Wonderful Cannon Beach…
And we’re back; and as you can probably tell from the image above, we spent our vacation in Cannon Beach, Oregon.
Tara and I arrived in Cannon Beach Monday morning after taking the long (yet scenic) route down the Pacific Coast Highway 101. We had our list of things to see and do, plus, enough room on our itinerary for things we discovered along the way and simple relaxation. The first night was set aside for photographing Haystack Rock during sunset and getting settled in.
The sunset was amazing, though, I wish I could say the same for Tuesday night which turned out to be less than spectacular. After roaming around Haystack Rock looking for just the right angle; I settled upon this vantage point just to the left of the actual sunset so I could capture the color hitting the mist coming off the 235 foot monolith.
On July 18th I uploaded the picture to my Flickr Photostream and in just 4 days, almost 2,000 views, 200 favorites and over 70 comments later; it rose to the number one spot in Flickr’s Explore pool measured in “Interestingness.” It was also featured on the Interestingness Explore page (See Screen Shot).
Back to our trip, here’s a short list of places we stayed, ate at or did and what we would recommend [or not] to friends, family or even strangers (hello random anonymous web surfers)… Enjoy.
The Surfsand Resort
This is where we stayed for our three day trip, the wonderful Surfsand Resort. Very reasonably priced for what you get, this was the first time I had stayed in a room that actually felt like an actual residence. Granted there wasn’t a kitchen (though we did have a refrigerator), the little touches around the room made it feel very comfortable. From the 42 inch LCD TV (and 20 inch LCD in the bathroom), to every light being on a dimmer to the king size Tempur-Pedic mattress… Light fixtures and decorations didn’t feel like the usual “wholesale” pappy crap found in other places; I’m sure I would feel comfortable having many of the items that were in our room displayed in my own home.
The staff were all very helpful, well, minus the gentleman who checked us in. Their wireless internet wasn’t working and when I talked to him about it he gave me the number to some random I.T. guy to troubleshoot the problems the resorts systems were having - with me, over the phone. Listen, I do this crap for a living and I’m on a vacation, he should have just said “I’m very sorry, I’ll have our I.T. person look into it and I will personally call you when it’s working.” But much as I didn’t let one bad apple ruin it for the whole staff, you shouldn’t either. Everyone else we interacted with at the resort was kind, attentive and willing to go above and beyond to make sure our stay was relaxing and comfortable.
The resort is located on the beach about 3oo yards north of Haystack Rock. From our 3rd story room, that wasn’t directly on the beach, we had a full view of the ocean, beach and all 235 feet of Haystack Rock. The town is also fairly small so most all restaurants, rental shops, touristy shops and the almighty cup of coffee are within walking distance from the Surfsand.
Over all, I would highly recommend the Surfsand as the place to stay in Cannon Beach… make sure you have them build you a fire on the beach for sunset.
Link: [http://www.surfsand.com/]
Gower Street Bistro
If you eat at just one place in Cannon Beach, eat here, The Gower Street Bistro located just across the street from the Surfsand. Now anyone who knows me will say that I am a man of simple taste, give me Peanut Butter and Jelly and I’ll be happy for life. But thankfully I have Tara in my life to steer me in the right direction of more palatable choices.
Our first visit, Tara had a salad which was fairly tasty. Though, they could have chopped the meat and cheese into sizes a bit more manageable for a salad. I can honestly say, with out a doubt, I had the best pulled pork sandwich of my life here. So much so that we joked about driving back to Cannon Beach just for the sandwich… it’s amazing. I made sure the waitress knew several times afterward and again when we returned for breakfast.
The second visit was the next morning after we checked out of the Surfsand. Tara had the biggest pile of French Toast I have ever seen, meaning I got to eat a healthy portion of it as well and it definitely tops my list of french toast. In fact it was so good, Tara had a difficult time leaving the rest after she was already full. I had a huge ham, egg and cheese sandwich and swapped my salad (surprise surprise) for potatoes. It was delicious, it’s up there with Macrina’s delectable egg sandwich. (Macrina, another fine eatery that Tara turned me onto)
A great selection of wine, top shelf liquor, relaxing and a great look and feel; The Gower Street Bistro was our favorite place to dine.
