Just as I remembered, children still turn the piles into forts, and families build raging driftwood bonfires to cook picnic meals. After climbing 700 feet above the ocean around Neahkahnie Mountain for more splendid views, the highway descends to the lowlands along the coast, circling Nehelam Bay, passing several fishing ports and entering dairy country, home to Tillamook Cheese, one of Oregon's more famous exports. Surfeited with butterfat, we turned off 101 in Tillamook to take the 40-mile Three Capes scenic loop to Cape Meares, Cape Lookout and Cape Kiwanda. We rejoined 101 south of Pacific City. The coastline can be traveled in high style or by backpack and every variation in between.
Good motels are plentiful.
The dining was exceptional. Since Oregon now produces world-class wines, especially reds, I selected a tasty pinot noir from Bethel Heights Vineyard in Salem. The stuffy wine steward winced as I explained that when I was growing up in Salem, the best local wines were made from sweet boysenberries. Next morning, after some poached eggs, cold smoked chinook salmon and dilled hollandaise on english muffins, we hiked a short distance to the deserted beach for a mind-clearing walk by the crashing waves. We were tempted to skip the day's drive and just keep strolling.