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Our Newport hotel, the Sylvia Beach Hotel, was world-renowned as one of the most unique accommodations; the literary-themed residence equipped each of 20 rooms in the motif of a different author. We booked the Poe room, figuring it more appropriate for a honeymoon stay than the other available rooms: Agatha Christie, Dr. Seuss, and Jane Austen. The room was adorned with trinkets from Poe's imagination: ravens, a suspicious brick wall, and a swinging guillotine hanging over the blood red-colored bed. |
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| The Sylvia Beach Hotel, built in 1910 in the Nye Beach district of Newport, sat on the edge of the Pacific. It wasn't until after I checked in that I discovered its nickname: the honeymoon capital of Oregon. It's no wonder. |
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Sylvia Beach had every non-modern comfort imaginable. There were no
phones or TVs, but there were couches and comfy chairs, a library of
books and games, and coffee and hot spiced wine all night long. I finished
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time sipping hot
wine through the wee hours of the night. |
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At left, Sylvia Beach's Poe-equivalent of "Do not disturb." Another nice touch among many. Below right, we visit Mo's, on a recommendation from Orf (no relation to Port Orford). Sampling its world-famous chowder, we watched fishing boats dock from above, each arriving ship's crews hawking their wares to tourists and locals alike. Downtown Newport was a pleasure, with its breweries (Rogue, yum), quaint shops, and old-school fishing town charm. |
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| Incredibly, the scene below was shot fewer than a hundred paces from the entrance to the hotel |
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Leaving the coast was brutal. We turned off Highway 101 at Newport, heading inland toward Corvallis--and eventually Portland. We didn't really have a plan but figured we could play a round of disc golf if nothing else. Well, after hitting some rush-hour traffic on the I-5 south of Portland, we pulled into Pier Park, the site of an 18-hole disc golf course. After three courses in Colorado and three in Tahoe, we hit our first tee on the west coast. It was a beautiful--albeit industrial--park north of Portland, just south of the border to Washington. The course itself was fairly excellent. Distinct elevation changes toyed with our tosses, and low-hanging branches interfered. But the forest wasn't too thick and it was just the right challenge. |
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