Link: [http://www.gowerstreetbistro.com/]
Pizza a’ fetta
Pizaa a’f fetta bills themselves as one of the top fifty pizza restaurants in the country. Something quite odd to claim on your website, I would be more inclined to make such a statement if I were in the top ten or top five… All semantics aside, this is a great spot for lunch or a simple dinner.
This is the first place we ate once we arrived in Cannon Beach. The space is small with only a few tables. The staff were quirky with a sense of humor and very talkative if you invited them in conversation. The pizza was delicious, but I’ll have to give it some time before I rank them on my top fifty list… I’m going to have to bump someone, I just don’t know who yet.
Side note about Pizza a’ fetta; when you walk in the door you might notice two ziploc baggies full of water hanging from the door jam. What I at first thought was some sort of prank does in fact serve a purpose. I asked our waiter what they were for, and he replied “You sir, are the first person to ask.” I found this hard to believe because even passers by seemed to stop and look at the sacks in bewilderment. Apparently, they fool flies into thinking it’s raining in the doorway. And being the smart buggers that they are, they avoid fling into the restaurant for fear of getting wet. It almost makes sense if you think about it; they see thousands of the same object so two baggies of water will look like thousands of baggies of water. And I must say, there was not a fly in the room.
I thought it was all a joke, but a quick Google search says otherwise. Whether it works or not, people have been doing it for years.
Due to the small space, and the deliciousness of their pies, I recommend arriving a little bit earlier than normal for your meal if you plan to dine in. They sell pizza’s by the slice, whole or both to go with some outside seating available.
Link: [http://www.pizza-a-fetta.com/]
Mo’s Chowder
Every gleaming review must have a sour taste, Mo’s is mine. You know you are in the wrong place when the first 25 feet of the restaurant entrance is hawking cheap Cannon Beach souvenirs. But this is a “historic chowder house” that was also featured on Extreme Home Makeover; so we gave it a shot.
I ordered halibut fish ‘n chips and Tara ordered a crab melt. When they arrived it appeared they had both been deep fried in the same vat of fat. My fish and chips were tasteless… that’s all I can say really. I’ve never had a tasteless piece of halibut in my life. Tara’s crab melt was basically a wonder bread grilled cheese with shreds of “who knows what part it came from” crab in the middle.
The only thing great about this place was the view. The food was tasteless and so was the blatant and constant up selling from our waiter. But maybe we are spoiled Seattleites who are used to eating at Ray’s Boat House, Dukes or even Spud’s. This place is for tourists coming from land locked states who don’t know what good sea food is supposed to taste like.
Link: [http://www.moschowder.com/]
Other Bits
Bruces Candy Kitchen, where they make and wrap their own salt water taffy right in front of you. Flavors ranging from watermelon to peanut butter and jelly to peach, all in all I believe they have about twenty five assorted flavors. Other mass varieties of candy and sweets are also available. A great spot to stop in and check out.
Mike’s Bike Shop is a great place to rent Cruisers, a Cruiser Tandem (which is what Tara and I got) and other bikes. They also have new bikes for sale as well as the normal bike shop bits and apparel too. Mike works behind the counter and is a great personality to converse with about local trails, rides or just life in general. Helmets are required (by Mike) if you are riding on the street but not if you are on the beach. Rental times vary depending on the tide too; so if you want to rent that cruiser for a ride down the coastline, plan for low tide or else you are tied to the town streets (which is a great ride too).
Cannon Beach Surf Shop located just next to the Surfsand Resort is a great place to stop in for water sport apparel, toys, surf boards and boogie boards. You can also rent “fun cycles” which can only be used on the sand. With that said, like Mikes Bikes, rental times vary depending on low tide so plan accordingly.
Cannon Beach Farmers Market takes place on Tuesdays 2:00pm to 6:00pm (through September 30th) just across the street from the Surfsand Resort. It’s pretty small but you can find great snacks such as sugar snap peas, chips and salsa, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and the like.
Overall
Tara and I had a great time, we both enjoyed our first trip to the Oregon Coast and spending time relaxing together. We flew a kite, rode a tandem, tore through the sand on fun cycles, dipped our toes in the water, ate amazing (though at times, not so amazing) food and had a bon-fire on the beach at sun set. We over chlorinated ourselves in the pool, walked forever and a day, bought several pounds of salt water taffy and I turned another year older.
We both definitely want to go back soon… and did I mention that pulled pork sandwich was amazing?
