The official day 4 of our Pacific Coast Highway road trip proved to be a testy one. We started our day off in Astoria, Oregon, and we were excited for a day along the coast. Little did we know, that there was a massive wildfire encroaching on the coast, and that we’d end up with a four hour detour around the fire, with some moments where we were actually scared with how close we were and how red the sky was.
We finally got to our destination for the evening in Florence, Oregon right as the sun was beginning to set. We booked a room at the River House Inn, which was the CUTEST little spot right on the river. They were pretty busy, with a lot of people staying there to get out of the smoke inland, and they handled the crowd like champs. We had a beautiful room with a balcony right over the river, and enjoyed a lot of time sitting outside by the peaceful water.
Terrifyingly, this warning was placed on the table in our room. After a day of wildfires, we were really hoping NOT to have to evacuate for a tsunami. Luckily, this was not an issue, and we thoroughly enjoyed our peaceful evening safe from natural disasters.
Before dinner, we stopped at the adorable gazebo at the top of this post to watch the sunset a bit and take some photos. The whole town is so quaint, and in the morning this gazebo is used by folks visiting the nearby coffeeshop. There was also a bookstore across the street, and I was so sad that it was closed for the day!
For dinner we initially had Waterfront Depot or Bridgewater Fish House on our list, but unfortunately almost everything in the town was closed due to the heavy smoke that had rolled in during the day. The one restaurant we found open with no wait was the Beachcomber, and BOY was it a treat – we were pretty excited that we stumbled upon it.
First off, they have an incredible beer selection, and we were able to finally try the Pelican Brewing beers that we couldn’t stop and do at the brewery due to COVID. Second, the FOOD! The photos I took don’t do it justice, but we ordered the shrimp appetizer and they were SO flavorful. For our entrees we had the fish tacos and a shrimp melt sandwich – everything was SO delicious. We even got a crowler of the beer to go at the end of the meal!
We walked back to the hotel and spent some time sitting out on the balcony enjoying our to go beers before turning in for the evening.
The next morning we walked over to River Roasters to grab some coffee, take a few last moments relaxing on the balcony, and then hopped in the care for our next day of adventures. Our first destination of the day – the Prehistoric Gardens! Be sure to check out our full month-long PCH itinerary here!
