Oregon Coast - Two Day Wrap Up

February 6, 2009 - Portland overall was a nice city but as I said in my last post there wasn't much to it. Obviously that is not entirely true but if you have one day to explore the city there really isn't that much that one NEEDS to do. That being said one spot that is worth stopping by is Voodoo Donuts on the skirts of Old Town (Chinatown). The store has been featured on the Travel Channel and the Food Network for those who watch shows on those channels. The donuts are solid and definitely worth getting.


We quickly shot out to the coast to start our drive south along the pacific beaches. The drive from Portland is approx 50 minutes. Most of the drive is through cow country and is very reminiscent of upstate NY or Vermont. Every once in a while you will pass a wine vineyard but it is pretty much pasture and forest until you get to Cannon Beach.

Cannon Beach was a really cool little surf town right on the ocean. Driving through the town one from my neck of the woods would think they were on the Jersey Shore (Bayhead) or on the Cape. All the houses were little cottages made of wood shingle and many with widow walks. The beach was your classic style New England beach with a large dune rolling down to a very flat fairly wide beach with a decent break. After a quick stop for an americano (new coffee drink of choice) we headed to Tillamook for the cheese factory.

Tillamook was founded in the 1880's and quickly rose to prominence for the butter and cheese from the region. Dairy cows were introduced to the fertile pastures by the early settlers and the rest was history. Today 10 million pounds of cheddar are produced each week. I still think Vermont has better cheddar.



Assembly line. I have never seen this much cheese at once. It was like the Coors brewery but instead of 30 packs it was all cheese. I think most of the people who work there are inbred but that is a whole different story.


After the cheese factory we headed back out on HWY 101 south towards the Three Capes Scenic Route. Directly south of Tillamook there is a beautiful drive that takes you by three lighthouses from the late 1800's. I love the Tsunami Evacuation sign under the mileage. These signs are lining the Oregon coast, our tax dollars hard at work! I am not sure what is more annoying, the money spent on these signs or the fact that people in our country need direction to run to high ground in the case of a tsunami. Call me cynical but if you are slow enough to stick around to see what happens when the ocean sucks out to sea in a fashion like you have never seen before than maybe you deserve what is coming your way.

Here is another shot of that Tsunami Hazard Zone sign. What a total joke. Lowest common denominator.


This is the first of the three lighthouses on the route, how classic is the sign?!? Sarah and I thought we were back in Montana all over again. Kind of the running joke of the trip, closed for the winter season.


The walk down to the lighthouse was along a wooded path about 1/4 of mile long. If you look closely you can see the top of the lighthouse.


Cape Mears lighthouse. I love these buildings!


Soon after leaving Cape Mears we crossed the 3,000 miles driven threshold and this time I hit the picture right on the nose. (Thank you Sarah)


Our first night on the coast was spent in this great little condo complex down on a private beach cove. We were able to talk our way into a relatively cheap nights stay and were handsomely rewarded. We arrived at the condo just as the sun was setting. We quickly dropped our bags ran down the street to grab a 6-pack and jumped down to the beach to catch the end of the sunset. I took the following picture of the condo complex we were staying at. The pictures that follow speak for themselves.


Striking the pose DG style. Look at those boots, so hot right now.

Even I have a hard time looking at this picture and you all know how much I love myself. What a total dork!

This is the view from our condo unit this morning. Yes the sky looks very ominous but it looks darker than it actually was. The best way to describe the weather was typical. As the lady at checkout said Oregon winters are gray.

This morning we woke up and drove down to the Newport historic harbor because we heard that sea lions liked to sun themselves by the fishing boats. When I took this picture all I could think of was the Sebastian Junger's Perfect Storm. The harbor was exactly the mental picture I have/had of Gloucester and I am sure the smell was not far off.

Lucky for us the sea lions were still out even though there was no sun. This guy was about 10 feet below me. I thought it was interesting that he/she had a huge brand on their back.

I took the subtle and not so subtle hints that my car needed a good cleaning. I find few things in life more therapeutic than self-wash car washes so this was actually a pleasure, that and I was getting pretty annoyed that every time I packed the car my pants got filthy.

Here are a few shots of I took at different turnouts along the 101. On a clear day I can only imagine how beautiful this drive must be. From my experience the closest thing I can compare it to is the south island of New Zealand. Dramatic cliffs, windy roads, and small surfer towns. If you have some time and have ever been interested in visiting Oregon this drive is well worth it. This brings me to another random thought/conversation Sarah and I had while driving. Beach is probably not the first thing that would jump into your head if one was to say Oregon but from now having been here I think it is fitting. The coastal area of the state is filled with beach towns and the people who live here have that surfer mentality. It really is a pretty cool to experience. As we have been driving the past two days we will pass cars pulled off the side of the road and people running down to the beach in full wetsuits and booties to get some surfing in. I guess if you are a surfer you need to experience Oregon before you die.

This last picture is a little tongue and cheek but this mulch pile must have been the largest in the world! I mean it was 500 feet long about 300 feet deep and easily 35 feet tall! Amazing what you see on the road.

Honestly how great does my car look when clean? It's a sports wagon and it fits into all the compact parking spaces so don't worry.

So the highlight of today's drive was the sea lion caves just north of Florence, OR. This sea cave is the self proclaimed largest sea cave in North America. It was discovered in the 1880's and is the largest winter home to the Steller sea lion.

After you pay your admission fee you walk out along the bluff to the elevator that takes you down to the view area. The elevator shaft is 208ft long and was cut into the rock in 1961. Once we got down to the cave we were blown away by two things. 1. The noise these animals make, the males bark like crazy 2. The smell. The best way to describe it was a combination of death, rotting fish and death. We seriously almost passed out from the smell. I am not sure what caused the smell but it was horrendous.

After the sea lion cave we continued our drive south looking for a place to stay. I knew that Bandon Dunes (http://www.bandondunesgolf.com/) was along the way so I figured we could stop into the club house for a drink and maybe to buy a golf shirt. 15 minutes after getting on the property we had a room in the club house and are staying the night. The property is absolutely amazing and we can't wait to get up in the morning to walk the different courses and the 30 or so miles of untouched beach. There are 4 golf courses here on the property along with 5 restaurants, 3 or 4 club houses and many different cottages. If I was playing golf I could play 2 of the top 4 2008 rated public golf courses for $90, but I am not playing golf on this trip so let's move on. It is supposed to be 52 and mostly sunny tomorrow so I should have some great pictures to share with you all in my next blog.

Hope all are well.