So swinging a trip to India was the chance of a lifetime, and I am so glad we took it. However, sometimes it’s fun to explore your own backyard, and have a getaway that costs less time, effort and money to get to. So when Marine and I were invited to a weekend at the coast, we jumped at the chance, and planned an awesome trip just a stone’s throw from Portland.

Getting There

We drove from Portland out to Tillamook, and stopped at the newly renovated Tillamook Cheese Factory. It’s worth stopping if you’ve never been, and the best part is the ice cream counter or the gift shop in my opinion. You can buy a cheese selection unavailable in most grocery stores, or pick up a gift that screams, “this is Oregon!” for your California friends. We took I-26 west from Portland, then I-6 out to Tillamook. We took Bayocean Road out to Cape Meares, and continued on Netarts Highway to Cape Lookout and Cape Kiwanda. We returned through McMinnville on I-101 and I-18, before taking I-5 back to Portland.

The Three Capes

After our pit stop we continued to Cape Meares to see the Octopus tree, the giant Sitka spruce, and the lighthouse, which was built back in the late 1800’s. This one was the most accessible of the three Capes, and a viewpoint was offered from the parking lot. After, we continued on to Cape Lookout. Cape Lookout was a longer trek and they suggest about a 2-hour time frame to get all the way to the end and back. We were sweaty and tired, but got some sweet views of the coastline. We had to high tail it to our last stop, Cape Kiwanda, to catch the sunset. You can either walk along the beach and make it a leisurely trail, or trek up the giant sand dune like we did and get some gorgeous views of treacherous waters crashing against the cliff. It was windy, so we probably ate a decent amount of sand but it was worth it!

Stay

We had the best time staying at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda! We walked in to a plate of freshly baked cookies at check in, and there was a wine and beer tasting in the lobby going on in the early evening. Our room was cozy, had a great little fireplace and a private balcony to watch the waves from. We even had a bottle of wine and a hand written note waiting for us when we arrived! It was the right amount of romance for a couple’s getaway without being over the top. We were even able to book a fancy dinner for two across the street at Meridian, and charge it to the room!

After dinner, we came back and rented a few movies free of charge from the front desk. We ended the night cracking open the bottle of wine and watching Tom Hanks ruin his neighborhood in the 90’s classic “The Burbs”. For a true Oregon coast experience, rent “The Goonies” from the front desk instead!

Eat

So dinner at Meridian was delicious, and of course we couldn’t help ourselves but get some oysters, fresh fish and clam chowder. Seafood is the way to go when you head to the coast. Clam diggers and fishermen are out in droves gathering the makings of a perfect dinner. In the morning, we started our day at Stimulus bakery, and indulged in cinnamon bliss, and some chai lattes. After a trek down the beach at Bob Straub national park, and a tiny little hailstorm, we headed over to Pelican Brewery for lunch. If you’ve every perused a Portland grocery store, you’ve probably seen the label in the beer and cider aisles. We shared some calamari, lettuce wraps, a red ale and a cream ale before starting our drive back to Portland.

McMinnville

Of course it’s not a true Oregon road trip unless you’re headed through wine country. Oregon has over 150 wineries, and 4 AVA’s (American Viticultural Areas) so you’ll never go thirsty. I plan on doing a full blog post on some of Oregon’s wineries soon too (we’ve already been to 12!), so stay tuned! We stopped at Durant vineyards and White Rose Estate. We ended up chatting forever with the folks at White Rose, and they were so friendly and easy going that we didn’t realize we ended up spending 2 hours there! It didn’t hurt that everyone was at home watching the Super bowl, so we pretty much had the tasting room entirely to ourselves.  

The Inn at Cape Kiwanda was the perfect landing spot for our weekend getaway from Portland. We were able to get out of the city, relax, hike and eat! We made it home just in time for a little snow fall, but honestly, I wouldn’t have been mad if we had gotten snowed in at the beach!