Day Trip To Cannon Beach
 

Taking advantage of our unseasonably warm weather, the kids and I headed over to the coast yesterday. DH had work to do, so we took the dog with us instead:)

Driving from our SW Portland suburb home, it was 87 miles to Cannon Beach and took us 1 hour and 40 minutes via hwy 26. The speed limit is 55 most of the way, with a few areas being 50 mph.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day at the coast! The kids wanted to start by hitting their favorite shops along Hemlock Street. Since we had our Golden Retriever with us, the kids would go inside the shops while I took advantage of the many benches and sat in the sun. Our dog was in heaven as this town is very dog friendly and she had many people come play with her.

I do not know the name of one store, but the kids love to go there and buy various shells and rocks. After that was Bruce's Candy for some taffy and then Cannon Beach Bakery for a loaf of Haystack bread to take home.

Shopping was out of the way, so then it was beach time. We rented fun cycles down at the Family Fun Cycle shop (1160 S Hemlock near the Surfsand and Cannon Beach Hotel. The rate is only $10 for 90 minutes. The fun cycles are a 3 wheel recumbant style bike. We always have fun doing this, but usually my dh rides and watches the dog at the same time. I tried that yesterday, but have no idea how he manages to do that so well, lol!

We returned the bikes when we were done, retrieved our picnic stuff that we brought with us, and headed back to the beach. After getting all the towels and everything set up we played in the sand and the water, and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The day looked like a nice day in July or August, except everyone was carrying their parkas yesterday. I did have to call dh and let him know what he was missing:)

The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky, just a touch of wind (just enough for a few kites), and the beach was filled with people.

Before we left for home we stopped at Ecola Seafood Market and got a couple crabs to take home for dinner.

On the way home there is a spot that has a great view of Mt. St. Helens and as we were passing by we could see a small plume of ash or steam. Later that night we heard about it on the news as well.

Arrived home with crab and bread, so just had to break out a bottle of wine and dinner was ready. Although dh missed the outing, he was glad that we brought home a nice dinner for him.

Last weekend we were snowshoeing and getting lots of snow dumped on us, and then a week later basking in the sun at the beach.

Oh boy, this is the stuff that I need to read to the Yankee to get him excited about going back to Portland :D
Thanks mms..
What exactly is a Haystack bread? shaped like the rock?
Amazing how good the weather is, it is chilly at the beach here ~
Glad you were able to clock the trip, since there always seems to be confusion on the subject.
What is the weather today? as warm? or snowing :D

...tick...tick....tick...... O:)

Kal ((L))

LOL Kal! Trust me...thats what I was thinking when I wrote this.

Scarlett--Yes, the bread is supposed to resemble the rock. They tried to call it Puffin Bread a while back due to the Puffin birds. Everyone knew it as Haystack bread though so they changed the name back. It is beautiful here again today! Course you know me...snow would be very welcome:)

Aloohaaaa...

<i>WHO ME?</i>
((6))

I wonder how long your travel time would have been by broom? :O)

Believe it or not, Mrs Kal has a SoWest ticket to use before June so we are thinking of a June trip up to Portland and maybe hit the wineries east/north of town....or hit the OreCoast, soooo....you are warned!!! ;)

Kal--plan it with Scarlett! We are really close to the wineries (but they are SW of the city). Maybe we could get the other locals from here rounded up as well.

Sounds muy bueno!

But, would you guys be ready for both me AND Ms Scarlett in the same town together?

I'm sure a lot of the &quot;Original Wine-O Gangstahs&quot; would make a trip up, too.

Now...anybody have any good hotel suggestions for Portland? :-&quot;

Relax-it's just me....
I want to come to Portland with
Kal and Scarlett and drink lots of wine
with the <b>locals.</b>
@};-
tick.....tick....tick....
any broom sightings yet ?
@-)
R5

R5--there is always room for you too!

