Tag: hotels

“The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.” – Wyland

On By HanneIn Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Two weeks ago we took an extended weekend down to Newport, Oregon. Newport and the surrounding area has long been a happy place for the family. Camping, Mo’s, salt water taffy, Beverly Beach State Park, kites, whales, Depot Bay, barking sea lions, salty sea air, Oregon Coast Aquarium, crabbing, gift shops, the beach.

IMG_6755Oh, and the smell of campfire.

While it’s been a long time since we’ve camped, instead moving to the dog friendly Best Western at Agate Beach.  That said, it doesn’t mean we’ve given up on the campground 100%.

We had a combination of credits and gift cards for 3 free nights, so we headed down IMG_6747 Thursday afternoon to stay through mid-day Sunday. Because the hotel is dog friendly, the Boo got to come along and be a ‘beach dog’ – she was thrilled. We played in the tide pool, chased the waves (well, she did), searched for shells and played with seaweed (and then passed out later on).

IMG_6741Friday we spent most the day in Downtown Newport. We ate at Mo’s, wandered the shops and watched the Sea Lions fight for space on their designated dock.

Saturday had a slow start, but we spent the afternoon on the beach and then headed to our camping site for a fire. We roasted hotdogs for dinner and made s’mores for dessert. The campground was full, and we felt slightly guilty about holding a campsite from someone who would’ve spent the night, but for $28 bucks, it was worth the campfire and cheap (but delicious) dinner.

In all, it was a great, albeit short weekend away.

 

Best Western Agate Beach Inn review: 3.5/5 stars.

I love this hotel. We’ve stayed here numerous times over the years and for the most part, it’s fantastic.

The beach: You walk out the back door, and down a little hill and you are on the beach. If you’re lucky enough to have a beach view, there is nothing in your way.

The rooms: Clean, but dated. For the price, I’d expect it to be a little more updated. On one hand, maybe because we’ve always stayed in a dog-friendly room (certain ones are designated for the pooches), perhaps they just aren’t updated..? Spruce it up, and this would be a top place on the coast to stay.

Restaurant: Decent for breakfast. The Banana fosters french toast was a little soggy and overly sweet when it arrived. Then I realized they made it with banana bread. Stick to regular french toast for this dish, Best Western. You’d win an award.

The cost: CHECK YOUR CREDIT CARD ACTIVITY AFTERWARD. Ok, so they made things right immediately when I called, but I was frustrated to see that they double charged me for the pet fee ($40, instead of $20 per stay) despite the fact that they shouldn’t have charged it at all – we paid it in cash when checking out.

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743 miles in 12 hours, 42 minutes.

On By HanneIn Travel7 Comments

photoLet me just say, we hauled ass.

Since we’ve driven this part of the route before, there wasn’t anything we really wanted to stop and see along the way. We decided that getting to the hotel early, having a decent sit-down breakfast and then an evening chillaxing in the hotel would be more our style.

We were on the road at 5:44am – stopped in Ellensburg for the bathroom, Cour d’ Alene for bathroom/fuel and somewhere around Missoula for the bathroom. We kinda had to pee the last 40 minutes or so of the drive, but we pushed on. Actual driving time according to the gps is 12hrs 22minutes. Our three stops only added 20 minutes.

This place we’re staying, just outside of Yellowstone is sketch to the max. I’m sure things pick up as tourist season picks up, but it’s pretty quiet. This ‘resort’ (while clean) is right out of a 1970’s horror film as far as looks. But it was cheap (and has decent ratings – it’s not uncomfortable, it’s just old) and we’re out by 7:30 tomorrow morning.

The drive itself was uneventful. A few times we started to get antsy and laugh at ridiculous things, but we settled into our driving groove easily enough. Weather was good (hit a few patches of rain, but not much). A bit of PTSD when we drove past the place where that tire flew off the SUV in front of me and hit my car. I tried looking for my hubcap, but… no dice.

Tomorrow should be fun – Yellowstone and Cody, WY. Yeehaw!

p.s. good thoughts that the storms they have been talking about for the end of the week, don’t happen.