{Travel} Newport, Oregon

{READ}

To get you in the mood for a trip to this lively, small, Pacific coast town, try reading Sherry Garland's The Silent Storm, my favorite from when I was 13. It's fun to revisit the books you loved when you were a JTT-loving early teen.

And it's super easy to read. When you're going to the beach, you don't exactly want to indulge in the literary masterpiece that is War and Peace, am I right?

{STAY}

Greenstone Inn. The Man-Beast and I pulled up to this cute, beach-side hotel on a Friday night at 6 pm. This is in the summer, mind you. And when the woman behind the counter saw that he and I were contemplating staying there or going to a Best Western, she asked, "How much do you want to spend?"

After we all awkwardly giggled for a moment, we sat there in awkward silence for another moment. The old woman then broke the silence and said, "How about $120?" From the original $160 she quoted us a few minutes before, we took it.

We settled into the room and then took the wooden stairs down to the beach to have a sneaky beverage. When we looked back at the hotel, I counted 20 balconies in total and four of them were lighted up, one of which was ours.

So I think it's safe to assume this hotel needs business. If you get the chance, call them and make your own deal. I would even strive for $100 a night. They really might go for it.

{PLAY}

On the beach!

Like this!

There are fishing boats you can pay to go on. It's super touristy, but hey, sometimes you just have to embrace your inner tourist! This is the fish I caught on our fishing trip.

It was a lean cod and the meat was bright green.

Yum.

There are whale watching tours as well, but we happened to see a whale on our trip.

{EAT}

Rogue Brewery. Well, eat and... let's just say they have more on their menu. We ordered a sampler of... let's call it "witch's brew." And then ordered fish and chips to go. The fish in the fish and chips was made with tuna, though, instead of the usual halibat or cod. And the tuna was caught that morning on the boat right outside the window which we were sitting by.

That boat there!

Cafe Stephanie is just a short walk from the Greenstone Inn on SW Coast Street and they looked busy every morning for breakfast.

Nana's Irish Pub is also a short walk from the hotel and they have a great outdoor patio that was the only lively thing going on on a Friday night.

{SEE}

The coast. Drive on the 101 from Newport to Waldport and just enjoy the view on the drive. Oh, who am I kidding? Get someone else to drive. It's a winding road, so get someone who won't play Jeff Gordon with your car.

There are also the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine Science Center that would be fun for ocean-lovers of any age.

There's aplenty more to discover at Discoverynewport.com, me matey.