Backroad to Oregon Beach Weekend Vacation...Lincoln City & Newport

We will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary with our family at the beach this weekend. The Oregon coast has always been a favorite with out family. The weather will be around 68 degrees (high) on Saturday and Sunday. Fog might roll in and out, the water temperature stays about the same the years around...around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. A trip to the beach here can require warm coats and hats year around. We will go to Lincoln City where we have rented a very large house. There will 19 of us in the house on Saturday night. An occasion like this calls for a gathering of all our family so every grandchild and child will be with us on those days.

We are renting the house through a business called Cottages by the Beach. The reservations were made in the early spring because we were planning on going after July 4th. Here in Oregon summer does not come until then and never has. Any rental for families after that holiday will fill very early.

We will travel down the back road from Hillsboro to McMinville, Oregon taking Hwy 47 from the Cornelius turnoff. Hwy 47 takes you through some wonderful wine country...who knows we may stop in Carlton and buy a bottle of wine or two. In McMinville we will turn onto Hwy 99 and head west toward the beach. We will stop at Spirit Mountain Casino for lunch and then drive over to Lincoln City and on south to Newport. This is a beautiful drive all by itself and a round trip can easily be made in a day.

The Pacific Ocean is not a gentle ocean. (Tide Table for Lincoln City, Oregon). Riptides cut along the beach and the outgoing tides are extremely strong. I have a great deal of respect for it's waters. The unaware are caught every year by sneaker waves and rolling logs or the outgoing tide. But, let me tell you, the draw of this beautiful place is undeniable. We are life-long Oregonians and we have seen the ocean at it's best and worst. But even on a stormy day people travel to it's shore just to watch! In some places a 15+ ft waves are very unusual. On the Oregon coast, waves that high arrive on schedule during winter storms.

There is a restaurant in Lincoln City called Mo's! The original restaurant was opened in Newport Old Town during the 1940's and a trip to the beach is not complete unless you have stopped in to eat some of that wonderful chowder in one of their locations. We will spend two nights in Newport before we drive up to the house and the celebration. I am hoping that Mo's will be a lunch stop for us in Newport. If not we can always get some of the chowder in Lincoln City. I am including Mo's recipe for Oyster Stew. Yaquina Bay at Newport has some of the best oyster beds found anywhere (I think). While the oysters are not huge they are so flavorful.

Oyster Stew
One serving.
3/4 cup whole shucked raw oyster for each stew
*Place oyster in saucepan with just enough water to cover.
*Bring to boiling point and remove from heat.
*Larger oysters can be cut into bite size pieces, small oyster leave whole.
*Save broth for stew
Heat:
1 1/2 cups whole milk or Half and Half in sauce pan
1/4 cup oyster broth
Add cooked oysters
*Bring to boiling point but DO NOT boil
Ladle into a buttered bowl and ENJOY

I will posting pictures and more information on our return. For now I have Gone Fishing!

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