Oregon coast

We’ve now camped at or visited Brookings, Bandon, Depoe Bay, Salem and Tillamook and have loved the scenery, rugged ocean capes and lighthouses, green forests and rural roads. The wind….not so much. While it’s beautiful, it’s been a bit chilly and windy but no rain, so we’ve been lucky.

Brookings was a small fishing town with a close beach and solid local seafood restaurant. Amazing fish and chips and crab tacos…we weren’t there long and were supposed to stay at Harris State Beach, but I made the reservation for the wrong date. (There’s a theme emerging.) If you go to Brookings, stay at Harris Beach State Park. Beautiful campground and right near the beach.

Next was Bandon where we stayed for three days and spent much of our time with good friends Joyce and Doug Pell who moved there 4 years ago from SLC. They have a beautiful home near the ocean and we had two wonderful long walks with them on the Face Rock beach…once for sunset and once to enjoy Circles in the Sand, a non-profit group who create marvelous circles and labyrinth walks during low or minus tides. We were lucky to be there for one and we loved the peaceful, artistic, meditative walk one morning. We also met their great friends Amy and Karen who have an acreage called Shore Pines Cove tucked in the trees near Bandon Dunes where they are building their own amazing home and gardens. Seriously…completely building it by themselves. Unbelievably daunting work, clearing the land, building the shop and now building the home. Check out the pics…it’s a beauty. We loved riding our e-bikes to the Coquille River Lighthouse, eating at Bandon Brewery and enjoying the Cranberry Cider at Bandon Rain. Oh yes…and Face Rock Creamery….peppercorn cheddar and Monterey Jack. (there’s a theme emerging here too…)

Next we were off to Depoe Bay for one night and a visit inland to visit Harper and Mike, friends from SLC who also moved to Oregon. Depoe Bay hosts the smallest harbor in the world (not sure how they’ve confirmed that) and a fantastic RV park, Sea and Sand RV, literally right on the beach. Those evening sunsets were memorable and we enjoyed the easy access.

The trip inland to Salem was beautiful, pulled over for our first Rainier cherries of the season, and had a great day laughing with Harp and Mike. Their new home is beautiful and we enjoyed some time on the patio with the yellow finches and new fav cocktail, the Sazarac. Absinthe, bourbon, simple syrup, lemon and bitters. Delicious, but dangerous. CAUTION: drink slowly over time.

They treated us to a wine tasting at Coria, a beautiful neighborhood vineyard which reminded us of Italy and a retirement dinner celebration at Paradisio in Salem. We loved seeing Riverfront Park and the Salem scene and their new digs.

Tillamook was next….and the drive up the coast was again, breathtaking. Played in town at the Blue Heron French Cheese store, Debbie D’s Sausage and, of course, Tillamook. Tim was a big fan of Debbie D’s, who was fourth generation dairy farmer, curing and processing her own meats and a chatterbox. He bought beefsticks, smoked tuna, and Debbie’s signature bacon, because according to her: “It’s so good you have to slap your own hand to keep from eating it all”. Netarts By the Bay RV park was right on Netart Bay and we watched elephant seals and their pups lay in the sun waiting for the tide to move them somewhere else…

Tour of Tillamook was a bit commercial, complete with dad jokes:

“why did the cheese go to the gym?”

“to get shredded….”

We actually liked Blue Heron a bit more, but they don’t have ice cream, so…duh.

Hiked (actually an easy walk) to Munson Creek Falls and enjoyed some shopping and local produce at Bear Creek Artichokes, a darling little shop on HWY 101 with some cool gardens, good food and a very proud turkey. Last but not least, Cape Meares lighthouse was cool…shortest lighthouse in Oregon, even though a bit hard to find.

On to Washington….stay tuned.