A Short Break From Summer

Seaside "Turnaround"

We imagined that the coast of Washington and Oregon would be warm and pleasant in August. Not so. It pays to check weather statistics rather than one's imagination. The Wunderground (Weather Underground) internet site shows average temperatures in August for our chosen location to be in the upper sixties. And so it has been. It left us wondering what happened to summer. But the break from the heat was okay. We'll be back into it again soon enough. On the positive side, we also got a break from the choking smoke, for a while at least.

For whatever cosmic reason, campgrounds are rarely situated in prime locations...and we've yet to find one right next to the beach, though I'm told they do exist. The campground in Seaside was about a mile inland from the beach-- close enough to ride a bike to, but we didn't. We were lazy and drove the car.

The town of Seaside has a beautiful beach, long and wide, and all of it with public access. Unlike some parts of the country, there is no private beach ownership in Oregon. You can own property up to, but not including the beach. That makes it really nice for "Joe Public." The downtown area is charming-- full of shops and restaurants. It has a beach-side promenade that runs a mile or two on either side of the "turnaround" at city center, and we walked a good portion of it on one of our visits.

We were only in Seaside for a week this time, but we liked it enough that that we've decided to make it a two or three week stay the next time our path takes us along the coast of Oregon.

The Column in Astoria

While we were there, we drove up to Astoria, Oregon, which is across the Columbia River from Washington, about ten or fifteen miles north of us. Astoria was fun to visit as well. They have a viewing tower on a hill, called "The Column," that we climbed for an amazing view of the surrounding area. We also visited their Maritime Museum. They have several other small museums that we didn't have time to check out, but we'll catch them on our next time through. And then there was the trolly. It costs a dollar to ride it (two dollars for an all day pass) and it will take you from one end of town to the other, with stops all along the way. And you get a brief narration of some of the history of the town in the bargain.

Between the provencial towns of Seaside and Astoria is Warrenton. It seems to have differentiated itself as the modern business center of Oregon's north coast. I imagine them saying, "Whatever store you don't want defiling your picturesque environment, we'll build it here." Warrenton is where you will find Costco, Walmart, PetCo, Staples, Home Depot, and pretty much any other modern shopping establishment you may need. I even found a Natural Grocer store. That was a pleasant surprise. We made a one-day shopping spree into Warrenton to get our main groceries for the month and pick up cat food and other supplies.

Since we no longer needed to stop in Pacific City (having experienced the miraculous healing of our electrical problem), Mark checked almost daily to see if we could extend our existing bookings to absorb those two days. There was no point in making another stop, and we didn't really like Pacific City the first time we were there. Both parks were booked solid. Every time he called, the answer was: "Sorry, it's completely full." But persistence sometimes pays off. You never know when someone will cancel or leave early. Fortune smiled on us and we were finally able to get an extra day at both Whaler's Rest and Seaside.

Dinner with a view

Whaler's Rest is a few miles south of Newport, Oregon, in a place called South Beach (I'm not sure it's even a town). We arrived on Mark's birthday. After getting all settled into our spot, we drove into Newport and had dinner at a lovely restaurant called Georgie's Beachside Grill. It was very good food, but Mark was disappointed that they didn't have lobster, the one thing he'd made up his mind that we wanted for dinner. But, he got his ribeye steak & fixin's and I promised him a rain check on the lobster.

There is actually whale watching in this part of Oregon. I'm sure I saw a breaching whale from the RV as we were driving by Depoe Bay, a town a little north of Newport. There was a whale-watching boat nearby my sighting and it circled around, so apparently they saw it too. Taking one of those whale-watching tours is on my bucket list. Someday!

Lovely pool - no hot tub :-(

Whaler's Rest is a nice enough park. They have plenty of 50 amp full hookups, but the phone reception (Verizon) was weak and the only place we could get internet was the clubhouse. The indoor swimming pool is fairly large and the water is warm, but the hot tub was closed for service both days we wanted to use it. No place is perfect, I suppose.

The "tunnel" at the aquarium

On our last day there we drove up to Newport and visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It's rated one of America's top ten aquariums. It has some nice features. The walk-through tunnel filled with fish, manta rays and sharks was pretty cool. Outside they had habitats for seals, sea lions, and sea otters, which are always fun to watch. And in the aviary, they had puffins and other sea birds. It was worth seeing for sure. Afterward, we took our beach chairs and jackets and sat out on the beach for an hour or so. In the sun it didn't seem like 60 degrees. The water, however, was frigid.

Enjoying the sun at the beach

Highway 101 is a beautiful scenic drive... in a car. I don't much like taking the RV down it. Our GPS agreed, and we have decided to take its advice and pop over to I-5 on our way out and skip Crescent City this time.

California, here we come!

Naptime?