Driving from Newport to Eugene, Oregon

Secret Garden B&B in Eugene

There are different ways to get from Newport on the coast, to Eugene in the Willamette Valley. 

Our favorite way is to drive south along the 101, along the cute little town of Yachats, by the Sealion Caves, past Cape Perpetua, with its gorgeous tidal pools and visitor’s centre. 

But this time it was raining, a miserable cold drizzle and fog. So we opted for Hwy 34 along the Alsea River. 

This is a drive through a rhapsody of green: tall woods, moss covered branches, towering ferns. You end up in Corvallis, a small town with a university and funky stores and pubs. We had lunch at New Morning Bakery, did some chores, some shopping and then drove along backroads, through impeccable Mennonite farm country to Eugene.

Breakfast at The Secret Garden

In all the 40+ years we’ve been coming here, we have almost always either lived here or stayed with friends. 

This time we booked a B & B right next to the campus. It exceeded all of our expectations: The Secret Garden is a huge heritage house surrounded by greenery. We are kiddy corner to the campus and love roaming the paths that we walked here when Kees was a student. 

Many of the restaurants and shops remain unchanged. 

We have been having Italian dinners at Mazzi’s for over 40 years. Smith Family Bookstore, Prince Puckler’s icecream, and many other places have been here forever it seems.

Our room in the B & B is lovely, with a large private bathroom. Breakfast is served in a beautiful parlor with flowered porcelain dishes. We highly recommend this place if you ever want to stay in Eugene - same cost as an impersonal hotel room but with lots of character and charm.

We spent time at both locations of Smith Family Bookstore today, browsing the endless piles of books scattered everywhere. This is book heaven. And they have most titles that you might be looking for. It’s amazing they can even find them among the teetering stacks of books. I was delighted to finds two of Patrick Taylor’s Irish Country Doctor titles. And Kees found some nice travel titles.

We had dinner at one of our old favorites: the Oregon Electric Station. The pub has comfy chairs and nice food.

Tomorrow we’ll be homeward bound.

Websites:

http://www.newmorningbakery.com

http://www.oesrestaurant.com

http://secretgardenbbinn.com

Anacortes to Newport

And then we steamed out of town on our way to Anacortes. No orcas or whales but the ferry did have to slow down for a deer swimming off the bow…

From Anacortes we drove south to the Port Towsend ferry - a crossing of 20 minutes.

From there is was south and west across the Olympic Peninsula, with views of Mt Olympus, Mt Baker and Mt Rainier most of the day. Gorgeous time to drive here as the fields are green and the abundant rhododendrons are still blooming.

Having lived here, the US always feels like a comfortable, old pair of shoes we slip on again. But the differences with Canada are always apparent to us. The people so jovial and kind - yet everywhere are signed for guns for sale. One store boasted a huge sign: “Guns for sale, new and used, the tools of freedom”. 

I notice many more drive-by coffee shops. It’s nice to have dinner, in a typical American diner, for under 35.- including wine and beer for two. And I love being able to pick up a bottle of wine in Safeway. Bought a bottle of Barefoot Moscato for 4.- today!

We drove many backroads south through Washington, ending up at the 6 KM long (!) Astoria bridge. Can’t help wonder what Lewis and Clark would think if they saw this amazing structure connecting the north and south shores of the Columbia River at its mouth just before the Pacific Ocean.  

Sauntering (can you ‘saunter’ in a car?) through small villages along Oregon’s Highway 101, we past the Haystack Rocks at Cannon Beach, the picture perfect beach of Manzanita and the green pastures around Tillamook. Here you can travel on a steam train, visit the cheese factory and an aviation museum.

We continued to Depoe Bay, which seems to have changed its slogan from ‘world’s smallest harbour’ to ‘whale watching capital of the world’. The latter does seem more attractive, even if it may be debatable. We always stop into The Leather Store, here or in Newport. Leather briefcases, belts and much more at low prices.

Three miles north of Newport we finally reached our destination for the next few days: Moolack Shores Motel. For many years we drove by this place and often said that “one day we should stay there!” Today we finally did. And it beat my high expectations.

