Don't Buy The Pie!!

It was Sunday and there were two things on my agenda.  The Sunday Astoria Market and Thousand Trails Seaside.  Apparently the longest days of the year have passed since it was pitch dark when I walked the puppies in the morning.  With everyone fed, I was off to Astoria.

It's amazing just how shallow the mouth of the Columbia River really is.  When the tide goes out from under the Megler-Astoria bridge, you can see nothing but mud, except for one snakelike section of deep water for the ships heading inland.  I mean really, you can walk almost the entire way across on the silt deposited from eons of rain storms.

With my usual parking spot right at the top (arrive by at least 9:30) I grabbed a bag and made a beeline for the bottom.  They have porcelain palaces of poo (Mike Rowe's words, not mine) that are still clean in the morning.  I should have taken one home with me.

Also in that general area were all the food vendors, this time packed with many more than before.  I was shocked and surprised to see my all time favorite spinach and cheese hand pie had returned.  I was in heaven.  Since I thought they were gone, I purchased all the things to make some myself.  I'm still going to give it a shot.

If you want to eat healthy, there are several vegetable stands here with homegrown goodness.  I've no idea if anything is cheaper in the store or not, but nothing is as fresh as these.  This is my favorite stand to buy butter lettuce.  By noon they are all sold out, so buy early.

I LOVE THIS!!  It's not just decoration.  I spotted this bike locked to a pole behind the vendors.  It belongs to a local who rides it to the market every week.  Yup ... that's a basket full of dirt-planted flowers in front.  How creative is THAT?

This is always my first stop, since sometimes they run out of product too.  Their marionberry jalapeño jam is the best.  I had to settle for raspberry this time.  They even have an entire table full of every single flavor along with crackers for you to taste test.  Go ahead ... you know you want to.  I tried about every one just for fun.  

Similar to Marie Powell, these guys were selling wood block prints.  Trouble is, they were crazy, wild designs of things I'm sure no one would want hanging in their house.  Sorry, no pictures.  I tried to buy their sign, but they said NO.  

This was rather interesting ... a motorized wheelchair with off-road tracks.  I've never seen anything like it.  It was filthy dirty, so I imagine he's been at the beach with it.  This would be perfect for us old folks who don't want to walk very far.  Pretty cool, but I rather think it has a high price tag.

This table full of cakes and cupcakes caught my eye immediately.  Actually, I purchased a mini strawberry pie from him last week.  This is a new adventure for him since his normal business is catering.  I tried one chocolate gluten free cupcake.  In spite of the almond and rice flour, the cake part was delicious.  It would have been much better had he slathered it with mounds of chocolate frosting.  Alas, the ooey gooey part was a letdown, light and airy but with little chocolate taste.  

Dogs are everywhere.  Please don't take yours if he's not truly dog friendly.  There were some loud barks and growls that turned everyone's head more than once.  This baby was okay ... he loved everyone!!

Back at the top, I spotted The Pie Guy.  Who am I to turn down anything sweet!!  You can taste any of his 10 different flavors.  I tried two and ended up with a small pecan pie for $6.00.  Let me just say DON'T BUY THE PIE from the Pie Guy.  Maybe it was a fluke, but after eating only one quarter of it that night I knew I was in trouble.  I was sick as a dog.  All night long!  

That porcelain palace would have been a good addition to my rig.  I didn't even take a picture of the pie ... I just tossed it in the trash.  It took four Tums and a couple more hours to recoup.  I suppose it helped that I was already awake for the early morning drive back to Seaside, but that's not my preferred method.

At any rate, this time at the top of the market was handmade patio furniture.  Although there are many vendors here week after week, some only come once a month, so you have to hit them up several times to see everything.  Don't miss it ... it's a fun market with lots of taste testing along the way, including beer, wine, salsas, hummus, vinegars, cakes and pies.

Once I left the market, I drove to Seaside to see if my new quilting friends were still leaving.  No one was home, so I left a card.  Upon my arrival at 8:00 Monday morning, they were getting ready to go.  Hello Karen ... are you waiting for our spot today?  Yes I sure hope so.  I'm pretty sure they had no idea who I was, but that's okay, because I DID get their site, the only one that came available in this section the ENTIRE DAY!!  Boy was I thankful for THAT!!

In an effort to heal up from the porcelain palace pie purveyor, I spent the entire day in the rig doing laundry.  FIVE loads of laundry.  I've got things hanging from every knob in the rig.  Feeling a little better now, there is a minus tide expected around 10:00 this morning, so I'm off to find someplace to take pictures.  It just might be close to the Cannon Beach quilt shop.