Chocolate and Bacon: Oregon: Cannon Beach

Monday, August 25, 2014

Oregon: Cannon Beach

I grew up going to the Jersey shore. I still go there occasionally, especially now that I live a half hour (sans traffic) from Sandy Hook. In New Jersey, beaches are sandy, full of people, and bordered by murky water. Oh, and you have to pay to access them.

I knew I wanted to visit the coast while in Oregon. On a whim, I looked at some of the photos that pop up when you click on names in Google Maps.

Those are some interesting rocks you've got there, Cannon Beach.

Oh, and Astoria? Like The Goonies? Yes please.

I planned a route that would allow us to see as much of the state as possible.

We woke up early (thanks, time zones!) and drove west through forests of towering pines. Jesse mentioned the size of the trees about every 15 minutes. Seriously, the trees are huge!

As we headed south on US 101, we caught a glimpse of a behemoth rock poking out above the trees. We assumed we were close to our destination.

The first thing we did upon arriving in the tiny coastal town of Cannon Beach was get lost.

Photo by Jesse Stratowski

Once we found the free(!) parking lot in the center of town, we got some excellent coffee.

Photo by Jesse Stratowski

We then had to ask a nice lady in a shop how to get to the beach. Amazingly, it was at the end of the street, through a housing complex. And it was free. Apparently all beaches in Oregon are public.

The morning started out foggy, but slowly the sun pried its way into the day.