Beer is to Oregon... (part 1)

When we first arrived in Indiana, it seemed to me that during every conversation I had with native Hoosiers, church was mentioned. In Oregon, we would be hiking and every other person on the trail would feel compelled to share their favorite local  micro-brewery and 'absolute must try beer'. Of course,  when we consequently tried these tips, the servers at the brewpubs would then encourage us to do their favorite hike. And so on and so forth.

Oceanside- quirky little town clinging to a hillside. This is the post office and community building as seen from our window at the Three Arches Inn.

I don't mind sharing my Oregon favorites with you all either. Because all of Oregon is my favorite (what I've seen so far). We started out with ... a visit to a Portland brewpub, Laurelwood, where we celebrated our first hours in Oregon in appropriate fashion. Then we drove through beautiful hills along rushing creeks and among coniferous trees (my favorites) to the northeast coast.

We visited a lighthouse, saw whales, took a beautiful hike (okay, they all were beautiful and breathtaking and gorgeous...in my opinion), and finished the day at the Pelican brewery after a quick visit to the Tillamook cheese factory (tip: the best and freshest fudge, the cheese is okay).

On our way to Florence (OR) somewhere mid-coast, we decided on a detour to hike Silver Springs State Park for the most waterfalls (and some very high ones), then pay a last minutes visit to Erath winery for a taste. Our dinner at the Blue Goat in Amity was really representative of a lot of the food we had in Oregon- fresh, innovative dishes with as much as possible locally sourced ingredients.

Our 'hotel' that evening was definitely posing as a motel with a really badly done 50's decor and the included breakfast turned out to be 'on the go' coffee and donuts. Although, the donuts were incredibly delicious, and, of course, turned out to be from a local non-chain bakery.

To make up for the indulgence in those scrumptious donuts, we took two hikes the next day- a coastal trail, and a dunes trail. The latter one about did me in with the sand walking on a timeline (park was almost closing) but all was forgotten by the beauty and admittedly also by dinner and a good night's sleep before commencing to the southern coast (Goldbeach).

There we had our one day of rain, which was much needed, or so we were assured by everyone. Apparently Oregon has not escaped climate change.

Our cabin over there is not recommendable. Although who cares with vistas like these. To be continued for more awesomeness and stories.

after sunset