Travel Tips & Adventures

If Cannon Beach is like Scottsdale without water, then Seaside, Oregon is like an upscale Coney Island with all of its family amusements.

Lewis and Clark statue at "Prom" turnaround

The earliest resort of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (if wintering while they collected salt and provisions for their return east could be called a resort), Seaside is a fun, family beach town.

 
Characterized by its “Prom” – The Promenade – which is a long concrete walkway along the beach, families and conventioneers gather at this mecca for fun. While we were visiting, a convention of car enthusiasts (two hot rod events were in town) were gathered and their vehicles could be seen everywhere.

Seaside ocean view from the Promenade

 The beachfront hotels have the best views of the ocean, but anyone can walk up and down on the Prom or on the beach itself. The long, sandy beach stretches for miles, punctuated by swing sets where families or couples congregate.

Seaside Carousel Mall

 Set a block or two from the beach are the man-made amusements including numerous restaurants and places to play. A really gorgeous carousel is inside of the Seaside Carousel Mall, plus many shops. “Funland” has games and food.

Funland

There is also an aquarium, which we didn’t have the chance to visit. There are bumper cars and places to hang out when there is a rainy day – and in the fall that can happen.

Gorgeous carousel!

Tourist shops, restaurants, and antique shops are everywhere.

Streets can be crowded, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in Seaside.

During most of our stay the sky was gray and it was windy, so a lot of the tourists were sightseeing near the shops and lingering in the restaurants.

Norma’s Diner

Local restaurants, like Norma’s Ocean Diner, are proud to display where their seafood was caught. Local is very “in,” so being able to say that their seafood was caught nearby is a great thing for the customer and the restaurant’s reputation. Norma’s had Dungeness crab, salmon and petrale sole from local waters; steamer clams and oysters from nearby Willapa Bay and, the furthest source, was Alaska for their halibut. Norma’s was more upscale than the usual diner with copper-topped tables and pictures of lighthouses. The food was properly cooked and wait staff were very accommodating.

Best Western Ocean View Resort

We had a great, fifth floor room at the Best Western Ocean View Resort complete with fridge, microwave and hot tub. Our balcony gave us a great view of the ocean and Tillamook Head. All of the amenities were there except internet availability in the room. For us bloggers that was a bit of a hardship, so check whether they’ve finished their internet refitting if that is essential to you before you stay.

The ocean is a big lure, even on a windy day, for someone who lives inland. It was hard to move on.

http://www.seasideor.com/

Tomorrow: We visit Ecola State Park and some exceptional views

Tags: Add new tag, Beach, Family Fun, Food, Oregon, Restaurants, Scenery, Travel

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Beach, Family Fun, Food, Hotels, Restaurant, Scenery, Shopping, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.