it, most of the time goofing off, with intermittent bursts of some very hard work.

Here's the informative part...

We launched from the Port of Garibaldi ( Welcome to the Port of Garibaldi, Oregon ), where you can use the boat ramp for $5 a day, $300 for a season sport fishing pass, or only $30 for senior citizens/handicapped to get that same season pass. There are two fueling stations if you need them (best to fill up before you drop the boat though), and they rent boats if you don't have one.

For clamming, your best bet is to get a boat, get out there at low tide, and find a convenient sandbar to dig on... clamming off the rocks or along the shore won't be as productive (because all the tourists hit that). The bonus is that clamming out on the bay itself will bring in Gapers larger than a grown man's hand, and Cockles that are almost the size of baseballs.

For crabbing, well, not going to tell you everything, but the best time to catch 'em is at high tide (if you're using 'rings' or slips), or to drop yours during rising tide and let them soak until the tide is fully up (if you're using rigid pots). Again, a boat works way better than doing it static off the shore (a good reason for this has more to do with thieving little sea lions than with luck )

The fun part is, even though a skilled fisherman can haul in a lot of seafood this way, the best chances, especially for newbies, are to be found in nearby Netarts Bay.

[christiner81]

i think i will try clamming the next time we go to the coast. i've never done it before. thanks for the updates!

[Random_Walk]

No worries

Best way to go clamming around here is to rent/get a boat during low tide, then go out into the bay (Tillamook, Nehalem, Netarts), and check the sandbars. Far more productive (and less mobbed!) than the shorelines.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Random_Walk

The fun part is, even though a skilled fisherman can haul in a lot of seafood this way, the best chances, especially for newbies, are to be found in nearby Netarts Bay.

And Netarts Bay is a federal estuary. Once upon a time you didn't need an Oregon fishing license to clam and crab at Netarts. Is that still the case? I think you need a fishing license and tags to fish.

Another delightful thing is the humble crawdad. No fishing license necessary, and the possession limit is 200.