Love in Lincoln County

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Valentine’s Day is coming! For all of you procrastinators, that means you had better come up with something really good, really quick.

This is the perfect time to book a long, romantic weekend at the beach. Chocolates are cliché. Mass produced diamond jewelry will make her look just like everyone else. How many other men have that exact same watch? Do something different this year: farm the kids out with Grandma and Grandpa and make the time you’ve been putting off for far too long.

Lincoln City is celebrating Antique Week from February 10 – 20. Every antique shop in town (and there are a LOT of them!) will be putting on the Ritz for this annual event. Newport’s Oregon Coast Aquarium is having a Valentine’s Day Sea Lion Smooch. Yachats is once again letting love bloom anew at the St. Valentine’s Day Wedding Vow Renewal Ceremony at the Little Log Church.

This is the time of year to enjoy “little summer,” that balmy 2 week period that blesses the beach around Valentine’s Day. Outdoor adventures are everywhere: beachcombing, surfing and boogie boarding, hiking, whale watching, crabbing, fishing, a charter boat tour, lighthouses to investigate, tide pools to explore, birding, biking, clamming….if outdoor adventures are preferable to a fancy dinner date, then we have what you need. And we also have those fancy dinner dates, too, with four star restaurants up and down the Coast and spas for both of you to enjoy.

These are just a few of the new and completely unique experiences that you and your sweetheart can share this Valentine’s Day. Did your online dating profile say that you enjoyed long walks on the beach? Then prove it…bring your honey to the beach and share an experience instead of just another box of chocolates.

For information about Antique Week visit http://www.oregoncoast.org/festivals-events/.

Check out renewing your wedding vows in Yachats at http://www.yachats.org/events.html#Feb%202012.

Book a kiss with a sea lion at http://aquarium.org/events/343-valentine-s-day-sea-lion-kisses.

(Photo credit: Richard Wilson. At the mouth of Sea Lion Caves)

Whether the weather

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Whether spring, summer, fall or winter, the Oregon Coast has something to offer everyone. We live here all the time so we are used to playing in the rain and the wind. And we like the off-season best.

We invite you to come enjoy our coastal communities with us during the off season. Beachcombing after a storm. Whale watching. Bird watching. Fishing and crabbing. Historic movie theaters or cinema houses. Shopping. Art galleries and museums. Cultural centers, performing arts centers and playhouses. Casinos and concerts. Sitting by the fire with a good glass of wine or hand-brewed beer while watching a storm at sea. There is so much to do here that the only excuse for being bored is if you choose to be.

The Oregon Coast is multi-faceted and complex. You can’t know it or really enjoy it if you only come in the summer. We know it, love it and celebrate it with events that we invite you to share with us.

There’s an all-you-can eat Crab Feed in Yachats on January 28th and a barbershop quartet festival on February 4th. On February 14th, the historic log church will hold its annual wedding vow renewal ceremony. It’s free and open to all.
http://yachats.org/events.html#Jan%202012

In Lincoln City, we are having a Mardi Gras Jambalaya Cook-Off at our Culinary Center on January 28th. This is an iron chef-style competition and you get to try everything they make. We are also hosting Antique Week from February 10-20. Bring your treasure and have it professionally appraised by Harry Rinker, the Collector Inspector from HGTV. Seek and find in all of our amazing antique shops. http://www.oregoncoast.org/calendar/

Join us for the Otter Crest Wine Festival on February 3rd & 4th. Call 1-800-452-2101 or visit http://www.innatottercrest.com/index2.html.

The Newport Symphony Orchestra is performing, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the depth of winter, January 28th. The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport is having a Family Sleepover on February 18th. And don’t miss the Annual Seafood and Wine Festival on February 23rd – 26th. http://www.newportchamber.org/

Come enjoy all the Coast has to offer during the winter.

(Photo of Harry Rinker courtesy of Lincoln City Visitors & Convention Bureau)

Highway 30 to Astoria

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Traveling Highway 30 to Astoria is a must-do for beach-goers. Highway 30 hugs Oregon’s northwest curve, following the Columbia River to the Pacific. In the summer and fall, stop at Sauvie Island for fresh berries and other goodies to enjoy during your trip. Keep going north to the Lewis & Clark Bridge. The viewpoint on the hill offers a stunning panorama above the west end of the bridge from Longview, WA.