As a matter of fact...i did see several things fly by me yesterday on the highway. I think they were cars, but they could have been brooms too. They were going too fast for me to see! I really didn't appreciate being passed though on the blind curves:)

Geez mms-send us some sunshine!
I was walking downtown on Sat. eve
and passed a youngin' on a cell phone
who said &quot;It's NOT raining in Portland-
it's pouring here!&quot;
Yesterday it poured for 6 hours
non-stop !
Enough, the grapes will mold !
:)
R5

The Yankee was talking about going to Miami for a week to check it out...now I have to whisper in his ear while he sleeps...<i>Portland Portland~~~</i> I would love to be there when the roses are blooming! I am sure the Yankee would love the wine-O part of it :D
I will see what we can do about this..

Kal--How stupid do you think I am? lol! No way would I touch the hotel issue:D

R5--My dad lives in the east bay and was complaining about the rain to me today. I told him to send it this direction. Yes, I am one of those people who truly loves the rain, and being out in it, lol!

Poor razzle, I do hope you all get some sunshine!

Hey mms,

Must be the great minds thing again. We got back earlier this afternoon from a night at the coast. It was beautiful, wasn't it. Wonder if we bumped into eachother at Cannon Beach. We were in Bruce's too, and had lunch yesterday at Ecola Market; they make great fish and chips.

Since we stayed overnight in Gearhart, I thought I'd drive home via Astoria. Though we did find a decent bowl of chowder there, and the view from the Column was pretty spectacular, suffice it to say that I remember now why we've never spent much time there.

And, sorry kim, but Seaside too. Ten Tiny Tees and one ride on the bumper cars was about all I could take. My kids too. I really can't understand what they're trying to do with that town.

After reading all of these discussions about Cannon Beach and other beaches, I am so glad we took the advice Portland friends gave us and spent our one beach day at Cannon, last Sept.
We were not disappointed although I did miss out on the Haystack bread :D

Wow Beachbum, we probably did cross paths! The kids went into Bruce's, but I was on a bench at the building where the Cannon Beach Bakery is. If you saw a lady with a Golden Retriever who was getting attention from tons of people, that was me, lol! I went into the seafood market by myself though.

The day before we went, I told the kids we could go to Astoria, Seaside or CB. It was their pick. Both said CB right away. I was relieved, lol!

DH downloaded the pcitures tonight and was really envious when he saw just how nice it was there.

Scarlett--Tell the Yankee that you must return to taste this special bread, lol!

I took a new toy along, and thought these might whet your appetite for the next time you're here, Scarlett.

http://www.pbase.com/smg9774/beach

Oh beachbum, they are great ! The colors and so clear!
What kind of camera did you get :D

Thank you..tomorrow morning I will make him sit down and look at them, remind him of how much we liked it there. ((F))

Wow Beachbum, those pictures are fantastic! I did have to look close at the one around Haystack Rock to see if we were in it though, lol! I didn't see anyone being drug along by a dog so you must have missed us.

My daughter won the arm wrestling contest over the computer last night, Scarlett, so I got hard-booted. The camera is Canon's 20D. I decided to go digital after my wife's on-the-fly hand-held shots in Paris last fall turned out just as good as my tripod mounted film SLR's.

mms, Aside from a beautiful beach and lots of quiet, there are no good reasons to stop in Gearhart. But, if you ever do, have a meal at Pacific Way Cafe. Some of the best PNW coast comfort food around, IMO.

Beachbum--A couple years ago we did our family reunion at Gearhardt. Rented a home in the Highlands. Beautiful home, nice beach...but everyone was bored stiff after a couple days, lol! I will make note of the cafe though for next time, thanks!

beachbum,
we have a Canon 4.0..I sort of miss our old Nikon SLR..with those zoom lenses, but I do not miss lugging it around on trips.
Once I wished that we could go to Paris and just take black and white photos with that camera..of course, when we got there, no one wanted to carry the camera all day so we never did take all those artsy photos :D
The Yankee is agreeing that we should try to spend more time in PDX as well as at the beach, he is very interested in the coastline..says he does not want to be cold again LOL
( a year in Florida and he is a changed man!)

btw- where is that bridge going to in Astoria?

