Tag Archives: vacation

Day Trip Stops in Coos Bay

07 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in Coos Bay, Food

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Coos Bay, Oregon is a fun place to travel to on the Oregon Coast, located South of Florence and West of Roseburg it is a popular south coast city that is home to a wide range of fun activities. The bay itself is a wonderful place to go sight seeing or get out on the water in a kayak for just a great day of exercise and nature watching. There is a large fishing community that moors in Coos Bay. Tenmile lake is also just a little north of the main city which is a popular freshwater destination on the coast.

If you are visiting Coos Bay then you may want to consider stopping at the following local businesses for a sweet treat or a lunch or dinner.

Coney Station located next to part of the bay is a great eatery that serves over 20 different beers on tap making it a great place to stop for a drink and a burger or other delicious items. They have a healthy selection of seafood entrees as well. This is a great hang out spot and perfect if you were spending a day at the beach and want to grab a bite to eat for lunch before continuing with your day trip to the Coos Bay area. It has the neighborhood bar type feel with a couple of pool tables and a great selection of brews. Not the best place to come and hang out with the family, but perfect for a day trip lunch or dinner stop.



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The Cranberry Sweets Company as seen on the Rachel Ray show is a great local candy shop that makes lots of awesome desserts and treats. If you are a chocolate or candy lover then you will want to include a stop to the factory store in Coos Bay on your next visit. This local treasure has been in business for 50 years. They specialize in making many wonderful fruit based candies with Oregon berries and fruits. They also have an excellent line of brittle’s, toffee’s and caramels or you may just enjoy picking up a package of tea cookies and finding a drive through coffee shop for an espresso or a hot tea and enjoying a snack at a viewpoint looking the bay. This can be a perfect way to enjoy a stop in Coos Bay especially on a raining winter day when you may not want to be out on the beach or bay.


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Coos Bay, Oregon is perfect place for a fun day trip vacation

Lincoln City – A Great Place to Try New Things

21 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in Lincoln City

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Lincoln City, located on the Central Oregon Coast at the 45th parallel, is ideally situated for the maximum in vacation enjoyment. The Pacific Ocean with 7 ½ miles of sandy beach to the west, the Salmon River to the north, Devils Lake and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and the Siletz Bay and River to the south. Not only does Lincoln City offer plenty of outdoor recreation, but it also offers a multitude of other vacation opportunities.

Billing itself as “A Great Place to Try New Things,” in the 2011 addition of its Visitors Guide, Lincoln City follows through with an intriguing list of some of the possibilities available. For instance you can learn to blow glass, make and fly a kite, or learn windsurfing, paddle boarding, or kite boarding. The Culinary Center in Lincoln City not only trains future chefs; but you can take a variety of short classes offered Thursdays, Fridays, and or Saturdays.

Of course, Lincoln City has all the usual beach activities. From walking on the beach and sun bathing to boating, fishing, surfing, crabbing, and clamming, you can do it all here. You can also go fishing and canoeing at Devils Lake. There are a wide variety of hiking possibilities, both on the beach and in the Coast Range. During the winter, when storms stir up the sand, you can hunt for agates and fossils.

The North Lincoln County Historical Museum contains some rather unique items. In 1949, a Japanese horned mine was ashore. It was disarmed by tunneling underneath it and removing its workings. The museum also displays baskets made by the Native Americans who lived here before the first settlers arrived, a collection of Japanese fishing floats, and artifacts from the dairy, fishing, and cannery industries from the homesteading era.

One of the sites to see in Lincoln City is a bronze statue of a young Abraham Lincoln on horseback, studying. The statue was produced by Anna Hyatt Huntington and donated to the city in 1965. The statue had been rejected by both the State of Oregon and the University of Oregon, due to the cost of shipping, which was $25,000. Today the statue stands in front of the Lincoln City Community Center. It is listed as one of the items on the Smithsonian List of Outdoor Treasures.

The Lincoln City Visitors guide helpfully lists possible activities by age group: children, young adults, adults, and seniors. Pet owners will be delighted to learn that Lincoln City is a pet friendly city. Dogs on leashes are welcome on the beaches, in some of the shops, and in an astounding number of motels. Each year in May Lincoln City holds the Mutt Masters Dog Show and Olympics. For $3 you can enter a dog in one category. For $25, you can enter a dog in unlimited categories. There is even more fun with someone doing pet psychic readings. It’s a great time for dogs and people.

Vacationing in Lincoln City presents an enormous number of possibilities. Surrounded by such a variety of natural resources, you can spend most of your vacation outside. It is a delightful place to try something new.
Article written by Mary Boyer


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Learn more about Lincoln City, Oregon here:
http://www.beachconnection.net/news/lcityblue090912_1246.php
http://www.lincolncity.org/

Cannon Beach Perfect Weekend Getaway Spot

20 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by in Cannon Beach

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Looking for a new place to take your vacation? Visitors will find numerous interesting things to do and see at Cannon Beach.

