Imagine a place where you can sit on the beach as the waves roll in; the smell of the sea and fresh fish cooking in the distance at a nearby restaurant. A place where you can experience a thrill of blasting over the sand dunes at high speeds in a buggy, visit aquariums, and see wildlife up close. Imagine a place of relaxation, watching the whales migrate across the ocean. A place like this can only be one of a kind, the Oregon coast. The Oregon coast would be a great place to spend a vacation, it’s inexpensive and relaxing. So how much would it cost to go to the Oregon coast? What kinds of attractions would one be able to see? Is there stuff for the kids to do as well as adults? What kind of food do you get to eat when you go to the cost? These are all great questions that you ask yourself before planning a trip anywhere.
When planning a trip you will want to figure out what the area has to offer. This will give you a sense of where you what to go and when. I enjoy the thrill of adventure and enjoy traveling to places. I have never been to the Oregon coast, so I decided to plan a trip there and find out what attractions they have to offer me. By googling “the Oregon Coast” the first website that I came across was the “Oregon Coast Visitors Association” link (Oregon Coast Visitors Association, 2008). This website’s home page displayed a slide show of pictures of the coast and a map that you are able to click on different areas to find out more information. I clicked on the Newport link and discovered the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine Science Center. With two attractions now in mind I was able to google both the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine Science Center. Both of these fun and exciting places are among the many where you can explore your imagination and the unique world that lives under the ocean. The Oregon Coast Aquarium ranks among the top ten in the nation. Since the aquariums opening in 1992 they have made many astounding changes over its duration (Marine). At one point in time the aquarium’s main attraction was Keiko the killer whale; it made the aquarium its home between 1996 and 1998 before being moved to the Atlantic Ocean (Online Travel Guide: USA, 2008). The aquariums recent and newer exhibit is the Passage of the Deep. The Passage of the Deep is one of the few acrylic undersea tunnels that are surrounded by gallons of salt water along with multiple kinds of live fish and sharks, not to mention the shipwreck to add the illusion of being an underwater explorer. Visitors will also be able to interact with the sea lions along with the fun and thrilling sea otters. The Oregon Coast Aquarium admissions are as follows: adults (13-64) $14.25, seniors: (65+) $12.25, youth: (3-12) $8.75, children: (0-2) are free (Oregon Coast Aquarium, 2008).
The Hatfield Marine Science Center is another place that has a lot to offer. The center is located at the Oregon State University’s marine research facility. The center allows visitors to take tours and interact with today’s marine biology. It also exhibits and displays highlighted research that is conducted by over 200 marine scientists. It offers nature walks and guided tours to a variety of aquariums that feature live undersea life. There are no admission costs for the Hatfield Science Center, but tourist should consider donating money to help keep the science center alive for future patrons (Marine). Along with the aquarium and science center there are many other attractions that would be interesting to visit such as the Undersea Gardens and the Tide pools. I interview a really close friend, Sheena Stigile, who loves the Oregon coast and has traveled there at least once a year, if not more. She said, “The Undersea Gardens help to push your knowledge allowing you to feel as if you are in the water learning about the amazing life that lives under the sea”. Her quote really gives a sense of the atmosphere that a patron may experience. Visitors walk down into a room under the water; there they will be able to watch a live dive show. They will also get to see a verity of specimens anything from a wolf eel to some of the largest octopus in the world. This sounds like a fun and exciting adventure most will not forget. The costs for the Undersea Gardens are as follows: Adult $9.95, Child $5.95, and ages 4 and under are free (Oak Bay Marine Group).
Stigile continues to tell me about the tide pools and how they are one of the fun and more interesting things available on the Oregon Coast. The tide pools are located in several areas along the coast. The pools range in price, the cost for the tide pools are due to the fact that some of them are maintained by the state and require a fee similar to that of a state park. However not all of the pools require payment, there are also some free of charge. “The tide pools form when the tide and water are in, the sea life begins to grow and expand overtime on the rock formations. When the tide recedes the pathways show where you can walk through allowing you to see the life that has naturally formed in pools, on the rocks. These pools give a unique firsthand experience of what sea life is about” (Stigile, 2008). This sounds like a very unique and interesting place that you are able to see nature come alive first hand. For those thrill seekers dune buggy riding will allow you to experience the heart of racing and death defining adventures. This activity is more commonly found in Florence, Oregon. A few miles down the coastline from Newport. This entails ridding in a buggy going high speeds over constantly changing dunes. When going dune buggy riding Stigile prefers letting an experienced person drive. She tells me the reason for this is that the dunes can change rapidly due to the strong winds making it easy to lose your way or get stuck in the sand. There are many popular places that you can ride the sand dunes; one place that Stigile told me about is not real cheap in price but mentions it is well worth the ride, this place is called the Sand Dunes Frontier. The cost per person for a half an hour is $22 (Sand Dunes Express & Terex Inc, 2002).
When on vacation I enjoy lots of relaxation and still having an exciting experience. I am told about another popular and fun attraction that is similar to fishing, called crabbing. When going crabbing you will need a few items such as: the crab net, the crab measuring unit, a system to haul the crab net and your catch across the dock, the bait, and of course the newly implemented crabbing license (Stigile, 2008). For starters a crab net can be purchased or rented at just about any local store. Stigile has found over time it became cheaper to buy your own crab net and bring it back every time you visit. You can purchase a two ring crab net for $24.99 on amazon.com (Amazon.com, 2008). Popular bait used for crabbing is fish heads or mink; however Stigile found that crabs will eat just about anything so over time she began to use chicken or turkey legs. Which happen to be much cleaner, cheaper, and can be easily disposed of upon the completion of catching the crabs. The crab measuring system is a small plastic unit that shows what a female and male Dungeness crab look like, this unit tells you how large the crab must be and the correct gender to keep the crab, if needed. Crabbers should also be aware of the current regulations. The cost of a crab license for a nonresident is $16.50 and for a residence $6.50 per year. The cost is pretty minimal seeing as how much you are able to catch on a good day. You can catch both Dungeness crab along with what they call red rock crab, the red rock crab is usually much smaller, yet has no size or gender limit (ODFW, 2008). The red rock crab is also considerably sweeter in Stigile’s opinion.
