May 21st is our 2nd anniversary of owning Monica’s Waterfront Bakery & Cafe. In some ways it is hard to believe we are doing this! In other ways I can’t remember ever doing anything else. I love what I do and even when some crap gets thrown at me I am generally happy.
Yesterday I turned my ankle as I was walking out to meet a potential supplier (Washington wines!) and today I am sitting here with an air cast on and a set of crutches by my desk. Good times. It is more annoying than anything else and the pain is somewhat at bay with constant doses of Extra Strength Tylenol, (especially if I don’t try to do anything) and the small fracture won’t keep me out of commission for too long.. But I am used to doing things for myself and everyone else, so this is a little frustrating.
And yet I have the greatest team! I know I can work from home on all the administrative stuff without actually being at the cafe (I miss you guys!) and it will run just fine. They all know what to do and I don’t worry about the cafe, I just miss being able to be there. Today is payday and I wrote out their checks but I will miss handing them out, which I love doing. I enjoy thanking them for the great work they do as I hand them each a check, and they enjoy receiving their checks with a dose of genuine gratitude. Who wouldn’t! It is a small, intimate moment that I share with each person that works for me, twice a month; no matter how crazy busy we may be the rest of the month.
Every day I strive to be the boss that I always wanted to have, (and NEVER did!) and every day presents new opportunities to practice that mission. I am not always good at it… but the times that I am are so worth it! Do you love your boss? Do you know how your boss feels about you? I hope it is good.
This weekend (Thursday through Sunday) Mark and I are taking one of 2 ‘vacations’ that we get this year. We take a weekend here and there, but on Thanksgiving weekend and this weekend we get 4 days! We are going to the central Oregon coast: Depoe Bay and Newport areas. Nye Beach in Newport, OR is one of my favorite places in the world. It is not very big, but every restaurant, shop and inn there is special. I love the local feel and it is so much fun to visit.
Depoe Bay, OR has a couple of galleries that we love to browse, and the views are fantastic. We stay at the Surfrider Resort and we get fantastic rates! Our room has a jacuzzi tub, fireplace, kitchen, king bed, and a deck overlooking the ocean (it’s high bank with a staircase to a great beach) for $98 a night! PLUS we get $10 credit in the restaurant each day and their restaurant is really good!
We haven’t been down there in about 2 1/5 years (just before we took over the cafe we were there for a few days) and I know some things have changed in that time, so I will give a restaurant report when I get back. We love digging through the local favorites and coming up with our own experiences.. We rarely seek out the tourist activities, nearly always opting to ‘go native’ whenever we can.
If you are staying around here for the long weekend and want to go someplace new to eat, check out Tacoma. It isn’t that far and there are some great restaurants to try. My favorite resource for Tacoma restaurants is food critic Ed Murrieta’s site Ed’s Diner, which is a searchable blog and you can find information for restaurants in Tacoma and sometimes Gig Harbor.
How do you like to travel? What resources do you use to find those gems that you love to remember and maybe even go back to? Wherever you end up going and whatever you end up doing this weekend, share it with us! We would love to know what you find!
