Oregon’s North Coast

TRAVEL THERE: THE NORTH COAST OF OREGON

Welcome to Oregon! Well, sort of. This past summer my husband and I spent twelve days traveling the state and now I’m sharing the experience with you. I’ll tell you about the attractions we visited, the meals we ate and where we stayed. Maybe you’ll decide you want to visit Oregon, too.   As we headed up the last it bit of Oregon’s North Coast, I realized I was about to trade the spectacular Pacific Coast for the view in my backyard.  That’s a great view and I love it, but it’s not exactly on the same playing field.

8 Months Later, Still Looking Backwards

It’s hard to believe that eight months after my trip, I’m still writing about Oregon.  There’s only a few posts left to write, but I had no idea when I started the project that it would take so long to get here.  Here, in this case, refers to the North Coast.  The highlight of our day along the North Coast was without a doubt Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint that I covered last week.  Bill stopped all along the way to grab more seascapes, but as I’ve mentioned, though each is stunning, after a while, they all seem to melt together.

The guide books all agreed that you had to stop at Tolovana Park in Cannon Beach and it was a good call.  It’s a fairly famous landmark and you’ve probably seen many photographs of the haystacks, but what I liked was how many people were out there having fun. Folks were flying kites, chasing dogs and just hangin’ out, but they were all having a great time.  That was a marvelous switch from the lonely, wild places we’d been viewing for days.

I’ll confess to another mistake here.  I’m not exactly sure how I should have worked it out route-wise, but I should have chosen Cannon Beach as one of my overnight stops.  Beyond Tolovana Park, which I loved, the town itself was one of those artsy kinds, like Cambria, CA, which I adore.  We drove through the town observing crowds of folks strolling along the main drag, having meals on patios and shopping in darling emporiums.  I wanted to be one of those people, but my bed and breakfast reservations were in Astoria, more about that later.

We also missed Tillamook.  The Three Capes Loop, which you really have to see, hugs the coast, while the famous Tillamook is further inland.  I wanted to take in the Cheese Factory Tour and see the aviation museum, but I guess I’ll have to save those for my next trip to Oregon.  If I can ever drag Bill back.  I think he got all of Oregon he wanted on this visit.

After Cannon Beach, we put the pedal to the metal, so we’d get to Seaside before sundown.  What a fun little town.  We walked the Prom (Promenade) and saw their single historical site, the Lewis and Clark Saltworks.  (Poor L&C, I hadn’t really thought about them since the Columbia River Gorge.)  What was most memorable, however, was the car show.  We got there just as things were spiraling down to a close, but we still had the opportunity to see some amazing cars and visit with some of the devoted aficionados.

Next stop.  Astoria.  Join me next week for the last stop before the Portland Airport.