Beautiful Oregon Coast, 2023

We hadn’t travelled yet this summer and were excited to spend four days on the Oregon Coast.

Cannon Beach – For starters we flew to Portland, rented a vehicle, and headed directly to Cannon Beach to meet up with our good friends Ralph and Debbis Walker. Ralph and I have been pals for over 60 years and I was best man at their wedding 38 years ago.

We think its town is the loveliest along the coast. It is quite clean, neat, and tidy.

The number one site at Cannon Beach (and probably the entire Oregon Coast) is the iconic Haystack Rock. It has been around for over 15 million years. This shot is from our balcony.

Ecola State Park has one of the great viewpoints along the coast. That’s Haystack Rock in the background.

Hug Point – Besides beauty, there is history here. In the late 1800s, before the highway was built, stagecoach travel was along the beach in these parts. Even now you can walk along the original stagecoach road and see the wheel ruts carved into the rock. Pioneers traveling around this headland had to hug the point carefully, even at low tide. Thus the name, Hug Point.

B’nai B’rith Summer Camp – After Cannon Beach, we headed South. To break up the drive down the coast, we decided to stop at the Lincoln City Outlet Stores. I was shocked and elated to pass directly in front of BB Camp where I spent eight summers as a kid and it has some of my absolute fondest memories.

Depoe Bay – The next stop, two nights, were a couple hours south at Newport.  On the way down we stopped at Depoe Bay. It is home to the world’s smallest navigable harbor.

It is most renown for whale watching, however. From mid-December for 4 weeks about 20,000 gray whales pass by here from Alaska to Mexico.

Gracie’s Sea Hag is truly famous for its clam chowder. It is even written up in some big time New York Cook Book. The broth may have been the best ever. Too bad they skimp so much on the clams.

Newport – Our reason for staying in Newport (2.5 hours south of Cannon Beach) was to take in the Sea Lions. They are loud, smelly, and fascinating. We were not disappointed.

All over the world, the sunset view generally is peaceful and nice. It’s particularly nice at the Pacific Ocean where you face west. This shot was from our room.

Dinner was at Local Ocean Seafood, a typical Oregon Coast casual eatery with nice ambiance and service along with decent food.