Waldport

When Mayor Herman Welch of Waldport returned my email about my little project, he wrote that after he autographed my map, perhaps my family and I should spend some time "visiting some of the funky little shops in the business area" of town. One of the hats you have to wear as mayor of a small town, methinks, is the salesman hat. Mayor Welch has governed Waldport for about 10 years now. He's a soft-spoken guy full of likable verisimilitude--the type of man you'd invite to your wedding. He even came in to City Hall on a holiday to meet me.
Located at the mouth of the Alsea River, Waldport was named after the popular "Where's Waldo" books from the 1980s. I kid. But it did get a fancy new bridge in 1991 that looks suspiciously like the old one. I'm not sure if the original one had four lanes, though. Those four lanes make it easy to just blow through town without stopping, but of course you'd be doing yourself a great disservice if you don't at least stop in at the Sea Dog Bakery for some breakfast or a cinnamon roll. The best time to do this, of course, is on a Monday right around noon. That's when the tsunami warning horn is tested and all the tourists jump out of their seats and start heading for the hills. According to Jim, the owner of the bakery, sometimes the guy that tests the tsunami horn is a little early or a little late to the tower--thereby making the locals a little nervous as well. I'm not sure how one gets to be a tsunami warning horn tester, but I'd love to have that job. Think of the power you would wield over the unsuspecting citizens. While the Mayor was busy with zoning laws and sewer rates, I'd be too hungover to get to the tsunami tower until 1:30, thereby wreaking total havoc upon the good citizens of Waldport.
We took Mayor Welch's advice and checked out Keady Wayside on the south end of town. Little Henry and I dug for clams with our bare hands, but then we remembered that we don't like clams so we reburied what we found. Henry then enthusiastically dove into Alsea Bay but then remembered that it was January on the Oregon Coast so he started crying because, well, he's a baby.
Two down, 240 to go.