Fall Break Coast Adventure (feat. the Cannon Beach bunnies)

 Hi all, and welcome to my first ever blog post! I'm so excited to be sharing my LC experience with you.

    My roommates and I were all in need of a little escape from campus after a couple of busy weeks of school, so we decided to use the Thursday of our fall break to take a day trip to the coast. I'm a native Oregonian and have been visiting the Oregon coast for as long as I can remember, but my roomies are from different states and haven't spent a lot of time there. I was more than happy to play tour guide for the day! One of the biggest appeals LC had for me was it's close proximity to the coast.  It's my favorite place in Oregon (and maybe the world), and one of my dreams is to live there someday.

    We chose Cannon Beach as our first destination- it's only about an hour and a half from campus. The drive up is pretty and forested, and the clear autumn day made it even better. We were super hungry when we arrived, and stopped at Mo's for some lunch. The local chain is famous for it's clam chowder- of course that's what I ordered. But if seafood isn't your thing, there's plenty of other options. It's also super affordable (great for college students!). Another cool thing about Mo's is the views of the coastline it offers. It's located right above the beach, so you can watch the waves while you eat.

    On our way into the restaurant, we saw some bunnies hanging out in the grass. They were super cute and very chill- I was able to get really close to them and grab some photos.

Bunnies!

    

    I did some research when I got home and discovered that the Cannon Beach bunnies have been around since the 80s, when someone released a pair of their pet rabbits in the area. They've since become local icons, even though residents hold some differing opinions of their furry neighbors. This article has a little more info.

    After lunch, we made our way down to the beach. Haystack Rock, one of Oregon's most famous landmarks, is located just offshore. It's a favorite photo spot and really stunning in person, especially if you can catch it on a rare-ish sunny day. And if you're a fan of the classic 1985 movie The Goonies (one of my favorites!), which was filmed completely at different locations on the coast, you might recognize it from the ending scene.

The wind was not cooperating with my model dreams.

    Next, we drove about fifteen minutes to the town of Seaside. Seaside is definitely touristy, but the downtown area has a lot of charm and it's a great place to walk around with friends. There's easy beach access, an arcade, and plenty of shops and restaurants. If you're a coast newbie and going to visit just one place, Seaside might be the spot for you- there's a little bit of everything.

    We checked out a few quirky antique shops and some other stores. Then we stopped at Sea Star Gelato, which according to the sign outside, has been voted "Best Ice Cream in Oregon". It might just live up to that name- if you visit, I recommend a double scoop of peaches & cream + new york cheesecake in a waffle cone. After ice cream, we were all getting sleepy and were ready to head home. We're already planning another coast trip for the spring, to Astoria or another area my roomies haven't visited!

    The rest of my fall break was mostly devoted to homework, midterm prep, and laundry (ah, the life of a junior with two humanities majors), but I did make it to the football game yesterday.

I hope y'all enjoyed my first post, and that you have a great weekend!

xoxo

Ash