OREGON BEACH: RULES TO RELAX ON THE ROCKS

 

 

This is first hand information on the Oregon beach, any Oregon beach, and how to relax.

 

Rule #1: Don’t get comfortable.

 

If you want comfort, go to California, or Mexico, or Florida. Nothing spells comfort like sand and sun.

 

Looking for a comfortable Oregon beach? It won’t take long. Drag your towel and beach basket and umbrella out on the sand for a few minutes, because that’s all you’ll get. Why?

 

Everything changes in Oregon and it comes fast. Sunny turns cloudy, warmy gets chilly, and the tide comes in. The tide is always coming in, at least that’s how you need to see it if you don’t want a Coast Guard rescue.

 

Keep an eye on the water, which brings us to,

 

Rule #2: Stay on your feet.

 

If you dream of a cabana and beach service, don’t come to Oregon beaches. This coastline is made for exploring, not lounging. The only way you’ll get beach service is when you’re husband or wife agrees to play a part in your fantasy.

 

And it will be a fantasy if you think you can convince someone to run to the car and back for your latest whim or current fancy.

 

“Honey, I forgot my magazine in the car. Would you mind?”

 

“Honey, we’re out of beer. Remember the store we passed? Would you mind?”

 

“Honey, I accidentally ate your lunch and I’m still hungry. Would you pick up a few things on your next beer run?”

 

Rule #3: Bring extra clothes.

 

If it rains on the Oregon beach, stick around. If it’s windy? No reason to leave. Wet and cold and windy are all good reasons to show up on this stretch of Pacific coast. Low tide is best, but it will turn.

 

No matter the weather, go on a beach march. Go until you can’t go any further. That means rocks and cliffs and points to go around. Going around a point is a big step. Once you get out of sight of your original spot, the exploring begins.

 

So do the comparisons with warm weather beaches. Out of state visitors from warm water beaches make the best company on Oregon beaches.

 

“Do you have a gas can and rags in the trunk?” they ask.

 

Some nice beaches have a drawback those locals don’t like to talk about: tar balls.

 

Walk on the sand in some places and a beach tar ball becomes a foot tar ball and if you’re not equipped with gas and rags to clean up they become a car tar ball. Oregon beaches collect all sorts of debris from Japanese floats, to ship wrecks, to Fukushima. It’s left out on the tar ball game.

 

Once the Oregon coast opens up for oil drilling, the next step is oil transport, oil refining and storage, and tar balls. El Segundo’s nickname is El Stinko for California locals. Where will Oregon’s El Stinko settle in? Asstoria is a good bet.

 

Rule #4: Bring the right attitude.

 

An adventure coast needs an adventurous attitude. That’s your job. Staying in a parking lot isn’t adventurous. Neither is staying in a room. The key is getting out.

 

“But the rocks are covered in green slippery stuff.”

 

Walk with balance, centered over your feet, not over-stepping.

 

“Climbing over walls is dangerous.”

 

Find the right size stepping stones up and down, and help each other. It was Lewis AND Clark who came out here, not Lewis, then Clark. Give a hand, ask for a hand. The Oregon beach is a cooperative effort.

 

“We can’t go out there, it looks dangerous.”

 

This is the best complaint. It looks dangerous for a reason: it is dangerous.

 

People slip and fall, get stranded, lose track of time, or get lost. They go around a point and the tide comes in. They climb a wall and the tide comes in. They go into a cave and…you know what happens.

 

The timeless part of a trip to the Oregon coast is the natural cycle of life. Night and day, dark and light, high tide and low tide. It’s easy to go to a warm weather beach and lose track of life. It’s where to unpack all your cares and woes and lay them down a while.

 

Unpack your troubles at an Oregon beach and forget about life for a while and you’ll be looking for that Coast Guard helicopter crew. And they’ll be looking for you.

 

What’s your Oregon beach adventure story?