I've re-read through all the threads I can find and rather than thanking folks individually I thought I'd simply do so this way. We have decided to add CB into an otherwise straightforward trip to Palm Springs and Los Angeles in January 2020 since doing so only meant fairly easy air diversions and an additional rental car. We are doing this because we enjoyed the place so much the last time we were there we figured why not? So whether you said you love it or hate it all the comments from the past are appreciated. Be a nice diversion from both the desert and the turmoil of Los Angeles and a pleasant change from South Florida also.

I don't hate Cannon Beach. It is one of quite a few nice small towns on the Oregon coast. Haystack Rock and Ecola State Park are nice enough but I prefer other areas of the coast. One thing I do remember about CB is going to find a geocache on the eastern side of town in a small forest. On the way to the geocache I saw a few elk tracks in the muddy trail.
One of my favorite virtual cache finds was just off the Prom in Seaside at the spot where members of the Corps of Discovery boiled seawater to get salt to preserve meat for the long trip back to St. Louis.
We have a good High Desert in Oregon. I really prefer the Bend Oregon area to the Palm Springs area.

Obviously, I don't hate the place either. I dislike AMTRAK trains that are late as you already know or worse, ones that AMTRAK officials (in Portland) tell you, "We don't actually know where it is right now."

Dukey--I think you know how much I enjoy Cannon Beach. I've been going there since I was a kid growing up in Oregon. I am glad you will get to experience it in the winter. If there is a storm while you are here, even better! It has such a relaxed feel in the winter. I love the rain, yes really, and being at the coast when the wind is howling and the rain coming down is something I do very much enjoy, and not from inside either

MMS,

Thanks for your reply which I can relate to. I am hoping the weather for the drive from PDX to and from CB will be agreeable. I like being "at the beach" almost anywhere. It is a bit frustrating not to actually be in the water but otherwise the entire situation to include the town, the houses and the way they look, and, of course that rock are just very special somhow.

Dukey--FWIW, I have only had one really bad drive between Portland and CB, It was mid March and a snowstorm. We were coming back home from CB and we were the last vehicle through before they closed the highway. That was not the norm at all, so you should be fine

Consider taking the (somewhat longer but not terrible) route along the north shore of the Columbia. In the winter it can be quite atmospheric, especially along the Columbia downstream from Cathlamet. A detour to Waikiki Beach at Cape Disappointment can be very rewarding if the seas are high. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/Axn3UiiSp2og87Wk7

Waikiki Beach in winter (not my picture)

Gardy, thanks. And thanks to you I made it a point to actually stop at Cape Disappointment when we drove to CB a couple years ago from Seattle. I had seen the lighthouse on calendars forever. I'll look into the alternate drive possibility since the sole purpose of this little diversion is to soak up the atmosphere and any and all aspects of it.

Glad you are making the trip, Dukey!

Tom, regarding elk at the coast, did you see this link on the O? Right in Gearhart.

Great picture above; would like to have been there. Got a phone call from the accommodation in CB today. Turns out there are several places which are all owned by the same people (not surprising I suppose).