3 days on the Oregon Coast...

We hadn't penned our trip back home so a few days ago decided the Oregon Coast had to be included. Originally, we thought we couldn't fit it in so we'd get back to it someday. But then wondered, what if someday never comes? What if something terrible happens...like we get really important jobs and become busy executives again? And, if that ever becomes a reality we're back to limited vacation time and won't be able to peak into all the small towns because we would have to get back to those really important jobs.  To avoid the tragedy, we decided to steer the car west and start our trek down the coast.  And, it's one of the best decisions we made.  

The Oregon Coast is quite different from the California Coast. Yes, it's on Highway 101 but driving down from the north you are in the mountains  quite a bit before getting oceanside. And, you need to pay attention to signs that read "City Center". That's where you turn in and the magical little beach towns appear. Clapboard cottages similar to those in New England line the streets and beachfront. Hotels and motels with wooden fisherman statues or cheesy flying dolphins can be found everywhere.  The towns all have a different character...some more touristy than others but all with their own personality.

We stopped in Cannon Beach for the night. The last part of the ride was getting pretty rainy so we decided it was time to quit. Or, it was 5:00 somewhere. Or, Lisa changed the clock in the car to read 5:00 so I'd pull over. In any event, we checked out the rooms in the The Waves Hotel and decided to stay. We had a 1 bedroom studio with a kitchenette, fireplace and a banquette in the window with a beach view. We immediately went out and bought a 2 lb. fresh dungeness crab for $11.00 for the happy hour we were hosting for ourselves at the banquette table. And, once we borrowed the crackers from the inn keeper, that crab didn't stand a chance against to hungry Chicago girls.  We ate like prisoners while fighting that dead fish until there was no more meat left. It's probably a good thing we were the only people at our happy hour because we were making grunting noises and talking with our mouths full...it was SO good!  Plus, we don't know anyone else in Cannon Beach, Oregon so that made it easy to limit the invitation list.

Cannon Beach is great little town with lots of shops, restaurants and coffee houses. It's also known for the Haystack Rock, a massive rock shaped like a haystack (hence the clever name) right off the beach. It's 235 feet tall and the 3rd tallest structure of this kind in the world. It is said the rock was made by lava flows some 10-17 million years ago. Don't ask me how anyone can trace something back that far but that's the story. It was raining and the tide was pretty high so we couldn't get out to it.  Plus, it seems they discourage anyone from climbing on the this special rock. By discourage I think they mean arrest. I'm not sure what the punishment is but it could be 10-17 million years in jail. Well, neither of us have that kind of time so we resorted to taking pictures of it instead.

We hit a couple more towns on the way down the coast and even found another dungeness crab to wrestle. This time we were in a public restaurant so we kept our groans to a minimum. We made it down to the town of  Yachats where, at the recommendation of our friend Hal from Oklahoma City, we checked into the Shamrock Lodgettes (www.shamrocklodgettes.com) for a couple nights. We noticed the further down the coast the more rustic and grittier the towns became.  The Lodgettes were clean and dated which is part of their kitchy charm. We had a woodburning stove,  a kitchenette and a picture window the width of the room for our own private ocean view. 

The location was perfect for walking into town or driving a couple miles to hike up and see the most spectacular views of the Oregon Coast. The town of Yachats has just enough to do for a couple days. We had excellent seafood and caught a couple live bands. One night we listened to Celtic band in a tiny restaurant and the next night went to a little larger venue to see a band from Eugene called "Solicious" starring a gender- indifferent percussionist. Come to think of it, most of the crowd was gender-indifferent, but we were there to listen to the band so we were indifferent to the crowd. 

We managed to get in a hike on Cape Perpetua because that's where we were told would give us the best views of the coast. It was a sunny day in the mid-50s...perfect hiking weather.  And, since we're such experienced hikers now, we decided to take the most difficult route. It was only 2.2 miles but that was the longest they had. Hey, we would've done a 10 mile hike because we know what we're doing.  As we started down the mountain, it got a little steep and narrow. And about 6 minutes into it we realized we had to get back up this hill. Hello, who's idea was it to do the easy part first??? So much for experience. Any fool would know to park the damn car at the bottom of the mountain and huff and puff UP the mountain while they had fresh energy instead of the other way around.  Half way up we were both doing a striptease to rid ourselves of the layers of hiking clothes we wore...you know, because we're experienced and know what clothes to wear. I'm so glad there wasn't a 10 mile hike available because I think naked hiking is illegal in Oregon.

We found a little church in the town of Waldport to go to mass on Saturday night.  It was only 8 miles away but we had an important decision to make. We really wanted to see the sunset over the ocean since we were leaving the coast. Mass was at 5...sunset 5:45. Hmm...we better watch the clock and hope Father finished in time. Well, Praise the Maker didn't we get the fastest-talking priest in the country! I don't know if he always talks that fast or if he wanted to see the sunset, too. I just know I've never heard anything like it. I started to wonder if he was an auctioneer on the side. Then it went from wonder to worry. What if he was an auctioneer? Suddenly, I became very still. I didn't want to make any false moves in fear that Father would yell out "sold to the lady in the red coat". Then I'm stuck. Now, I'm the proud owner of the Holy Family from St. Anthony's Church in Waldport and have nowhere to put them! The car is full. Really full. But how could I tell The Holy Family "there's no room"? They already heard that line some 2000 years ago. And I don't think Lisa would be too keen being tied to the roof for 4000 miles. Well, lucky for us, he was only working as a priest and I didn't end up purchasing anything. But unfortunately, we ended up missing the sunset that night. Serves me right for daydreaming at church.