Our daughter had a couple of weeks off for spring break, so we decided to take a short trip to the central Oregon coast. Of course, when I was making plans a month or so earlier we were having unseasonably warm and sunny days. By the time spring break arrived, we were having record cold temperatures and snow on the beach. It figures...

Day 1: March 26, 2008

We started our trip with lots of traffic and very heavy rainfall. It made for a stressful trip through the city, but once we got out of town the traffic and weather both improved. The rest of the drive went smoothly, including the pass over the snowy coast mountain range.

I had rented a little house in Waldport, the Cascadia Lodge, through Ocean Odyssey Vacation Rentals. It was listed for $70 a night when I originally found it, but I later realized it would cost $100 a night because we were staying during their "peak" spring break season. Still, that seemed in line with motels I had looked at, and would give us more room and privacy. Unfortunately, when I got the final contract there was an additional $55 cleaning fee, a $25 "reservation" fee, and a $20 damage waiver. I declined the optional $15 insurance. By the time all was said and done, my $70 a night cottage ended up costing $160 a night. By then most other places were booking up already for spring break, so I bit the bullet and stayed with the Cascadia Lodge.

We've rented several little houses over the years, but this one involved more fees than most while providing the fewest services. We even had to bring our own toilet paper! To make matters worse, there were a few safety issues with the house. Both electric wall heaters in the main living area were overheating and tripping the thermal protectors. The fan on one of the heaters didn't work at all. Judging by the burnt paint on the grills and the scorch marks on the walls, they had been this way for a while. We would turn them on long enough to take the chill off, but we didn't trust to leave them on overnight. So we had a couple of cold nights in the house. The house had a woodstove, and I was even prepared with firewood I brought from home. But the chimney was leaking, so the woodstove was rusty and paint was peeling off the stove with a rickety looking door. It did not look safe, so we opted not to build a fire. At the opposite extreme, the bed in the main level bedroom was only twelve inches from the heater when we arrived. The blanket on the bed was so hot I couldn't even hold my hand on it. So the first thing I did was push the bed as far away from the heater as I could. It is really unfortunate, because a few minor maintenance issues detracted from what was otherwise a nice little house. We enjoyed our stay at the Cascadia lodge, but these items should really be fixed for the safety of the rentors. Otherwise, the house was in a quiet little neighborhood right off the main highway, with private parking and easy access to the beach.

It was snowing and sleeting when we arrived in Waldport. It wasn't sticking to the roads, but snow on the beach is rare and even more so this late in March. We got a brief break in the weather after we had settled in, so we took a short drive down the coast to the Cape Perpetua area south of Yachats. We hiked around the spouting horn just south of the cape, and despite the cold blowing wind, the rain held off during our stop.

We headed back to Yachats and stopped at "Le Roy's Blue Whale" restaurant for dinner. It's not a fancy place, just your average mom and pop family restaurant, mostly burgers and fried food. But, we walked in, seated ourselves, and found the service to be friendly and prompt. I had their "Cortega Burger", which was quite tasty and filling, despite swimming in grease. My wife had a fish sandwich, and my daughter had a fish dinner. We all got full and enjoyed our meals. Then we headed back to the Cascadia lodge to rest for the evening.

Day 2: March 27, 2008

I had several possible activities lined up for Thursday, but we woke up to more snow, rain, and wind. It wasn't looking very promising. So, we all got cleaned up and decided just to drive south and try to make the most of the day. By the time we got to the Heceta Head Lighthouse the weather was starting to clear and there was a bit of blue sky. We hiked up to the lighthouse, but we were one day too early to take the tour inside. So, we looked around the outside a little, then hiked back down to the beach and walked around there a while.

It was turning out to be a beautiful day afterall, so we drove down to C&M Stables in Florence to take one of their two hour horse rides on the beach. We arrived early for the 2:00pm ride, but we didn't get our horses until well after 3:00pm. I was assigned a horse called Sandman, my wife had Bailey, and my daughter had Buddy. Once everyone in our group had been assigned a horse and given basic instructions, we were on our way. I haven't ridden a horse in years, but these poor things are very stubborn. They're the obvious result of having hundreds of unskilled riders (like me) day after day. It's clear the horses just follow routine, and the rider is simply along for the ride. Our horses wouldn't turn when you wanted them to, speed up when you wanted them to, and rarely stopped when you wanted them to. So, I got dragged through the bushes a bit on the trail down to the beach. Once we were on the beach, no amount of squeezing or kicking would get my horse to walk any faster to catch up with my wife. Still, the experience of riding a horse over the dunes and along the ocean beach was an enjoyable time for all of us. If anything, we came away feeling sorry for the horses and all they have to endure, as well as having a few saddle aches and pains of our own.

I had considered taking a dune buggy ride on the Oregon Dunes south of Florence, but our two hour horse ride ended up lasting till nearly 6:00pm. So, we just headed back to our house in Waldport. We stopped at the Blue Whale restaurant in Yachats again for dinner, then made a quick stop along the way for a final walk on the beach.

Day 3: March 28, 2008

After the perfect weather on Thursday, it was sad to wake up to gray skies and more rain and snow for our final day at the beach. We got up early and had our fish dinner leftovers for breakfast. Reheated fish didn't sound very inviting at the time, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. We gathered our things, and did all the housekeeping chores we supposedly paid a $55 cleaning fee for. Washing the dishes, doing some laundry, taking out the garbage, etc. Then we locked up and were on our way.

We headed north to Newport, and stopped at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It was still cold and breezy, but the rain let up long enough for us to look at the outdoor exhibits before we headed back in to tour the rest of the aquarium.

After the aquarium, we headed down to the waterfront in Newport. We stopped to see the sea lions on the docks, then visited the Wax Works museum at Mariners Square. We had lunch at the Whail's Tail restaurant on the waterfront. I had a bay shrimp and mushroom melt which was very tasty and filling, though the bread slices they served were cold, fresh from the freezer. It was a cute little restaurant, decent food and service, and a nice atmosphere.

From there we continued north up the coast into Lincoln City before heading back across the coast range towards home. Of course, as we continued over the mountains we drove through several really heavy snow and sleet storms. Thankfully, traffic was relatively light which minimized the stress of driving in the bad weather. We got back home around 6:30pm, and were surprised to find four inches of snow on the ground. An interesting welcome after a spring break getaway.

Final Thoughts

The weather was an obvious theme of this trip. It is typically cold and wet on the Oregon coast, but the snow and sleet this time of year was unusual. Still, the timing of the weather breaks with our activities worked out perfectly, so were were able to fully enjoy our trip. And it was kind of neat to see it snow every morning and evening.

The only real negatives of the trip were the safety concerns and minimal services of our rental house. Still, we worked around them and we were comfortable during our stay. But I would certainly verify the heater issues were fixed before I would stay at the Cascadia lodge again. I contacted Ocean Odyssey upon our return, but they never responded. I can only assume the heaters will remain in their current state until they break completely or start a fire.

Considering the short planning for this busy time of year and the wildly erratic weather, we all had a great trip. I'm sure we'll cherish the memories for years to come.