We had purposefully planned a short driving day so we could meander down the Oregon Coast and see what we could see as we headed to our next stop of Newport.

There were two towns that people had recommended in the days prior to our trip (a bit late to research them and see if we should adjust reservations).

The first was Cannon Beach. This really was a gorgeous town but I would be shocked if we could have found a place to stay. All rentals and resort hotels. But very laid back and a really pretty town. I would love to go back one day and stay longer. We had the best breakfast of the trip here at Morris’ Fireside Restaurant. Great hashbrowns and melt in your mouth thick bacon - plus fresh biscuits! Nummy. We did a bit of shopping and checked out Haystack Rock.

The next was Manzanita. Also very cute. Very small. We just peeked around and got back on the road.

We had intended to stop in Tillamook to do the cheese factory tour, but we’d started out a bit late and the parking lot was packed so we kept going so we could enjoy our next itinerary item - the 3 Capes Scenic Tour. We grabbed a few supplies (okay, chips and water) and took the gorgeous 40-mile detour off the 101. Highly recommended.

We got into Newport in time to explore. Which wasn’t the best idea as we ran out of stuff to do pretty quickly. After we did the Bayfront walk (working cannery district turned into tourist area), we didn’t have much more to do. Since we only had chips for lunch, we headed to Nye Beach for dinner at the Chowder Bowl. More great clam chowder, some nice local wines and the fish and chips - which we were pleasantly surprised to find very lightly coated with big dollar chips.

We walked back to our hotel (Days Inn on the highway) and tried to figure out what to do next, which of course led us in search of wine. The only store we could find was a gas station so the wine selection wasn’t great. That took us to a hotel restaurant where we felt guilty about just wanting wine so we ordered a spinach and cheese fondue and stuffed ourselves to the point that I wanted to heave.

A dip in the hotel jacuzzi was next, followed by sleep after a full day. Probably wouldn’t stop in Newport again as there are some cuter towns in driving distance. It’s a nice place to stop and grab some chowder.