Cannon Beach

During a rare 3-day window of Omar being in town, we drove out to the coast. There are so many beaches around here, the closest being a little over an hour away, and we couldn't decide which one to visit. We settled on Cannon Beach as it is well known and fairly close by. We hopped in the car and rode through a long, tall forest that squirted us out just a block from the shore.

I thought the little beach town was adorable. There were dogs and flower pots and it smelled like home. We stopped in a bakery for a morning cupcake and then made our way to the beach.
It was super windy and cold. There were just a few freaks in the water but mostly it was tourists like us, wrapped in jackets and scarves, looking up at the mountains that fade into the sea. Omar was put off by the crowds and the "cutesy" town and decided we should go to another beach just up the road.

It was horrible. It was Myrtle Beach! Cars and traffic and sluggish people inching across the long, tacky main drag.
"Oh No!" Omar hiccuped out as we sat at a red light. We lasted 10 minutes before he barreled away from the awful road and drove aimlessly until he found the ocean. We parked way down the strip where only locals go and we walked onto the chilly beach, stuck our toes in the freezing water, and then left it all to go have lunch.

Both beaches were very pretty. They were both so big and who doesn't love waves crashing into mountains? It didn't feel beachy though. It felt like wintertime when you go to the beach and stare longingly at the miles of barren sand, dreaming up the potential summertime activity.
I think it's that we're used to stifling hot, shadeless beaches dotted with mounds of sunburnt flesh and beer cans.

Oregon beaches feel sophisticated. We didn't belong.