People have used this beach for hundreds of years; however, Cannon Beach was only incorporated in 1957. The Cannon Beach History Center has displays on the Native Americans who lived here: Chinook, Clatsop and Tillamook Indian tribes. The history of Cannon Beach over the past three hundred years is carefully recounted with artifacts and displays. The cannon, for which the beach is named, is also on display at the museum. Discover the fascinating story of the USS Shark, and how the cannon ended up on the beach.

Downtown Cannon Beach offers lots of wonderful shops and delicious places to eat.

The Little Pompey Wetland, found inside the city, and nearby Cannon Beach settling ponds are teeming with wildlife. Birds are the main attraction: green wing teal, northern shoveler, golden eye, mallard, bald eagle, fox sparrow, marsh wren, townsend warbler, white – fronted goose, and other birds as well. During the winter especially, you might even see a coyote, deer, or Roosevelt elk.

All Oregon beaches are open to the public for recreation. Cannon Beach has 4 miles of beach with 44 access points for visitors. These beaches are wonderful for all sorts of outdoor activities including surfing, kite flying, beach horseback riding, paragliding, kiteboarding, and surf fishing. Clams are plentiful on the beach and you can dig for them from December through September each year. Everything you need is available for rental in town. Remember, you need a license for clamming, also available in town for a nominal fee. You can fish on the beach or charter a boat and go deep sea fishing. You are even welcome to bring you dog to the beach. Just keep him or her on a leash.

On the beach, Haystack Rock and nearby Needles are sure to catch your eye. Haystack Rock towers 235 feet above the beach. The monolith itself is off limits to tourists, so be certain to bring binoculars. The tide pools are full of interesting marine invertebrates and the Rock provides homes for nesting birds. During December through early February up to 500 gray whales pass every day from 2 to 8 miles offshore on their way south. The north bound trip is more laidback with only a few hundred per day passing along the shore. There are a few whales that seem to stay here all the time. They can be seen even in the summer.

Haystack Rock has is one of the most photographed natural features on the Oregon Coast. It has appeared in several movies. A few of these are Sometimes a Great Notion (based on Ken Kesey’s novel), The Goonies, and Kindergarten Cop.

Those who come to Cannon Beach, come to enjoy the beach, hike the forest trails, participate in water sports or fishing, or view the birds at Little Pompey Wetland. You are sure to enjoy the time you spend here.
Article written by Mary Boyer

For more information check out these links.
http://ci.cannon-beach.or.us/index.html
http://www.cannonbeach.org/activities/wildlife_viewing.aspx


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Astoria Oregon – Mouth of the Columbia River

17 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Astoria, Uncategorized

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The area surrounding Astoria, Oregon, near the mouth of the Columbia River, has a long and varied history. Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1805-1806 at Fort Clatsop, which is south and west of today’s Astoria. In 1810, the Astor Company made Fort Astor the center of its fur business. From 1813 to 1818, the area was under British control. In 1818, it became joint British/U.S. territory and remained so until 1846, when it became a permanent part of the United States. The first post office west of the Rocky Mountains was founded in Astoria in 1847. It was not until 1876, that Astoria was incorporated as a city.

Washington Irving published a romanticized novel of the fur traders entitled “Astoria” in 1836 with the encouragement of John Jacob Astor. Astor felt that the nation did not realize the importance of the fur traders and wanted them memorialized. “ Astoria” cemented the importance of the Western territories in the public psyche.

The Astoria Column was built by the Astor family in 1926, on the highest hill in Astoria to commemorate Astoria’s early history. The view of the surrounding area from the column is magnificent. You can climb the 164 steps of the column to the observation platform for and even more amazing view.

Nearby Fort Stevens guarded the entrance to the Columbia River from the time of the Civil War through World War II. Fort Stevens is one of two places in Oregon that was bombed by the Japanese. On June 21, 1942 a Japanese submarine fired 17 shells in the direction of the fort. Luckily the bombs only did damage to a baseball field and some telephone cables.

Astoria remained a major port on the west coast for well over a century. It was a thriving community until the mid-1970s when Bumble Bee Seafood closed its headquarters here. The lumber industry also began to fade and in 1989, the plywood mill that was the city’s largest employer shut down.

A partial replica of Fort Astoria is located in downtown Astoria at the site where John Jacob Astor’s fur traders originally built their fort. A replica of Fort Clatsop invites you to step back into history, where National Park Rangers dressed in buckskin explain muzzle loading and shooting, hide tanning and candle making. Fort Stevens is now a State Park. When you visit Fort Stevens you can take a self-guided tour of the fort and explore the gun batteries and visit the Military Museum.

Astoria today looks more towards tourists and artists than fishermen and lumberjacks. However, Astoria has not abandoned its marine past. Every February for the past 15 years, Astoria has hosted the Fisher Poets Gathering, an event that celebrates all things maritime in art, music, and literature.
Article written by Mary Boyer


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For more information about Astoria, Oregon check out the following resources.

http://www.beachconnection.net/news/battruss061912_510.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astoria,_Oregon

http://www.nps.gov/lewi/planyourvisit/index.htm

Visit Historic Newport Oregon

16 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in Newport

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Historic Newport, on the central Oregon Coast, is a small town of just over 10,000 people. It stretches along the coast between two historic lighthouses: Yaquina Head Lighthouse at the north and Yaquina Bay Lighthouse at the south end of town. It is one of the older towns in Oregon establishing a post office in 1868.

