How I warmed my day at the Coast

Today is the last day of Spring Break, and I was determined to make something of it and I certainly did not want to spend the day dealing with real estate woes, or wedding planning. Regardless of the weather, I was going to do something fun! Fortunately when I woke up, it was sunny so my mom and I decided to go to the coast. We knew when we got there it would most likely be foul weather, but I knew we could find something to do, and inexpensively.

First, we packed some snacks, including a half PB&J, a bag of strawberries, 1 small green apple, 2 string cheeses, Salsa, a small bag of corn chips, and iced tea. After loading supplies into the car, I appropriately slammed my head with the car door leaving a small scratch and a bruise on my forehead (Coincidentally during spring break '07, when taking a trip to the coast in I smashed my finger in my moms car door leaving a gaping, painful wound).

Our first stop was the beach at Road's End, where the Dory Cove restaurant used to be a landmark, but burned down a few years back. I noticed all the 'For Sale' markers on the beach front property and wondering if they, like my mom, had been watching too many Tsunami movies.

When you're going to encounter some of Oregon's finest beaches on a cold, windy day remember these things:
1) Dress warmer than you think you need to be, wear gloves and a scarf!
2) Don't bother stying your hair or your face.
3) Wear a hooded sweater so when mobs of people start feeding the seagulls right next to you you wont get poop in your hair, which wont be swishing around (The Italians seem to believe that when pooped on by pigeons/seagulls it brings good luck, particularly in Venice where a quarter of the birds have hepatitis).
4) If you get pooped on, and it happens to be in your unkempt hair, let it dry- then it will flake off when lightly brushed (so says the Italians).

Moral:
Don't listen to the Italian's advice about bird poop . . .

So we walked a small ways down the beach, watching people trying to use their kites, feed the maniacal seagulls, and play chicken with the waves. We decided to head back to the car and eat our snacks, since it looked like rain clouds were blowing towards us. Safely in the car munching on our sandwich, we watched a family try to picnic but were thwarted by swarming seagulls and being pelted by the rain and swooshed by the wind. I suggested to my mom we leave since it was starting to resemble one of Hitchcock's finest flicks, and because it was giving me the heebie-jeebies.

The next best thing the beach has to offer is the shopping! We headed down Highway 101 for Lincoln City's finest. First stop was at a wine shop called C&J Boutique: Wine-Cheese-Cigars, where you can go wine tasting for FREE! My mom and I tasted some great local wines from Honeywood Winery in Salem, Eola Hills Wine and a more expensive Italian wine by Cascina Castlet, along with some brie from Blue Heron, and a locally made treat called Triple Chocolate Nirvana, by Caroline's Desserts.


In the same shopping center we stopped at a favorite candle company where you can smell and buy a variety of candles for yourself or gifts. You'll spend a little more on Newport Bay Candles but they're bigger, burn longer and cleaner than most store bought votives. My favorite thing about NB Candles are the fact you only need to burn and the fragrance carries throughout your home or space. The Fragrances we purchased are Pomegranite, Oregon Noble Fir, Red Hot Cinnamon, and new smells Freedom (a mix of strawberry, vanilla and blueberry) ,and Coconut/Cranberry which cant be purchased online yet.

After that we headed down the strip to the Christmas Shop where you can find multitudes of Christmas ornaments all year round, and at all price levels. Its a great place to go if you love Christmas or you want to purchase a gift for someone, or in my mom's case, your tree doesn't have enough pink flamingo ornaments.

In this same shopping mall, between the NB Candle Store and Christmas Cottage there is a great, inexpensive Mexican restaurant called La Roca, even though we didnt stop there this time, smells permeating the walls made our tummies grumble with memories of past burritos and good times had.

We concluded our visit to Lincoln City at Tiki's at 51st, kiddy corner from Mo's. Whats great about Tiki's is that it looks like a surf shop you'd see in the 60's on a California beac, covered in Kitchy beach finds. They serve everything from Stumptown Coffee, Tillamook Ice Cream, Hot Dogs, Cheese/Veggie Burgers and Fish tacos! While sitting outside (some covered seating available) licking your chocolate chip mint ice cream and admiring your tiki trinkets purchased inside, you can chat with talking Blue and Gold Macaw Gypsy who dances to music and nods her head to questions. You can also pose in back of funny beach goer bodies or try and appease the tiki head by letting him taste some of your mom's ice cream while she isn't looking.

Stopped at the corner of 51st and HWY 101, I noticed a great looking art shop on the left corner, offering everything painted in skulls and across the street a Pirate Pastry Shop! Who knew pastries could fend off scurvy? All these great shops down one small section of a long highway, what more could you ask for.

All in all, even though I didnt get to spend much time on the beach, and the sun was hardly out, I had a great last day of Spring Break.




All photos taken by Becca Martino Mar 29. 2009