Dave's birthday was coming up and he hadn't made a decision about he wanted to do. Going out to dinner would have been an easy pick, but he was leaning instead in the direction of spending the money on a large brisket and spending the day tending the smoker with a beer in hand. Running a close second in the considerations was grilling a Puerto Rican pernil, which would take less time but require less beer. Decisions, decisions.
Then I threw in the wild card of jumping in Chili and heading to the beach, an easy day trip from PDX and a definite happy place for Dave. After all, the weather in Portland was forecast to be gorgeous for at least a couple of days, making the chances of hitting sun at the coast a good likelihood. Happier still? Having a lunch of cooked-to-order crab and steamers pulled live from Nehalem Bay at Kelly's Brighton Marina near Rockaway. We could head for Kelly's, then toddle up to Manzanita for a walk on the beach with the dogs and get home before rush hour—it was a Friday—stopped traffic cold on the Sunset.
Dungeness crab, a pound of steamers and sun. Perfect!
This trip we learned from Kelly that his family moved to Oregon from the prairies of Saskatchewan in central Canada, landing on Nehalem Bay. The LaViolettes opened the Jetty Fishery in 1979—his mom still runs the place—and Kelly (who down-cased the "V" in his last name) and his wife, Janice, bought the nearby Brighton Marina in 2010. Revived and expanded, it fits their ebullient style and what Kelly called "the cultural chowder" of the community they've created there.
A beautiful day, a scenic drive, lunch with a true Oregon character and a walk on the beach? Priceless!
Read previous posts featuring Kelly's, including the legendary Oyster Carol video.
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