We spent a rainy, windy and cold week in Newport last week. That makes two straight summer weeks in Oregon where the weather did not cooperate at all. I think we are ready to cross the Oregon Coast off of our list of places to visit. The Embarcadero is a nice place to stay. I would say all of their units have a view of the bay and there are lots of units. We stayed in 1 bdr first floor unit that we rented from an owner on VRBO. This resort is a mix of timeshares and fully owned units. We were in the C building which is close to the pool, gym and crabbing dock. The C building looks directly on to the Embarcadero Marina. It is also close to the on-site restaurant which is a good choice for eating and has a good happy hour appetizer menu. The pool is indoors along with the hot tub. The gym is small for the size of the resort but I didn't spend any time there so I can't say if it ever gets crowded. The unit we stayed in was very nice with top end appliances but I don't know if the timeshare units are fitted out the same way. The only complaint I would have about the resort or the unit would be the amount of noise we heard from neighboring units. I guess being on the ground floor with two floors above us was part of the problem.
The bayside part of Newport runs a mile and half along Bay Blvd from the resort. The first half of that is a Marina where you can buy fresh seafood directly from the fishing vessels. Tuna and Salmon were the catch of the day while we were there. We didn't try that because we like to eat out when we are on vacation but if you like to cook that would be a good option. The rest of the area along the bay is full of shops, restaurants and commercial boats that will take you on fishing trips.
The most popular restaurant in this part of Newport is also the closest to the resort. Local Ocean Seafood has a nice variety of dishes for lunch and dinner. It gets crowded fast though since it is not very large. We were told the wait was 40 mins the first time we tried to eat there. We just kept trying and eventually showed up one day when there was not wait. This place is easily the best place to eat on the bay side. Bridges at the resort is the 2nd best in my opinion.
The rest of the restaurants on the bay side are all about the same, average at best. I was surprised by the lack of fresh local fish choices on the menus. There were a lot of fish and chips type choices and a lot of seafood stew type dishes.
In the summer, a group of sea lions show up and spend their day laying in the sun on a small dock near the middle of town. They are all males and they get into shouting matches with each other over their spot on the dock.
We tried a Whale watch on Tuesday. There are whales that hang out between Newport and Depot Bay all summer and into early fall. Once we got out of the harbor the wind kicked up and the fog got dense so we had no luck. We did the Aquarium and the Marine Science Center which are just over the bridge on the other side of the bay. Both of them are interesting but you can do both in less than an afternoon. The Science Center is free and they have an Octopus that they feed 3 times a week if you ever wanted to know how an Octopus eats. The Aquarium is $18 for adults. Less for kids and seniors and AAA members.
The temps did not rise much above 60 all week and the wind was relentless. We had rain for parts of 4 of the days we were there.
We drove up to Depoe Bay. We found it to be much like Newport with less restaurants. The Worldmark is a short drive from the center of town and looked like a nice place to stay.
The bayside part of Newport runs a mile and half along Bay Blvd from the resort. The first half of that is a Marina where you can buy fresh seafood directly from the fishing vessels. Tuna and Salmon were the catch of the day while we were there. We didn't try that because we like to eat out when we are on vacation but if you like to cook that would be a good option. The rest of the area along the bay is full of shops, restaurants and commercial boats that will take you on fishing trips.
The most popular restaurant in this part of Newport is also the closest to the resort. Local Ocean Seafood has a nice variety of dishes for lunch and dinner. It gets crowded fast though since it is not very large. We were told the wait was 40 mins the first time we tried to eat there. We just kept trying and eventually showed up one day when there was not wait. This place is easily the best place to eat on the bay side. Bridges at the resort is the 2nd best in my opinion.
The rest of the restaurants on the bay side are all about the same, average at best. I was surprised by the lack of fresh local fish choices on the menus. There were a lot of fish and chips type choices and a lot of seafood stew type dishes.
In the summer, a group of sea lions show up and spend their day laying in the sun on a small dock near the middle of town. They are all males and they get into shouting matches with each other over their spot on the dock.
We tried a Whale watch on Tuesday. There are whales that hang out between Newport and Depot Bay all summer and into early fall. Once we got out of the harbor the wind kicked up and the fog got dense so we had no luck. We did the Aquarium and the Marine Science Center which are just over the bridge on the other side of the bay. Both of them are interesting but you can do both in less than an afternoon. The Science Center is free and they have an Octopus that they feed 3 times a week if you ever wanted to know how an Octopus eats. The Aquarium is $18 for adults. Less for kids and seniors and AAA members.
The temps did not rise much above 60 all week and the wind was relentless. We had rain for parts of 4 of the days we were there.
We drove up to Depoe Bay. We found it to be much like Newport with less restaurants. The Worldmark is a short drive from the center of town and looked like a nice place to stay.
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