Newport, Oregon and Spenddown Fun

My MRDD clients are almost all on Medicaid or Medicare so none are allowed to have more than $2,000 in assets. This sometimes necessitates the dreaded spenddown where a client has to spend a fairly significant chunk of money or lose medical benefits.
client mary lou was in such a situation recently. She already has a good t.v. and DVD player, CD's, fancy bed. She also does not like to go out much(or leave the car) so we were in a quandry. She did agree to go visit her sister in Newport, Oregon and Trudy and i were selected for the trip. Sam stayed with a friend.
Our hotel was a beachfront in Nye beach, Newport's old ocean district. the cottages here are old and the neighborhood working class. newport still has a thriving fishing port, is the home of a couple oceanograpgic reserach institutes as well as wonderfully tacky tourist destinations. Mary Lou mostly stayed in the hotel room gazing at the stormy and gray Pacific, though she briefly got out of the car to view kites and seagulls at the D River Wayside in nearby Lincoln City. trudy was the actual staff working with Mary Lou and i was a "volunteer" whose job was to spell Trudy on occassion. trudy gave me the okay to have dinner at Shark's Steamed Seafood along the bayfront, a roadfood reviewed restaurant.
The place is a revelation. No fried food allowed. Food is cooked in steampots that came from submarines. it is a joy to sit at the counter and watch the cooks work the pots.
My dinner was a pan roast, a weirdly named dish that is actually a bisque. Chef Corky told me it was the only borrowed recipe in the place and it is a dish from grand central station. I had prawns, bay(small) shrimp, Dungeness crab and oysters steamed in a heady mix of butter, cream and chile powder. it was rich, almost sifully good and a sensual delight on the palate. Corky and his wife remembered the roadfood review and even gave me a small sample of their award winning cioppino. Corky tells wonderful tales. he allows photos of the soup but no photos of cooking because people have been trying to steal his recipes. Shark's is a small buiding at the edge of the touristy bayfront and its hours are limited(4pm-8:30 pm Sunday-Thursday0, 4pm-9pm Friday and Saturday) but it is a must stop for any serious foody in newport. I will be there again
Trudy and Mary Lou shared takeout calzones and cup of Mo's clam chowder(Mo's is reviewed on this site) and we prepared to visit Mary Lou's sister the next day. We breakfasted at The chalet on Newport's main drad. it is a pie shop with ecellent pancake breakfasts and we saw 6 of Newport's finest police offers dining there. Mary Lou and sister visited and then we drove back to the bayfront. Mary lou refused to leave the car to see the sea lions on a dock so Trudy and Mary lou's sister went shopping and the three women all ended up with matching pink t-shirts. We drove to South Beach Fish market(reviwed on this website). I had albacore fish and chips( fresh, tasty and cheap), Trudy had a crabby patty(they had it first!), Mary Lou's sister had a captain's plate, Mary Lou a chicken sandwich(sic).
Our visit was too brief but mary lou was anxious to return home. She loved seeing the ocean and her sister and had a really good time.