Driving up the coast, I had seen a cute little restaurant along Highway 101, “The Crazy Norwegians” advertizing Fish & Chips. I thought it looked like a quaint little unique place, and later had that seconded by the Cape Blanco Lighthouse hosts that the Port Orford Norwegians were known for their local seafood.
Not wanting to miss this opportunity, I decide to drive the 10 miles back in to town to try out the restaurant. What I didn’t realize at the time was what I thought was a “unique” restaurant serving Fish & Chips would turn out to be as ubiquitous as a rib shack on the Texas Hill Country Highway. Every little town along the coast has at least two or three!
Unable to sway my plant-eating friends to join me in “torturing seafood for your dining pleasure,” I brave the dreaded “Table for One?” on a Saturday night. I don’t typically mind eating alone, but I always try to avoid the fancier restaurants on a Saturday night, lest I incur the sympathetic sideways glances from couples and families nearby. But The Crazy Norwegians is a casual place, filled with local lumberjack types, and even two law enforcement officers – always a good sign.
The Fish & Chips and Prawns Platter is fresh, with sweet succulent cod and giant prawns deep fried to a crispy golden brown, perfectly accompanied by a cold double barrel ale. One guilty pleasure chased by another.
I drive around Port Orford, which takes all of about about three minutes, when I observe a sign that makes me suspect perhaps there is more to see just over the hill…
This discrete directional sign leads me to a parking lot with an Oregon State Parks sign, but little else. No trail markers at the top of the hill, and too much thick tree cover for any kind of view.
Being in the thickly wooded viewpoint along the Oregon coast makes me think of a trip I took with my dear brother Don and his wife to New Zealand. We rented a nine-gear manual shift “caravan” (NZ Speak for RV) and toured the South Island. We thought we would be camping in glorious campgrounds, but in fact we ended up overnighting in bizarre places like railroad yards and lakeside gravel parking lots. Turns out the New Zealand DOC (Department of Conservation) was so conservation-conscious that they wouldn’t even cut down a tree for the sake of a picnic table.
The accumulating cloud cover overhead holds the promise of a good sunset, so I get out of the Tracker in the parking lot, and walk the perimeter. I know there has got to be a trail in there somewhere.
Finally, I spot a clearing in the woods which appears to be leading downhill toward the cliffs overlooking the ocean. I follow it down and down, knowing I will have to make the trek back up the hill after dark in my open-backed shoes.
I do my best to memorize landmarks and count switchbacks along the trail so I can find my way back after the sun has set. It feels good to walk off my dinner. It is turning out to be glorious clear night, which I am finding to be a rarity along the foggy coast. This may be my only chance for an Oregon sunset, so I am not going to miss it.
It is cold and windy, but I find a park bench amidst the shore pines to block the wind and wait out the setting sun as darkness seeps in. Without a single other person in the park, the zen-like setting seems worthy of the risk. After all, I do have a cell signal…and for all else, there’s the flashlight app!
I love your blog, and I am particularly fond of the Oregon coast, so it was doubly fun reading this post. I could almost taste the seafood and beer! Thanks for taking me along.
Stunning coasts. Umm fish & chips by the sea, is a must, you cant beat it.
Great sunset photos. Hope that wasn’t the only one you got to see along the coast. If you’re thinking of coming to Sisters, even though we have 2 bars of 4g it is almost unusable at times. Don’t know what’s up with that.
Gayle
Oregon has some of the most gorgeous beaches and coastline around and ALL are public! Woop! The government did something right there. Many many beautiful state parks and most have wifi and an online reservation system. Highly recommend time there. Another great fish place is the Crab Shack just south of the Newport Bridge on 101. YUM!
Ah, the Crazy Norwegian! I loved that place!!! Looks like you found a better beach view in Port O than I did. What a wonderful way to watch the sunset!
“We have all that here”. Funny that these words keep ringing in my ear as I observe your travels. I have a neighbor who I think always likes to ask me about my various international travels just so 20 seconds into my tale of how I liked my latest journey he can interrupt me and end it by saying “We have all that here”. Maybe it is a “Texas thing”, I don’t know. Still I wonder why he bothers to ask. 🙂
But what diverted me on this tangent now is reading of your mentioning our wonderful New Zealand trip and being able to compare it to this magnificent coast-line for the first time via the “close up” of your words and lens. I have to say that at least regarding this area of our country, perhaps I’ll give him a pass this time and agree, “We have all that here!”
*** Of course that may have had something to do with remembering the swarm of flesh-eating sand flies that swarmed us there on the South Island when I said along the way “Oh look at this beach, it has the be the most beautiful I’ve seen in my life! Let’s stop and have a walk-about!”, as we stopped the manual 9 speed and pulled over for the evening at which point we got mauled by these monsters. I remember they were even crawling through the mesh of the screen windows. It sort of reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode, perhaps of the kid who loved to read who through a magic device was able to stop time to read for an eternity and a few minutes into eternity, he tripped and smashed his glasses. Or less philosophically put, one could say – “It’s always something!”.
Absolutely beautiful! Wouldn’t you love to have a little cabin up there, overlooking the ocean and beach and rocks and trees? That would be heaven. And that meal looks like heaven to me, too. I eat a lot of fish, but I just fry it up in olive oil or poach it – very quick and easy. But that deep fried coating – YUM. 🙂
That seafood platter pushes Fukushima to the background of my brain. Oh, MY!!!! If you wear a waist pack on hikes, you could stock it with one of those high-powered, tiny flashlights for these unexpected forays into the darkness. Not much moonlight these days. But the sliver we had last night, accompanied by some gorgeous sky, was worth a prolonged gaze. Our deck faces south, so couldn’t see the crescent from there, but the Milky Way was stupendously beautiful.
It wasn’t clear to me – did you find an ocean view?
kyukyukyuk
Nicely done on that sunset. I know that view well.
Nina
Beautiful photos. I love the Oregon coast.
Carole — Thanks so much for stopping by the blog, and for the nice comment!
Dave — Next best thing to having them rolled up in the Times!
Gayle — Thanks for the heads up. If I come through on my way to Eugene, I will time Sisters for the weekend.
Sherry — What a coincidence, I ate at the Crab Shack on Sunday! (I am running behind on the blog…trying to catch up, but too much to see here!)
Lynne — It was an ah-maaaazing discovery! 😉
Donald — Those who say “we have that here” are never usually the ones who get out of the recliner to go see it, though, are they? Your memory is better than mine. I had forgotten about the flies. “It’s always something.”
Barbara — I bought some halibut this week, as it is “in season” here now. I tried pan-frying it in some white wine and herbs. It was delish, but my rig smelled like a seafood restaurant for 3 days. Does that happen in The Palms?
Judie — I do have one of those in my hiking pack, but I was a bit unprepared as I hadn’t planned on a hike until I got to the viewpoint and there was no view for all the trees! I probably need to add one to the key chain. Thanks.
Roxi — I tried, but those damned orange and purple clouds got in the way!!
Nina — When I came through the clearing in the trees, it literally took my breath away!
Judi — Thanks for the comment. I have fallen in love with the Oregon coast!