The establishment of Newport owes a great deal to the oyster. In 1852, the schooner “Juliet” was driven aground by storms. The captain and crew spent two months in the Yaquina Bay area. They were the first to spread the word about the plentiful oysters in Yaquina Bay. By 1863, two companies were shipping oysters from the bay. Today oysters are farmed in Yaquina Bay and shipped worldwide.

Lincoln County Historical Society was formed in 1948 to preserve the history of the area. The group cares for two historic buildings, Burrows House Museum is a Queen-Anne style house built in 1895, and the Log Cabin Museum which displays the Society’s collection of over 40,000 artifacts either made of used in the county between 1850, and the present.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport is more than just an aquarium. It has over 5,000 marine animals, but is also home to birds, California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, and Sea Otters. Exhibits at the Oregon Coast Aquarium are known internationally for their quality.

The Aquarium plays an active role in conservation and animal rehabilitation efforts. Currently it has some unusual guests. First a green sea turtle was found on Moolack Beach suffering from hypothermia. No one knows why it came to visit the Oregon Coast from its tropical home, but the waters off Oregon’s coast were not kind to it. The turtle’s body temperature had dropped to 58 degrees down from its normal of 72 to 82 degrees.

Next, evidence indicates that a pair of snowy plovers became lunch for a fox. Monitors from the aquarium rescued the three eggs left in their nest in the Bandon State Natural Area. The first eggs was already hatching, a second hatched in the trip to the aquarium and the third a few hours later.

If you visit the Hatfield Marine Science Center you will be greeted by the current octopus in residence.
Explore the four tidepool tanks, which house sea anemone, sea urchins, skates, and sea stars. Visitors are encouraged to reach in and touch the living marine organisms!

The historic bay front is an eclectic group of businesses. There are gift shops and art galleries, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, and Wax Works Museum. As you walk along the bay, you may see sea lions in the water and sometimes up on the boardwalk with you. Newport is home to Oregon’s largest fishing fleet. You can go deep sea fishing of take a whale watching trip.
Article written by Mary Boyer

No visit to Newport can be complete without stopping at the original Mo’s for a bowl of clam chowder.

For more information about the city of Newport, Oregon check out these additional resources.
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/06/snowy_plover_chicks_after_fox.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/06/tropical_turtle_found_on_orego.html
http://www.oregonoyster.com
http://www.el.com/to/newport/

Seaside, Oregon Fun Family Destination on the Oregon Coast

15 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in Seaside

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Seaside Oregon is one of the more popular beaches alone the Oregon coast. Beginning in 2005, on the first Saturday of each month the art galleries, restaurants, and shops of Seaside have welcomed artists, authors, and musicians. From 5 to 8 pm participating businesses provide space for the artists and goodies for the visitors. You can get a map of the walk at participating businesses, the Seaside Visitors Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, or download one from the internet.

Why not come on Friday night and enjoy the area and return home on Sunday? There are dozens of hotels/motels, condo and lodges, Bed and Breakfasts, and vacation home rentals depending on your preferences. Be sure to make a reservation, since this popular area can sometimes be booked up.

The promenade along the beach in Seaside is unique on the Oregon Coast. Walking along the promenade you will see beautiful views of the ocean and Tillamook Head. There is a circle for cars to turn around at about the center of the promenade that has a bronze statue of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Seaman in the center.

History buffs will enjoy visiting the Saltworks, a National Historic Site where Lewis and Clark made salt. The oven that they used is still there. The Butterfield Cottage was built as a beach house for a jeweler from Portland in 1893. It was occupied as a home until 1958 when it became a millinery shop. It became a museum in 1984. Currently it is decorated to represent what it might have looked like in 1912.

Seaside Aquarium is a delightful place to spend some time. As you approach the building you are greeted by the skeleton of 35-foot skeleton of a Gray Whale. Inside the main attraction are the ten seals that make their home here. The oldest of the seals was born in 1983! The youngest was born in 2011. Children in particular enjoy the seals enthusiasm as the splash and bark in hopes of getting a piece of fish. The aquarium also includes a touching pool and other exhibits.

If you make it to the beach, you’ll discover that this is a wonderful place to fly a kite. The coastal winds make this a great place for kite flying, even if you’ve never tried it before. Seaside is one of the best places on the Oregon and Washington Coasts for surfing. All the gear you might need is for rent nearby.

Visit the Carousel Mall and ride one, or several, of the animals on the carousel. The animals are replicas of the animals at the San Francisco Carousel Museum. Among the favorites are a seahorse, a rabbit, a pink ostrich, and of course a pony.

Funland is a great arcade for the kids to enjoy playing a few video games or rolling a few rounds of skeeball for tickets and prizes.

As you can see, there is a lot to do in Seaside. You could not begin to do it all in only a day, or even a weekend.
Article written by Mary Boyer

A few resources to find out more about Seaside, Oregon include:

http://www.beachconnection.net/news/augas071212_408.php

http://www.seasidechamber.com./#

http://www.seasideor.com/item.asp?iid=484