Weekend in Newport, Oregon

Friday | 5 October 2007| 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. I posted a one-minute video on You Tube of the barkers.

Sea Lions on the docks in Newport, Oregon - DATE SHOULD READ 2007

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