No surprise, I'm not a big fan of the beach. I've had enough time lying around sweating and wondering what the big fuss is about to realize it's not for me. Heck, just the day before we'd gone to the beach and we spent more time in the trees than we did on the sand.
But I'm also a realist and the realist said I'd better go to the beach and have fun or else. Luckily, the Oregon beach isn't just sand and daiquiris. It's full of sea stacks that were just like little mountains. You see? I wasn't really at the beach. I was on a big sandy plateau with mountains everywhere!
Once I'd convinced myself I was in my native habitat we could have some fun. Unlike the usual waterfronts we frequent (rivers and lakes), Cannon Beach has a huge sandy beach. Walking without shoes was actually pleasant. There were more people, but it was far from crowded. Kind of like being at Sunrise in Mount Rainier National Park.
The water was just as cold as an alpine lake, not that the kids cared. Lilly and Henry tried to boogie board and Clara danced as though she hadn't been at her intensive summer ballet program for the last three weeks.
After we'd had our fill of getting really cold in the water, digging holes, and flying our kite we decided to hike (read: wander) down the beach to Haystack Rock.
Haystack Rock is a monster of a sea stack standing 235 feet high. (Locals claim it's the third tallest in the world, but that's the sort of thing a local would say.) You can't climb it, but the base is partially accessible at low tide. Due to the anemones, seastars, and birds that make their homes on and around the rock it's both a National Wildlife Refuge and an Oregon State Marine Garden. We arrived just as the interpretive staff was setting up.
It's one thing to be able to look in the water and remark, "Look at the cool squiggly thing!" and another to have a trained scientist tell you you're looking at an anemone and explain its role in the ecosystem. As much fun as we had hiking the day before or playing on the beach, this was the part that had the most smiling.
In fact, we stayed in the tide pools until the sun began to set and we realized we hadn't eaten dinner. Oops. No worries. There was an ice cream place on the way to the car so we had a quality dinner before heading back to Portland.
When you go, remember to coordinate with the tides and the awareness program. It'd be a bummer to be there only at high tide.
It might also be good to bring something for dinner. Ice cream's good, but I don't think we get parents of the year for that move.
