Oregon Coast / Drive from Portland to Newport

Monday, September 19

We drove out of Portland and headed west, back to the coast. It was time to view the Pacific in all its coastal splendor.

We took a quick stop in Tillamook at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Since I am not eating dairy products these days, we didn’t stay long. But I did go inside and look at the cheese being made. I also tasted a few yummy cubes (and put a few in my pocket for Auggie back in the Champagne Chevy! He LOVED it. J)

And then we took our first stop at Pacific City, a small, laid-back coastal town with a beautiful beach. It was a gorgeous day and we took a nice, long walk on the beach. Aaaaaaaaah.

After our walk, we stopped at a little tasting room of an Oregon winery called Basket Case/Twist. They manufactured several labels; we did a quick tasting there to quench our curiosity. While they didn’t have any Pinot Noirs (they specialize in Zinfandel and Syrah), their Syrah was awesome. I took some along with me (and opened it later that night). It was DELICIOUS!

Farther down the coast, we stopped at Cape Foulweather, "discovered" by Captain James Cook, which was really windy (hence the name "Foulweather"). But it offered a superb view of the craggy Oregon coast, as well as our first glimpse of gray whale spouts out in the distance. How very cool – we are starting to see sea creatures now, not just land creatures.

We climbed back into the van to continue our drive, but stopped again soon after that to visit the “Devil’s Punchbowl.” (Pacific waves come turbulently splashing into that circular opening in the rock.) We talked to a friend back home while we walked on yet another broad, beautiful Oregon beach and watched the surfers do their thing in the cold Pacific. (I would freeze in that water in less than five minutes, I am certain.)

We headed a little bit farther south to Newport for the night. We found the South Beach State Park just south of Newport, which was right on the coast. We cooked a great dinner, read more Potter #6 and sipped some of that yummy Syrah before we drifted off to sleep.