Newport, Oregon

From Thousand Trails, South Jetty, in Florence, Oregon, we hopped in the coach for a quick trip (50 miles) up the coast to Newport, Oregon.  The g.p.s., which has a mind on its own, tried to take us all the way back to Interstate 5 and then back to the coast (around a hundred miles out of our way).  We checked around to see if there would be a problem driving up the coast on Highway 101 and couldn’t find anyone who had a problem.  So off we went, up the 101, with the gps nagging at us to turn around and go by its selected route.  A few miles out of town we rounded a corner and there it was … one of the beautiful historic tunnels on the Oregon 101.  This tunnel is 14 feet at the top but is a lovely arch that ends at 11.5 feet at the shoulder.  I am 12.5 feet at the top of the king-dome!  While Lynda held her breath I edged as close to the center-line as possible and slid through without incident.  A few cars coming the other way honked their horns (must have been a tunnel thing … they couldn’t possibly have been honking because I was edging into their lane …) making it a festive event.  The coast does have a few nice ups and downs punctuated by some sharp curves, but if you slow down and have a contest to see how many cars you can collect behind you … you can make it … eventually, as we did.           

Our home in Newport was the Thousand Trails Whaler’s Rest Campground.  This is a large campground spreading to both sides of 123^rd street.  At five miles an hour it takes, according to the campground’s ranger, six minutes to drive the one-way road from the gate through the south-side of the campground to 123^rd street.  Our check-in was prophetic of our entire stay … wonderful!  The employees at the park are well trained and well managed.  The park is friendly, clean, and a fun place to stay.  We were very fortunate to get a great spot – Site 21 – complete with a wood deck, picnic table, and 50-amp service (for free).  This is a park we would definitely frequent again.  We give it a solid “9” on the Moore-scale of 1-10 with 10 being the best.  Why only a “9”?  As VIP members we would have liked to have had our paper delivered each morning as they do at Rancho Oso and the parks in Texas, and we were unable to receive satellite (too many trees) so we had to purchase cable ($25.00 for two weeks).  Nevertheless, I highly recommend this park … We had a great time!

There is a lot to do … or not to do … in Newport.  There are a lot of great restaurants to choose from.   A couple of our favorites are The Chowder Bowl and Nana’s Irish Pub both in the Nye Beach area.  The Chowder Bowl features great clam chowder and fish and chips, huge salads, and great burgers.  One of my favorites there is the bread pudding dessert (the whiskey sauce is magnificent!).  In addition to Guinness on tap, Nana’s has a great Guinness and steak pie.  It was one of our favorite places just to sit and chat.  A nice place for a simple breakfast is Fish Tale Café in South Beach … decent prices and good portions.

 

You can walk from Whaler’s Rest to the beach.  It is a short walk, but be careful crossing Highway 101.  On the beach you can hunt for shells, rocks, feathers, or marine life.  Or you can just come and sit …We spent a few days at the beach:  one of them with our son, his wife and their two children (cute pictures included below!).

We drove a few miles inland to Toledo, Oregon.  They do quite a bit of logging in the area and have a lumber mill in Toledo.  We ate at the Main Street Café … sorry … can’t recommend it.

From Newport, we moved a few miles up the road to a Coast to Coast Park in Neskowin, Oregon: Neskowin Creek RV Park.  This is a small park sitting in a large field.  It is close to Pacific City (north) and Lincoln City (south).  We only stayed here for three nights, and it was a nice “on the way” park.  We had both 50-amp and satellite.  We ate lunch at Los Caporales in Pacific City.  They will add some spice for you Texans, otherwise things are pretty mild … but tasty.  On our trip to Lincoln City we stopped in at Winddriven, a shop specializing in kites and wind toys.  We purchased a dragon and an owl.  From now on you can find us in a park by looking for the sign of the dragon and the owl (see pictures below).  We ate in Lincoln City at Dory Cove Café.  I had excellent chowder and shared Lynda’s burger and fries.  It looks like a bit of a dive, but the food is very tasty!

Until Next Time … Keep Doing What You Love!