Sand and suds on the seashore

I'm not a parent, a fan of antiques or particularly fond of having to don a wet suit in order to swim in the ocean.

So it's no surprise I've never been to the Oregon coast. That is, until I started talking with friends in Portland about the amazing microbrews, the fun of playing in the sand dunes and the fact that you can practically catch crabs with your bare hands (pretty sure that was an exaggeration).

I was still skeptical, however, so I took a fast-paced approach. Along with my girlfriend and our excitable pooch, I hit three cities along the coast in four days, focusing my efforts on a search for sand, suds and seafood.

Astoria

Sand: Fort Stevens State Park

Suds: Fort George Brewery, Astoria Brewing Company 

Seafood: Fishing at Coffenbury Lake; Bowpicker ahi tuna fish and chips

Our first stop was Astoria, a place that initially struck me as a bit cutesy but quickly grew on me the farther we got from the cruise-ship dock. My girlfriend wanted to stop here to see the "Goonies" house, which we both found to be less fun than watching the '80s flick again the night before to get pumped up for the trip.

Fortunately, Bowpicker Fish & Chips -- set up in an old fishing boat -- was just down the street. Two cooks amid a cloud of steam fried battered ahi tuna for the lunch crowd. It was possibly the best fish and chips I've ever put down. We ate at a small picnic table under a nearby tree, but most of the locals retreated to their idling trucks.

A short walk allowed us to chase our tuna with a beer sampler from Fort George Brewery + Public House, a year-old brewery that is almost reason enough to visit Astoria. The Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale and Vortex IPA were standouts, and growlers can be filled to take home (or back to your hotel if you can't wait).

We were ready to get out of the city and see the shore, so we crossed Youngs Bay and headed out to Fort Stevens State Park. We had bought a fishing license in town, so we stopped at Coffenbury Lake, hoping it had recently been stocked.

After a couple of hours rowing our inflatable dinghy around the lake with nary a nibble, we headed to the sand. A road takes you right to the beach where the Peter Iredale shipwreck draws crowds. It was pretty, but a short drive north took us to the South Jetty, where we watched the ocean and the Columbia River mix in crashing waves all by ourselves. 

That evening we checked into the Cannery Pier Hotel, a dog-friendly beauty set on a pier 600 feet into the Columbia River. A seal swam by our window, freighter ships floated out to the ocean and seagulls perched within arm's reach.

The hotel offers a complimentary shuttle in a 1938 Buick, which took us to the Wet Dog Cafe and Astoria Brewing Company for dinner. The food was decent, but the beer was the star. The Bitter Bitch Imperial IPA -- which our waiter never called by its full name -- and Imperial Oatmeal Stout were delicious.

Pacific City

Sand: Cape Kiwanda State Park

Suds: Pelican Pub & Brewery

Seafood: Dory boat hauls at the Pelican Pub & Brewery

The next day we dragged ourselves away from the Cannery and headed south to check out the next town on our list: Pacific City. This was the one our beer-crazy friend Dave raved about, thanks to the Pelican Pub & Brewery and its right-on-the-beach location. We checked into the pet-friendly Inn at Cape Kiwanda and crossed the street to Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area as quickly as we could.

We restrained ourselves from immediately entering the brewery. Besides, we were too distracted by the dozens of trucks and SUVs filling the beach.

Fishing boats called dories are towed by truck and launched from the beach, so vehicles are allowed on a small section of sand. It results in a tailgate atmosphere that would have been a lot more fun if we'd had a big gas-guzzler instead of a Toyota Corolla. 

On the other hand, not having to drive gave us the freedom to hit the brewery mid-afternoon, and we sampled the beer and dipped our toes in the sand as our pooch scoped out the local dogs. The beer lived up to Dave's hype; I'm still kicking myself for forgetting to get a growler of the Kiwanda Cream Ale to take home. The pub has good, fresh seafood often brought in the same day from the dory fishermen.

You can fish from a dory yourself by going out with a charter. We chose to stay dry and sandy but were sad we missed the opportunity as we watched the boats launch the next morning, bouncing over wave after wave as they made their way out to calm waters.

Instead of fishing for halibut, we decided to punish our quads by climbing up the huge sand dune on the north end of the beach. We needed to work off the beer and the s'mores we made at a beach campfire the night before. We headed up early enough in the morning to let the dog off-leash, and he ran circles around us as we grunted and groaned our way to the top. The reward was a stunning view of the coast and Haystack Rock below -- plus a fun run down.

Florence

Sand: Everywhere, even piled high behind the Fred Meyer; rent a dune buggy or sandboard, or just climb around

Suds: Stop at Rogue Brewery in Newport

Seafood: Crabbing

By this point, we realized the Oregon coast was for us, and though we were excited to see the infamous Oregon dunes, we were sad we were buzzing through each town so quickly. But we perked up when we remembered we would soon be in Newport, home of the Rogue Brewery.

I was advised not to stop for the food, and that was good advice. The dining area was understaffed, and the guy working the register in the beer shop was clueless. But the brewery was great to walk through -- wet and reeking of malt and hops. We bought two 26-ounce ceramic containers of beer that would come in handy once we were exhausted from dune climbing.

I love things that go fast, and the instant we got to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area I became jealous of the motorheads ripping around the sand dunes on amped-up quads and dune buggies. But to save gas money and, yeah, protect the environment, rent sandboards from Sand Master Park instead. It's basically a snowboard that's waxed up to slide easily on the sand, and it's a decent rush on the way down. The problem is the climb back up. 

We quickly decided to save what remained of our legs and keep toward the water, flying a kite, drinking our Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner and watching the kite surfers whip down the beach. On the other side of the dunes, locals dropped crab pots into the lakes and took their boats out fishing.

We decided to let the seafood come to us and opted for fish and chips at the Seafood Station, a humble place that used to be a gas station. A swankier (for Florence) stretch of restaurants and shops is located on Bay Street overlooking the Siuslaw River.

The people in Florence are exceptionally friendly, but they are also there to tear it up - on the sand and off. It's a join-in-or-suffer kind of place, so when a crew of 4x4ers pulled in next to us at the Park Motel and offered us cans of Busch Light, we joined in. Our legs had already suffered enough.

Lodging was provided by the Cannery Pier Hotel, the Inn at Cape Kiwanda and the Park Motel.

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