Oregon–the house

The day after Sue and Mal had returned to the UK we treated Denny, Jay and Annabel to a roadtrip south – down to Oregon, somewhere none of us had been before and we had heard the coastline was beautiful.

The drive was easy and painless.  We had to get out at the border for the Brits to complete their visa waivers and get finger printed then stopped for a hearty pancake breakfast in Bellingham.  We continued through the centre of Seattle on I5, luckily missing the worst of the rushhour then down through rural South-West Washington and across the Columbia River into Portland, Oregon. From here we continued through the city alongside the Willamette River before heading West stopping for supplies at McMinnville, the last reasonable size town before hitting the coast.

Denny and Jay are not huge fans of the heat and at this point they were looking a little uncomfortable as it was 33 degrees in McMinnville.  However, the cool coast effect soon kicked in and by the time we reached the house it was well under 20 degrees, under what we discovered is common coast fog.

We left home at about 7.30am and with plenty of breakfast, bathroom and supermarket breaks we arrived at our destination shortly after 4pm.

The house we rented was situated in a small private subdivision on the edge of the village of Neskowin, about 15 minutes drive North of Lincoln City or just south of Pacific City for those that know the area.  About, 1/3rd of the way down the Oregon Coast for those that don’t !

Designed and built by the current owner in 2008 the home was a very contemporary concrete construction, perched right on the cliff-edge, about 180ft above the bay and crashing waves below. The listing looked good but in reality the location was absolutely stunning.

The home was accessed down a very steep private driveway, not suitable for those who dislike tough hill-starts in the car !

We walked up to the head of the peninsula across the bay and got these views of the house from the ocean side.  All principle rooms enjoyed panoramic views of the bay and the ocean as the west side of the house was just a wall of windows.  Accessed off the lower deck was the hot tub.

The small cluster of houses at the end of the cul-de-sac with Neskowin beach visible in the background – the beach was about a 10-15 minute walk or just a couple of minutes in the car.

Panoramic view of the coastline, with our house in the foreground, Neskowin Beach and Proposal Rock beyond and then the long sandy beaches of Bob Straub State Park further along.

The kitchen, dining room, both living rooms and bedrooms looked out over these great views with the constant sound of the ocean below.

The sound of the waves from the deck.

Mojo liked the cool, polished-concrete floor to sleep on but wasn’t so impressed with the enclosed balconies replacing a large fenced yard, not quite as much fun.  Oh well, at least there was a big flat sandy beach to run around on nearby.

The house had a reverse plan so you accessed on the upper floor which had a large ‘great room’ layout with an open kitchen, dining room and family room all access the decks and views.

The family room end of the upper floor.

A powder room completed the upper floor.

Downstairs were two identical master bedroom suites.

Each with their own large en-suite shower rooms and walk-in closets – this house was a great layout for two couples sharing.

Between the two bedrooms was a second family room with a huge sofa which doubled up as Annabels bed.

We had a meal out one evening but otherwise relied on David and Dennys culinary expertise – this restaurant had the best view in town !