Weekend in Newport, Oregon
Newport, Oregon: This morning we drove over
to Newport - having no real plans. Our route took us through Beaver City and
gorgeous Oregon farmland. The leaves are beginning to turn in the coast
range, the sun was shining and we enjoyed our drive.
Driving over the Yaquina Bay Bridge, we saw many vacancies at the
Newport Marina and RV Park below, so we pulled in and rented a campsite.
Later we walked around the marina and chatted with lucky (and unlucky)
fishermen and fisherwomen and drove out to the jetty, left our car and
walked to the end.
Our weekend place
These 37-inch long Chinooks were caught in the bay
The view from the RV park across the marina to the bridge
Surfers at the end of the jetty
We drove into Old Town Newport, which in spite of tacky
tourist attractions, is still a busy working fishing port, with canneries
and fresh fish packers occupying nearly all of the bay-side real estate.
Huge sea lions have taken over a boat dock and we watched them fight for a
prime spot in the sun.
Oregon tourists
Sign on a dock-area tavern (we did not go inside)
As inviting as the tavern sign (above) seemed, I only
covered two of the three descriptions... so we returned to the RV and then
walked across the parking area to have dinner at
The Rogue Brewery. The
Rogue Brewery restaurant is inside a working brewery and patrons must
actually walk through some of the factory to reach the restaurant. Once you
do arrive and become acclimated to the heavy fermenting grain smell, you are
awarded with some of the best pub food on the west coast. (Disclaimer: this
establishment is owned by our friends.)
The Rogue Brewers are now distilling spirits in a separate building next
door to the campground - gin and a dark rum. I had a gin tonic made with
their new potion, which is flavored with spruce and a hint of cucumber. The
tonic must have covered the cucumber, but I could definitely taste the
spruce. Different. Good different. We had an appetizer of kobe beef
meatballs covered with
Rogue Creamery
blue cheese. I always order the halibut fish and chips, as they are always
divine and I was not disappointed tonight. DT ordered a kobe beef sausage,
battered and deep fried. Like a grown-up corndog. One look at his meal and
you will know why we were laughing. The sausage was delicious and rich and
hubby is going to have wicked heartburn tonight.
Kobe Corndog
Perfect fish and chips with perfect fries
The bar at The Rogue Brewery in Newport, Oregon
Everyone was pulling crab out of the bay today - we saw
buckets of the leggy crustaceans at every dock. A group of campers at our RV
park had captured 60 crab (limit is 12 per person per day). They cooked the
crab in a huge vat of boiling water on the dock and were cleaning the crab
at a fish station as we returned to our RV after dinner.
A lot of crab
Oregon Dungeness - cooked and ready to eat
RV Park:
Newport Marina and RV Park