Vista along Oswald West State Park.

We are following our friends’ recommendations while on the North Coast, so our first destination today was Ecola State Park for the dramatic views of Crescent Beach and a long-range view of Haystack Rock.

We enjoyed the lofty vistas in the Oswald West State Park and the cute Cape Meares Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is near Tillamook (of cheese fame) and off a road called the Three Capes Loop.  In reality, it’s a series of roads and, at least for now, is not a loop; so it was back out the way we came. 

The town of Cannon Beach is clearly the most upscale in the area and very nice.  The streets are lined with cute shops and restaurants.  The colorful flowers are all so vibrant against the gray wood buildings and seem much larger than normal – it’s like they are all on steroids. Why can’t I get my hydrangeas to grow in these amazing purple and fuchsia colors?

Indian Beach.

It’s no surprise, we’ve had some great seafood in the area. Wonderful salmon, clam chowder, and cheese bread to name a few. Tonight, after dinner, we bundled up, which in my case meant five layers of clothes, and headed to the beach.  Our hotel builds a great community bonfire nightly and brings out all the fixings for S’mores. It was cold, but the conversation was interesting, kids were cute, wood fire smelled great, the sound of the waves was relaxing, and I even got my husband to take his first (and only) bite of a S’more.

Did you spot the “Fake news” comment on the Shark sign?

View from Ecola State Park.