Day 1 Cannon Beach

Travel Date: 6 April 2024

It is the typical Pacific Northwest spring day: gray and pissing rain. I am on the platform at the top of the Astoria Column in Astoria, Oregon. Astoria resides at the junction of U.S. 30 and U.S. 101 in the NW corner of Oregon. Tessa and I are cold and wet and launching balsa wood airplanes from a platform 125 feet (38 meters) above the ground. We watch them after launch as they glide in circles faster than I expected and finally touch down in a field to the north of the tower. Once the planes land in the grass, we begin our descent down the 164 step spiral staircase.

We descend the steep stairway, turning constantly into the blind left. A couple comes up the narrow passageway, gasping for breath. 

“We. Almost. There?” the man rasps.

“Yep, almost,” Tessa replies, even though we are more than half-way down. I hide my short grin. I know the hike up those stairs, and I think, that couple will hate us. I notice as they pass, the gift store bag. Carrying balsa airplanes, most likely. The gift store is across the parking lot in a prefab building that reminds me of a mobile home. Single wide. They sell all kinds of tchotchke, including balsa wood airplanes, at three times the price of what they charge at the local drugstore in town.

After retrieving our aircraft, we are too chilled and damp to go for a second round of flight, despite our belief we would go twice or thrice just before turning unto Coxcomb Drive, the end of which the tower resides. We hop into the car and turn on the heater to full blast and set the seat heaters to max in an attempt to remove the chill from our bones.

The website showed beautiful views of the Columbia River, Astoria Bridge, and more. But, alas, we only saw gray. More info, including driving directions, can be found on their website at https://astoriacolumn.org/

After the shivering passes, we are off with Tess driving to our next destination: Cannon Beach! A sleepy seaside town just south of Ecola State Park, known for its cute shops and Haystack Rock formation on the beach. On our way, the gray wetness breaks, and we arrive at Cannon Beach with blue skies.

We rent a cabin from McBee Cottages for the night. Check-in is performed at the Cannon Beach Hotel, down Hemlock Street, a couple of blocks from the actual cabins. Our Cabin is done in “New England” style with white wainscotting floor to ceiling, a kitchenette (including coffee), and gas fireplace that turns our little enclave into an oven tuite suite. The bed takes up a good portion of the bedroom. It is as comfy as it looks, and Tessa and I enjoyed the bed and each other on the first afternoon of our Oregon Coast adventure.

At low tide, visitors walk out to Haystack Rock to see the tide pools and exposed rock formation that was underwater during high tide. Tourists gawk at the orange and purple and green starfish clinging to those rocks as the echinoderms wait for the tide to roll back in. Tide pools abound in the rocks, and contain anemone, little fish, and crabs. The wet sand on the beaches is riddled with tiny feeding holes from the razor clams and geoducks. As people walk by the holes, water randomly squirts out like tiny fountains.  After almost being caught by an incoming wave (see video), we head back to our little New Englandish sanctuary and clean up for dinner. 

Next to an open fire pit on the outside deck of the Driftwood Restaurant and Lounge. We order oyster shooters and Willamette Valley Pinot Noir while we watch traffic meander by on Hemlock Street. We chat with other diners that sit around the firepit with us while we wait for our fabulous Dungenous Carb Louies to arrive. I know, pairing a red wine with seafood? Hey, it’s our vacation! 

After dinner, we wander over to Schwietert’s Cone & Candy for a dessert. Two blocks to the beach for a sunset stroll back to our cottage while we enjoy our scoops of Salted Caramel. We end our first day by collapsing in that comfy bed, pulling up the fluffy duvet to dream of our exploits tomorrow: Tillamook, Lincoln City, and Newport!