The bridge crosses the Columbia into Washington. At five miles, it's one of the three longest in the country(?)... world(?)... heck, I don't know. I've only been over it a couple times; pretty nerve-wracking, especially with my wife along. She only made it a few steps up the Column yesterday before nerves took over. The kids and I went to the top so we could fly the balsa wood airplanes sold by the visitor's center there for that purpose. Pretty cool!

Beachbum, beautiful photos! I'd love to visit Cannon Beach again.

I was missing Oregon and Washington this weekend and bought dungenous crab for dinner Sunday, but the crab meat was mushy and fishy tasting. It just made me miss the coast even more.

Sounds like it was a wonderful weekend!

mms, it is Gearhart, yes a gorgeous place! We'll have to try the Pacific Way Bakery &amp; Cafe when we visit the OR Coast next month! :)

The bridge is called the Astoria-Megler bridge, it's really a lot of fun to cross. The WA Coast is very nice. We like the 42nd Street Cafe and the Shoalwater at the Shelburne Inn for nice meals. There's also the Sanctuary in Chinook that has some excellent food. The swedish meatballs are the specialty there. :) www.oldoregon.com will tell you more about the bridge and Astoria. Just ((l)) that little place!

mms, only one day? Probably wasn't enough, huh? We spent eight weeks on the coast last summer and we still weren't ready to leave! :)

The Bistro in CB and the Stephanie Inn are at the top of my list for next months' trip. We also hope to try the Nahalem River Inn for dinner and of course all of our yummy faves in Astoria! We enjoyed watching the filming of the Ring 2 last summer, it is coming to theaters on March 18! ***kim*** ((*))

I musta been in a fog last night.. Somebody talkin' wine? When and where? And Kal, bag the hotel; we've still got the hide-a-bed made up for ya.

Yes, one day. We can go anytime we want:)

Ok,beachbum, Thanks regarding the bridge. I saw that it was a bit looooong and I make it a point not to cross those causeways here in Florida, so I think I might have to skip that bridge :D

&quot;We spent eight weeks on the coast last summer and we still weren't ready to leave!&quot;

i suppose you'd rather be just about anywhere than head back to clovis, huh, kim?

beachbum:
What great photos! We have got to get a
digital camera before we get dusty
:)
R5

Yes mms, I agree day trips are so much fun! We are able to do Yosemite, Cambria, Carmel/Monterey/PG, Paso Robles wine country, even Disneyland day trips from where we live! :)

While we were on the Oregon Coast for an extended stay, day trips to Portland were fun,also. ***kim*** ((#))

Should I start listing my places that I can go to on Day trips?

Scarlett--We would at least be interested in yours:)

mms
:))
R5

Well let me see...
Orlando Florida
Savannah Georgia
St Marys Ga
Amelia Island Fl
Daytona Fl
The Yankee took a couple of day trips to NYC recently ..
But since this is NOT a contest, and this is Your thread :D I do have a question about Cannon Beach..
I am interested and so is the Yankee, in the idea of renting a beach place for a month. How far in advance to they get rented?
And besides Cannon Beach and not Astoria, where would we want to look?
Thanks((F))

Scarlett--The good places get rented out a year or so in advance. Many people have their favorite houses and when they stay there they reserve for the next year as well. Manzanita is a really nice area as well. If you are looking for this summer, you would want to act on it asap.

Poooh, that is what I feared. That is the way it was in NY. It was a good idea though:)
We will have to start thinking soon, we want to be away from Hurricanes in Aug or Sept..so we will go North..somewhere...

Scarlett--Don't fear...I will email you some helpful stuff:)