Astoria is saturated in historical significance. It is the site of Fort Clatsop, the log fort that the Lewis and Clark expedition hastily built to shelter them from a brutal winter. Victorian and Edwardian houses grace the city’s hillsides, exemplified by the Flavel House Museum. Fort Stevens is just to the south: built during the Civil War, it served 84 years, finally closing after World War II. You can tour the underground gun batteries and command centers. Now an Oregon State Park, Fort Stevens combine outdoor recreation and history into a perfect package. With Coffenbury Lake, miles of hiking trails and historical re-enactments, Fort Stevens is a family adventure worth taking.

Astoria’s historic waterfront boasts a riverfront trolley, the Columbia River Maritime Museum, the Lightship Columbia and Coast Guard vessels. You can tour the lightship, which is considered an Oregon Coast lighthouse, and see how men lived at sea to keep their fellow mariners safe. You can tour a Coast Guard cutter at the waterfront, too, and see how these modern mariners protect all of us.

Climb the Astoria Column and look down on the entire area, including the beautiful Astoria-Megler Bridge. Check out the wreck of the Peter Iredale, the bones of its hull still rising out of the sand on the beach. Take a charter fishing trip for salmon, sturgeon and a huge variety of other tasty denizens of the deep.

Astoria is also where the 1980’s movie, The Goonies, was filmed. Every time my husband and I go to Astoria, we just have to drive by that house! Check out the link to get your Goonie fix. http://www.oldoregon.com/visitor-info/entry/goonies-never-say-die/

Plan your trip to take in the Astoria-Warrenton Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival, April 27, 28 & 29. Astoria will be full to bursting with music, food, wine, beer, crafts and tons more. Bring the whole family and have a Goonie, festival, charter fishing, exploring, maritime and historical adventure.

Check out all that Astoria has to offer you at http://www.oldoregon.com/.

(Photo credit: Richard Wilson. The Astoria Column)

A year of fun, food and favorite things

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Now is the time to plan your next trip to the beach. With vacation rental homes in so many cities and towns up and down the Oregon Coast, you can catch festivals, celebrations and events wherever you stay.

Astoria -Indulge at the Astoria-Warrenton Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival. April 27, 28 & 29 http://www.oldoregon.com/

Cannon Beach -Play in the sand at Cannon Beach’s Sandcastle Contest. June 9 http://www.cannon-beach.net/

Depoe Bay -Savor the flavor at the Indian Style Salmon Bake.
September 15 http://www.depoebaychamber.org/

Gleneden Beach -Feel the patriot pride at the largest 4th of July parade on the Coast.
July 4th http://www.glenedenbeach.org/

Lincoln City -Fly high at the Lincoln City Kite Festival.
June 24-24 http://www.oregoncoast.org/

Nehalem -Get together and be alright at the Junteenth Raggae Festival.
Call Melissa Stetzel for info 503-368-9463

Newport -Taste the freshness of the sea at the 35th Annual Newport Seafood & Wine Festival
February 23-26 http://www.newportchamber.org/

Pacific City -Take to the high seas at Pacific City’s Dory Days. July 20-22 www.pcnvchamber.org/events.html

Rockaway Beach -Feel the heat at the Rockaway Beach Fire Festival & Concert July 14 www.chamberorganizer.com/Calendar/

Seaside -Imbibe at the Seaside Downtown Wine Walk November 10 www.seasideor.com/item.asp?iid=19&eid=53

Tillamook- Have a blast at the Tillamook County Fair, the best one in Oregon! August 8-11 http://gotillamook.com/category/tillamook-events

Yachats -Tie the knot again at St. Valentine’s Wedding Vow Renewal at the Little Log Church in Yachats. February 14 http://www.yachats.org/events.html

Check out the links for other activities, events, festivals and celebrations. If you time it right, you can book your vacation home and catch several of your favorite things to do all within a few days of each other.

The flavors, sounds and experiences of the Oregon Coast await! Plan now to make 2012 your year at the beach.

(Photo credit: Richard Wilson -"Coming ashore in a dory boat at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City")

Happy New Year!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

New Year’s Eve at the beach is great! Up and down the Coast the holiday lights are still shining. Parties, galas, concerts and events are starting right now and will continue on through tomorrow. And, as with every holiday, New Year’s Eve is more special when it’s celebrated at the beach.

Now is the time to plan for your next vacation at the Oregon Coast. Check out the houses on our website, choose the town or area you want to stay and make it happen. Plan ahead for spring break, your anniversary, your family reunion, a romantic getaway, a great family vacation and, of course, the holidays.

