Planning a trip down the 101? The Tillamook County Creamery shouldn’t be missed. The creamery is a co-op of local dairy farmers. The really great thing about it is that there are plenty of free samples of cheese. Aside from some information about the dairy process, it’s a nice place to get a scoop of ice cream.
Yaquina Lighthouse Cafe - Originally Published 2008
Travel tip #1: Don’t eat at McDonald’s. Ray Kroc figured something out about the human animal. The only person that likes change is an infant with a wet diaper. He introduced the idea of standardization to the world. It’s the concept that the food at McDonald’s is going to taste the same wherever you eat.
If Mai and I played it safe, we would have had an Egg McMuffin for breakfast. We would have driven past the Yaquina Lighthouse Café. We would have never had razor clams, eggs, and potatoes for breakfast. Yup. You heard me right. We had razor clams for breakfast.
Now I’m going to preach the Animated Meat Gospel. Try something new when you’re on the road. Do not stick to the familiar. It cuts you off from new experiences and opportunities to expand yourself. Trust me.
Waldport Seafood Company - Originally Published 2008
On one end of the spectrum there is the hyper-organized traveler that has an itinerary that breaks a trip down into fifteen-minute increments. Months have been spent laboring over a stack of travel books and magazines. No detail has been spared in the planning of the trip.
On the other end of the spectrum there is the vagabond approach to travel. The philosophy being if you wander around long enough, you’re bound to see something worthwhile.
I suppose that my wife and I lay somewhere in the middle. We plan out a few milestones and then leave the rest in chance’s hands. Thank the gods we do that, because it allowed us the opportunity to happen upon a place like the Waldport Seafood Company.
This place is not much more than a wide spot in the road. However, they serve some of the best clam chowder I have already tried. If that wasn’t perfection enough, there is a deserted beach right in front of the place where you can wander after eating. I hope that heaven is as good as this.
Lincoln Beach - Originally Published 2008
I have never been much of a kite flyer. Maybe because I grew up in Southern California and we don’t get that many blustery days. As it turns out, Lincoln Beach gets plenty of wind. So much so that it hosts a kite flying festival in the fall. After purchasing a Pirate Cat and an English Dragon, we looked like pros out on the beach.
Cannon Beach - Originally Published 2008
To be honest, we had no plans to stop at Cannon Beach. Here’s what happened. We were making the drive down the 101 and suddenly, there was a beak in the cloud cover. Dominating the coastal landscape was something they call the Haystack, a huge monolith that made me feel small. The cliché “breathtaking” is not strong enough for what I felt when we stopped and walked down by the water.
