Beverly Beach State Park, OR through Florence, OR

Nick: Mm, campfires in the morning.... pleasant. After enjoying the quite magic that only campfires in the morning can provide, we saddled up and hit 101 south. After a bit of driving down their scenic coastal highway, we came to Newport, which boasted a number of seaside attractions. Our first stop was Mo's, which had been mentioned in the book Brittany (my little sister) had given us specializing on legendary local chow. First round: steamed clams in the butter and garlic sauce. Outstanding. For the main event, I ordered shrimp and clam chowder in a sourdough bread-bowl, and though this particular dish was supposedly what had originally put Mo's on the map, I found myself a bit dissatisfied. Pity. Next stop. You have three guesses... Yeah, we went to the local brew pub Rogue.

Tyler: Rogue consistently produces some of my favorite beers and as somewhat of a beer snob (though still willing to drink the cheap stuff) this is a difficult task to accomplish. They had two of my favorites on tap at the time. Their chocolate stout, which in the bottle tastes okay but on tap is like drinking a candy bar, and their hazelnut brown ale. Just writing about it makes me thirsty. After having a sample tray and a pint the journey continued.

Brian: Before we move on it may be worth noting that the bartender there was able to hold four pint glasses in one hand, fill them with water, and serve them each to a customer without really spilling that much. I was moderately impressed. Another thing worth noting is that a main topic of debate at the brewery was the origin of the mermaid myth. We can all agree that seafarers who have been on the water too long could potentially mistake a sea lion for a mermaid, return to port, and regale his mates with tales of this fantastic creature. Nick however contests that it was common practice for these same seafarers to somehow subdue or seduce said sea lions, and gain carnal knowledge of them. When they were confronted by their mates, they would simply claim that the creature they were with was not a sea lion, but in fact a mermaid. He has been hard pressed to find evidence to support this claim.



Nick: I submit to you, humble ladies and gentlemen of the blog, the following overwhelmingly convincing circumstantial evidence for my claim. First, seafarers in those times were often out to sea for long periods of time fishing, exploring, or trading. Like, weeks and months at a time. Lonely, lonely weeks and months at a time. Second, seals and sea-lions are easily mistaken for humans, especially at night and especially under the influence of a stiff bottle of grog. Sharks think so, that's why they attack us from time to time (thank you shark week.) I'm not entirely sure how the seamen in question could lure said sea creatures into the fearfully improper situation of mating, but the burden of proof for this fact is not on me. We all know pirates in our lives, and we're aware of what they're capable of. Finally, we all know sailors love a good yarn, and a tall tale about mermaids would be the perfect cover-up for a night of infidelities with the ocean's ever lovely sea-cow. After all, are not mermaids always portrayed as sexually attractive? And if they do exist, why don't sailors tell more tales about mermen, hm? I have more evidence, but I feel as though I've made my case.

Brian: Mistake not evidence for conjecture. It's circumstantial evidence at best.

Nick: I leave it to you, loyal readers, to decide the truth for yourselves. After the bar, we found ourselves a pleasant little camping site deep in the woods that would serve our purposes for the night and set up the tent. Hot dogs for dinner, along with beer and what little remained of our most excellent moonshine left us all feeling rather satisfied with another excellent day on the road. We played a rousing game of Chrononauts and spoke long about the mysteries of the universe before finally laying on the hard, cold ground and falling into a restful, yet occasionally lumpy, sleep. TNB out.