06-17-2010 Off to the Oregon Coast Day 1

We left for the coast this morning at 9:15.  What an amazing morning it was at Rocky Point, with the sun shining brilliantly and the temperatures warming up at last.  A bit ironic to be heading for the cool coast when we have been waiting through such a long cold spring for some summer weather.  Still, it was exciting to get the MoHo back on the road again.  Diamond Lake Junction is just little over an hour north on 97 but there is a great little restaurant there that has probably the best breakfast in the world.  From the outside you wouldn’t have a clue, with a big sign that says EAT.  It looks like any dumpy little roadside greasy spoon.  I do think that breakfast there is the best I ever found, and this morning we made it before the 11am breakfast cutoff time.  Mo and I shared something called the “Bigfoot”; chicken fried steak, eggs, hash browns, and biscuits.  Even with two people eating, we couldn’t finish the entire thing and took some with us in a box for a later snack.  Something about that meal takes me back to a simpler time, like macaroni and cheese or fancy fruit jello salads.  I love the new style of eating, with fresh food, lots of veggie choices, and ethnic seasonings and styles.  Still, there is something of the  south in me that melts for chicken fried steak, childhood food, southern food.  Reading Laurie’s blog (Semi-True Tales of our Life on the Road) this year about their travels and eating adventures in the south made me want to go there just for the food!

We traveled to the coast via HWY 97, over Willamette Pass on HWY 58, I-5 to Corvallis to HWY 99 north into Dallas, turning west on HWY 22 to HWY 101 to Lincoln City. 

There are just a few routes across the mountains, and then a few from I-5 leading west to the ocean, so choosing is just a matter of preference.  We were settled into camp by 5, after eight hours driving that included our  nice breakfast break.

Our destination this time is a State Park right in the middle of Lincoln City adjacent to Devils Lake: Devils Lake State Park.  Since it was high summer at the coast, we were smart enough to make reservations and we had a full hookup site, even with cable.  The campground there is nice, but the sites aren’t very private, and there were LOTS of kids around, riding bikes, making lots of noise.  The highway is close as well, and traffic is loud, but tempered a bit by the sound of the ocean, just beyond the highway west of us.

After settling in, we explored the campground, found the delightful boardwalk through the wetlands that led to the highway, crossed the road and found the beach.  A two mile walk along beautiful clean sands was  perfect for us and for Abby, where she could be off leash after we left the state park boundary. 

So many of Oregon’s beaches are gorgeous, but short, punctuated by cliffs and rocks and it is sometimes hard to walk any distance without being stopped by them.  This beach is long and clear, and you can walk for miles in either direction. 

Home to our campsite for the evening campfire.  The skies are clear and the winds are mild and temperate.  Wonderful end to our first day.