Lots of out-of-town guests are here in Lincoln City right now for the holiday week. I went to our outlet mall today and it was packed with people from all over the country: I saw license plates today from Maryland, Alaska, Arizona, British Columbia, South Carolina, Montana, Idaho, Washington, California and Delaware. The fact that Oregon has no sales tax on top of 50% - 70% off deals made for happy shoppers!

So tonight, as 2011 breathes its last, my husband and I will be with friends overlooking the beach. We will watch the many lights of the crab boats dance at the horizon and, if the wind is right, may even hear them start blaring their horns at midnight to ring in 2012. We will raise our glasses, kiss the old year good bye, kiss each other and wish for good things in the coming year.

My New Year wish for you is peace, joy, love, good health, good friends and enough time on the Oregon Coast to make you feel part of this complex and beautiful place. Plan now to make 2012 your year at the beach.

Happy New Year!

(photo credit: Richard Wilson. Oceanside Sunset)

Traveling The Sunset

Sunday, December 18, 2011

For Portlanders, the journey to the Coast often means traveling “The Sunset,” Highway 26 aka The Sunset Highway.

The highlight along The Sunset is Camp 18, a combination restaurant, museum and memorial. It is a monument to the logging history of Oregon, when timber, fish and agriculture were the economic powerhouses of the Pacific Northwest.

A massive log lodge-type building, Camp 18 is just the place to start your Coast adventure. Much of the logging in Oregon today still takes place in the Coast Range, those cloud-draped sentinels that form the western perimeter of the Willamette Valley.

Stop for logger-sized breakfasts and cinnamon rolls; check out the logging museum and marvel at the men and machines that carved a living from a treacherous forest; pay your respects at the memorial dedicated to those who lived and died among the trees. Get a feel for the timber culture at Camp 18 and you will find yourself looking at those trees along the rest of your Coastal journey a bit differently.

The Sunset ends at a junction; from there you can go to Cannon Beach and points south or north to Seaside all the way to Astoria. That little junction is a favorite area for elk to hang out, so have your camera ready and drive carefully.

The area from Cannon Beach to Seaside is a fantastic place to play, explore, shop, dine and relax. With majestic Haystack Rock offshore, Ecola State Park, wide flat beaches and pedestrian friendly shopping in both towns, this scenic area is a great place to stay and play. The photo with this post is from the Promenade in Seaside looking south with the lighthouse, Terrible Tilly, offshore.

Start planning your spring vacation now. Surprise your family or friends with a holiday gift of time together. Make room for memories. Check out Cannon Beach and Seaside for fantastic ocean views, family-friendly fun and a journey that is worth the trip.

(photo credit: Richard Wilson)

The journey matters

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Part of the fun of going to the Coast is how you get here. Stopping along the way to check out scenic vistas, fruits stands, and historical markers can make the difference between a stressful chore to get out of the way or a fun-filled journey that is as relaxing as the vacation itself.

I prefer the fun-filled journey, myself. The photo above is of the Otis Café, a world-famous (honestly!) diner that has been part of the local color since the 1930’s. Normally, you have to stand in line and wait up to an hour to get into this place for breakfast. My husband and I arrived at about 10:30 on this morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had already left.

The Otis Café is part of beautiful, downtown Otis, OR, about five miles east of Lincoln City on Highway 18. In Otis, you will find horses, a stand that sells fresh seafood, a gas station, a post office, the Pronto Pup stand, a trading post and the Otis Café. If you’re old enough, you’ll remember Otis as the home of Pixieland. Just west of Otis the highway splits into north and south; you can go north to Tillamook, Rockaway Beach and farther or you can go south to Lincoln City, Newport and beyond.

Otis is almost at the west end of Highway 18. If you are taking Highway 22 out of Salem, you will hit Highway 18 at the junction by Willamina. This is a beautiful drive, particularly if you come in the spring or fall; in the spring, the new leaves catch the sunlight and give the forest an almost electric green glow. In the fall, swaths of gold, red, orange and brown contrast with the dark green of the conifers. It is beauty beyond belief.

The Highway 22 & Highway 18 route takes you by the Baskett Slough which is not only a beautiful place, but is a rest stop for migrating ducks and geese. Farther west, the Van Duzer Corridor is lined with mega-tall trees, many of them old growth. This is a stunningly gorgeous drive with a State Park wayside to stop and rest, check out the Salmon River and breathe in the smell of a living forest.

Plan your spring and summer beach vacations now. And plan your route to get here. Plan to enjoy the beauty of the journey before opening the door to your vacation home away from home at the Coast.