the shrewdness of apes

Jamie,

I'm about an hour south of Seattle, near Tacoma. If you are going to be up this way and need a place to crash or something just let me know. I'm actually off all this week.

Where are you going on the Oregon coast? When I lived in Salem and Portland, I used to like to go to Pacific City for a quiet day at the beach. I don't think a lot of people go there, so it's pretty serene. But later, some friends hipped me to Oswald West State Park. You park your car (make sure your crap is hidden) in a lot and walk about a quarter mile through forest to a little beach nestled in a cove. There's a tiny waterfall that runs down onto the beach and also a tiny cave (both are TINY so don't imagine more to them -- but they're still neat). The campground is closed at this time of year, but I don't see why the beach itself would be off limits.

Also: Check out Cannon Beach simply for the view of Haystack Rock. It's like an Oregon natural monument and shows up on all the postcards of Oregon. You've probably seen it in the opening of Goonies.

Take a tour of Tillamook Cheese and eat some curds.

Fort Stevens State Park is interesting for the fort that used to guard the mouth of the Columbia River.

Visit Astoria. The Goonies was filmed there. It's also named for John Jacob Astor, who started a beaver pelt trading post there. (That's why there's a beaver motif at the Astor Place subway station.) There's also the Astoria Column, which you can walk up. Be sure to buy a balsa-wood glider at the gift shop at the bottom. They go for MILES (well, not really) from the top.

If you're driving to north coast (Astoria) from Portland, whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE HWY 26, as Google Maps might tell you to do. It's a pretty highway, but you will be BLOWN AWAY by HWY 30, which runs along the Columbia for much of the drive.

To make the drive THAT much more beautiful, be sure to start in Northeast Portland, driving north along North Interstate Ave. Take a left on North Lombard, and follow that to the SAINT JOHN'S BRIDGE. It's one of the prettiest bridges in Portland. Underneath it is Cathedral Park, so named because the bridge's anchors look like cathedral arches if you stand under the bridge and look toward the other side of the river.

If you're going at night, watch out for bigfoot! I kinda sorta believe in bigfoot, and the thought of seeing one roadside at night used to scare the bejeezus out of me when I'd be driving home alone after dark.

Above all: HAVE FUN! The Oregon Coast is one of my absolute favorite places on earth. I'm hella jealous of your trip.

PS: If you go to Washington, it's fun to see Long Beach. Home of Jake the Alligator Man. Pick me up a T-shirt from there (L) and I'll pay you back and get your next several rounds of beer at Floyd. Heh.