Down south in California, it is often cliffs, icicle plants, or wide-open beaches that greet you when you approach the ocean. Up north in Washington, it’s cliffs or forest between you and the ocean. Here in Oregon, it’s frequently sand dunes, cliffs, and lush swaying grasses that greet you. Tragically, back on the East Coast, it’s not uncommon for the Atlantic to be blocked with gaudy high rises, condos, and mansions that separate the visitor from gazing out upon the sea. In built-up areas where industry, be it a commercial enterprise, industrial tourism, or cities, has taken center stage next to the ocean, there is something abrasive when we are in its proximity, as when one approaches the ocean from a wild area, the entire sense of place of where we are going and what we are approaching takes a dramatic shift into the untamed and unknown.

Likewise, when we look inland and fail to see the trapping of civilization, there is a moment where our imagination suggests that the land ahead could go on forever into places that require discovery. Compare this to Daytona Beach, Florida, wherefrom the ocean you look and know an overcrowded ice cream shop with cranky tourists jostling for position in an attempt to justify the vacation through sweet indulgences because being somewhere is never good enough when it drags creatures of habit out of their routines. For those of us who enjoy travel as opposed to tourism, a scene such as this one above leaves nothing to be desired, except maybe more of the same quiet and unobstructed views that draw in our imaginations.

And just then reality crashes into the sublime with your wife going wild riding the wiener on a stick at The Original Pronto Pup in Rockaway Beach.

While we could ride the wiener we couldn’t eat the wiener because they weren’t open yet, so we continued up the road because nothing satisfies quite like a FOUR POUND ULTIMATE MONSTER BURGER! I swore in my last blog post about this place that we’d try the 8-pound version next time it’s happening, even if I have to go and eat it all by myself.

The Three Capes road through misty coastal forests on our way back up north to Cannon Beach. On sunny days, there are some great views up and down the coast from high above the ocean as you pass through.

Caroline is about to indulge in a wee dram of Ardbeg Uiegadail Scotch at The Irish Table in Cannon Beach. Our friend, Willie from Scotland, later commented that this was in no way a “wee” dram but a rather large dram. Good food, drink, and scenery are all we need for a perfect getaway.