Once you have caught your crab for the day you will need to cook it. When cooking the crabs she prefers to cook hers in a large pot of water with quite a bit of rock salt; this will add the desired flavor to the crab (Stigile, 2008). What would a vacation be without souvenirs? According to Stigile Yaquina Bay has a wonderful place to shop. She continues on to mention when wandering through the shops of Yaquina Bay—located on the wharf— under the bridge you can find many fun gifts and souvenirs. Nearby you can hear the sea lions making a bunch of racket; this is because there is a dock they tend to reside on directly across from the stores. Other great shopping centers are located in Depot Bay. Depot Bay is located a few miles up from Newport. The main differences in these shopping areas is the ocean crashing against the rocks with a view to die for directly across the road. When moving through these shops you will notice a variety of stores such as wine tasting, whale watching, amazing galleries and even a saltwater taffy store. When purchasing saltwater taffy your best place just so happens to be located in the row of store at Depot Bay (Stigile, 2008). Seeing as how I’m a huge wine lover, Oregon is supposed to have a unique style and taste of wines. There are many vineyards located all over Oregon. One vineyard off the coast is called, Nehalem Bay Winery. They have a large variety of wines made from fruits and berries. These wines tend to be sweeter due to the berries they use to make the wines (Nehalem Bay Winery).
Another attention grabber is whale watching, sightseeing—most common is of the light houses—and even scenic byways. Whale watching is where you go out on a boat into a well known area for seeing the whales, if you are even lucky they can get the whales to come right up to the boat (Stigile, 2008). The cost for whale watching for 1 hour usually runs about $18.00 for adults, seniors/teens $16.00, ages 12-5 are $9.00, for ages 4- and under are free (R & D Web, 2008). When doing your sightseeing there are endless places to visit, I heard the most of the fascinating places to see would be the many light houses that line the coast. Sightseeing leads to a nice relaxing day and maybe even a stroll on the sandy beaches (Stigile, 2008).
There are also fun and exciting things to see along the way such as Multnomah Falls. Multnomah Falls is 611 feet tall with water cascading down the mountain side. This sight sounds unbelievable. The falls are located only 30 minutes outside of Portland. According to the article by Laura Schulte called “Multnomah Falls is a must,” it tells a story of the falls and how it was created to win the heart of a princess who only wanted a place to bathe. You can walk up to the base of the falls only to see the magnitude of its size, to gain a better look you can walk up the paved trail to Benson Bridge, this bridge allows you to walk past the first tier of the falls. Of course this famously known attraction is free to see with no admissions (Oregon.com).
How much does it cost to stay on the Oregon Coast? It all depends on what kind of hotel you would want to stay in and the time of year you plan to visit. Stigile mentions that her favorite time of year to visit is in the fall, usually around first to mid October, the nice thing about that time of year is the hotel rates drop to the out of season rates. This makes it even more affordable to visit. Sheena favorite place to stay is in little condos on the beach called Little Creek Cove, the rates start at $89.00 in the off season and go up from there (Little Creek Cove & VisionSite Corporation, 2008). Once you have decided where you want to take a vacation. You should make a list of things you may need to bring such as: tooth brushes, tooth paste, deodorant, first aid kit, plenty of clothes—plus few days extra— bug spray, shampoo, body wash, cell phone charger, maps, camera, duct tape, a watch, knife, hair brush, razor, make up (females), blow dryer, hair spray, and a good pair of walking shoes. When preparing for a trip you should also consider what the climate is like there. Is it going to be sunny and warm or rainy and cold? Newport is located on the Oregon coast and typically western Oregon receives a lot of rain fall. On average Newport will receive about 66 inches of rain; that is over five feet a year. So, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring a rain poncho, umbrella, or both. It also doesn’t get very warm or at least by my standards. The average temperature can be anywhere from 37.4F to 65.3F throughout the year. You will want to bring a light jacket or coat depending on the time of year you will be traveling. I will be going in early October and the average rainfall is around five and half inches and the temperate is around 60F (Hoare, 2008). It is also very important to bring extra clothes especially when the possibility of rain is most certain. The last thing you want to be doing is wearing wet clothes. If you are going to drive—what I am going to be doing— you will need to be prepared if for some reason you get stranded in the middle of nowhere. You should have in your car: blankets, water, flash lights, road hazard kit, spare tire, tire goop, snakes and food. You will also want to make sure that your car is in top shape to be traveling hundreds of miles. Checking all the necessary items like tire condition, oil—maybe getting it change—all of the fluids. Now that we have looked at all of the fun opportunities that the Oregon coast has to offer we have to decide is this trip going to be worthwhile and fun for the entire family? The coast has many opportunities from the exciting dune buggy’s to the adventures under the sea. I believe that is would be a great trip to take for anyone, especially for a family; there are fun things to do for everyone at a low price. I plan on taking this trip personally in the spring of 2009. I also plan to experience all of the fun and exciting attractions the coast have to offer.