The view from our room

We have a corner room with large windows looking out over the Pacific Ocean. The motel is directly over the beach, with a private balcony. We have a lovely room with a small kitchen and bathroom. I’d like to pack up all the Hawaiian yard sale junk that decorates the room and take it to the nearest thrift store: there are parrots dangling over the bed, pineapple shaped lamps and mirrors and gawdy lamps made from shells. But the location and view make up for the decor. 

Unfortunately, the next two days turned cold and rainy. We enjoyed sitting on our private deck for the first afternoon but after that it was cold, wet and miserable. You just never know on the Oregon coast. But how nice to have a (fake) fireplace, wine and a laptop to get some work done.

We had dinner at the best steak house in town: Szabos looks like an old wild west saloon, inside and out. But they serve the best darn steak dinners for under 14.- Highly recommended.

Websites:

http://moolackshores.com

http://www.szabossteakandseafood.net

The Oregon Coast

Crown jewel of sand beaches, winding roads along steep cliffs.. the Oregon Coast. One of my favorite places in the world!

There is so much to see and do. I will focus on the center of the state: from Florence to Oceanside, Oregon.

There are many lighthouses along this coast. Check here for details on visiting and touring them: http://www.nwcoast.com/lighthouses/oregon.asp
On the following dates, admission to public lands and parks will be free of charge:

• August 25, National Park Service Birthday and
• September 28, National Public Lands Day

 Florence has a lovely old town with little stores and restaurants. Driving north, a visit to the Sea Lion Caves is pretty impressive. You can take an elevator down into the rocks, stepping out into a natural cave that houses hundreds of sea lions. The smell and noise make this a memorable experience: http://www.sealioncaves.com/

Next is Cape Perpetua with a good visitors' center, trails and tide pools. Kids (and adults..) will love exploring life in the tide pools, finding anemones, starfish and much more.
If you have time, take the drive up to Perpetua Look-out for the amazing view south along the coast. And be sure to stop at Devil's Churn to watch white foam waves spouting up between the rocks.

We like visiting the little town of Yachats, especially the little winery and The Drift Inn with live music every night of the year. http://www.the-drift-inn.com/schedule.php

After that you will come to "our" village of Waldport, where we do our grocery shopping, find amazing wines and micro brews in Ray's Supermarket, pick up a latte and watch seals lazing along the Alsea river. Nice kayaking here, too. We have a little cottage just north of here and love spending days walking along the wide sand beaches. Amazing beaches. At low tide they are 1/4 mile deep, and allow us to walk many miles from here to Seal Rock. Along Highway 101 are several woodcarvers, selling large wooden bears, fun sea gulls and more. There are also 5 state parks between Waldport and Newport, all with gorgeous beaches.

Newport and Lincoln City are pretty crowded in the summer with tourists, shopping, doing all the touristy things. But do visit downtown Newport to see the sea lions on the public dock. Clam chowder at Mo's makes for a good lunch. And I like to pop into the Leather Works Store which has many leather things, all under $20.-, including office roll-on bags, purses, belts and jackets. Newport also has the Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine Science Center, if you travel with kids or want to explore these sites.

North of Lincoln City, the crowds fade away behind you and things get quieter. But there are also fewer places to eat or shop. The towns seem more 'rustic' and I noticed more 'closed' signs than 'open'... But be sure to swing into the road leading to Cape Foulweather. Amazing vistas. And the cool giftshop here has my favorite window in the whole world. It makes you feel like you are hanging above the Pacific. Which you are. 500 feet to be exact.

Tillamook... you can visit the cheese factory, the airplane museum which is the largest wooden structure in the world (http://www.tillamookair.com/) and take a ride on the Garibaldi steam train. But it's worth the drive to Oceanside to spend some relaxing days in this picturebook village. The houses cling to the cliffs (literally) and you can sip a latte looking out over the blue ocean or walk on the sand beaches near the famous Three Arches. A great place to hang out. Best time to visit the coast: September, when the wind is calm, the sun usually shines and the crowds have gone home.