OREGON’S TILLAMOOK BAY, A WEEKEND SEAFOOD SAFARI

“The seafood is so fresh, some call it hook-to-mouth!”

Oregon’s Pacific coast produces extraordinary food. Fish, meat, dairy, fruit and veg are plentiful. The Oregon Coast food world is tasty to explore. Tillamook Bay is celebrated for seafood. The region harvests oysters, crab, shrimp, salmon, albacore, halibut, steelhead, lingcod and more. These delights can be caught in the wild, purchased in markets, and found on local tables and restaurant menus.

Also farmed in the area, beef, sheep, and goats supply meat and dairy. Small vegetable, fruit and herb farms round out the local selection of organic food. Keep an eye out for pop-up farm stands selling seasonal choices from land and water. Local markets have food, wine and beer selections from the area.

Weekend Seafood Safari, Tillamook Bay

Lodging – Make Kendra’s River Inn your home base. Six individual rooms and suites offer lodging in this historic roadhouse. Five-star comfort with fireplaces, ‘curl-up and read’ chairs, intriguing books, lofty bedding, and river views, enhance each room. This is a secret hideaway, you’ll return to again and again.

Nehalem – Check in and settle at Kendra’s for the rest of the day. Take a loaner kayak and explore the river. Roy Creek Park is on the Nehalem about 1.25-miles southeast of the inn. Go for a bike ride or walk. Head out and get lost on a back-country road. Wildlife is abundant, bring a camera.

The Nehalem Bay Winery is just across the bridge from Kendra’s. Tastings and a gift shop are open daily.

The Mohler Market Place is also just across the bridge. This local co-op market has all the necessities, plus local food, dairy, wine, beer, fruit and veg.

Dinner – Have dinner upstairs with Kendra. Her celebrated menu changes according to season and availability. Everything is sourced from local farmers and producers. Regional beer and wine are available from the bar.

Breakfast – upstairs, Kendra serves a complimentary continental breakfast for guest of the inn.

Tillamook – Brickyard Farms – Specializing in fresh, organically raised, herbs and vegetables. Visit the farm and nursery at 4940 Brickyard Road, Tillamook. Pick up some goodies for a picnic.

Blimp house – While you’re in the Brickyard Farms area visit the Tillamook Air Museum. It’s the world’s tallest, standing, wood building, and a WWII, home to K-Class Airships – blimps. The museum offers a detailed view of the role blimps played during the war.

Tucked into a corner of the seven-acre, blimp-hanger, is Steve Schramm’s lifetime collection of WWII battle scene dioramas. It’s the newest exhibit at Tillamook Air Museum.

Cheese, cheese and more cheese – Tillamook county is not just seafood territory, but home to many dairies and creameries.

Tillamook Cheese visitor center, is educational and fun. Complimentary cheese tasting is always open. An old-fashioned ice cream parlor is irresistible. Cheese, wine, cider and other local food products are available in the gift shop.

Stop in at Blue Heron French Cheese Company for a cheese and food tasting extravaganza. This is a wonderful place to gather picnic and in-room noshing supplies. Wine tasting comes in several varieties. Deli foods, sandwiches, meats, fruit, crackers, sweets, and condiments are plentiful in the shop.

Bay City – 3.5-miles north of Tillamook is Pacific Oyster, a large oyster processing plant. Tons of oysters come in from the oyster farms in the area. You can see all the action in the shucking room from behind glass walls. It’s hard work. You’ll appreciate the coast of oysters on the half shell after a visit here.

Lunch – The Fish Peddler at Pacific Oyster, is a restaurant and oyster bar in the front section of the oyster plant. You can’t go wrong ordering any of the seafood dishes here. I recommend any oyster dish or something from the raw bar.

The oyster stew is made with cream, butter, and just shucked, perfectly cooked oysters. I always love a captain’s platter. Fish Peddler’s is succulent and loaded with a variety of fish and shellfish, crispy fries and creamy Cole Slaw. Prices here are quite good for the maximum freshness and high quality.

Garibaldi – Explore the docks and marina in Garibaldi. Commercial and sport fishing boats call this marina home. Commercial catches are processed here for distribution.

Good locations for picnic fare on the docks; markets sell raw, smoked, and prepared fish, shrimp, crab and oysters. Shrimp or crab cocktails are great sidewalk snacks. At the Spot, watch as fish are filleted and crabs boiled. You can also get seafood, fishing tackle, bait and advice.

Say hello to a fisherman, ask about his catch. The folks in the fishing industry here work hard at sustainability and like to share their story.

Garibaldi Maritime Museum – The long and engaging maritime history of the area is well detailed. Beautifully curated, many exhibits include films. Docents are available and often lead tours of this outstanding small museum.

Picnic dinner – Have a picnic dinner at sunset on a river view porch or deck at Kendra’s. All the goodies you’ve gathered on your days safari will make a perfect al fresco feast.

Breakfast – upstairs, Kendra serves a complimentary continental breakfast for guest of the inn.

Train to Rockaway – Ride the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad roundtrip to Rockaway Beach. This historic line hugs the coast and rolls through wetlands.

The train stops in Rockaway Beach. De-train here and wander around the colorful shops or take a stroll on the wide, sand beach. Visit Renee’s Tasting Room & Cafe, just ½-block from the train stop. Be sure to grab a jar of locally caught and small-batch, canned tuna. You’ll never want the stuff from the supermarket again.

Lunch – Try Fisherman’s Korner Restaurant on the Garibaldi docks. Diner fare and award winning fish and chips. I just had to try the captain’s platter, and enjoyed every morsel (it’s enough for two). Breakfast is cooked to perfection and served all day. Everything is fresh and exceptionally well prepared. Service is welcoming and prices are reasonable. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Explore the area. Let yourself get lost. There are rivers, wetlands, lakes, beaches and woodlands, lighthouses and micro-towns just begging to be discovered.

This quiet, unspoiled area, holds the history and culture of maritime life on the Oregon coast. It’s a wonderful place to learn where our seafood comes from. If you’re a sea foodie, you’re going to love this place. Food, history, and nature are waiting for you to come visit.

Getting there – Portland is the closest large airport.

GPS is suggested for navigating the backroads.

A car is needed for this trip. From the airport, drive west from Portland on Hwy 26, then south on Oregon Hwy 53. Your first stop, Kendra’s, is southeast of the small town of Nehalem on Hwy 53. From Kendra’s, it’s about one mile to Hwy 101.

All photos by Mary Charlebois