Every year, a fraternity at UW takes a weekend-long trip to Seaside, Oregon in the spring. I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend of mine last year, and discovered some great hidden gems along the Oregon Coast.
Finding a hotel willing to host 60+ rowdy college boys (plus their sometimes equally rowdy dates!) is nearly impossible, no matter where you are. Other guests are easily frightened by such a large group, and usually find some sort of complaint to make against the hotel. However, the group I was with somehow convinced the Ebbtime Motel, located right along the waterfront, to give us a chance. The motel was pretty basic: three stories, outdoor access to rooms, a basketball court (which boys can never seem to get away from), and kitchenettes in every room (with a huge refrigerator/freezer! Tons of storage room). Our room had a great set-up done in a unique way, with one large main room with two beds, a bathroom, and then another bedroom – attached – but accessed via separate door.
Although the rooms are fairly simple, the main highlight of this hotel is the view it offers. A horizon of blue sky meets an emerald ocean, and sandy beaches greet you right outside the windows. Access to the beach is only a couple steps away, which was perfect for our beach-loving crew. We spent the weekend playing beach volleyball, toasting marshmallows over enormous bonfires, and perusing the silly shops throughout the town.
Speaking of the town, there was one particular restaurant I fell in love with. Pig ‘N Pancake, located right in the heart of “downtown” Seaside, is the ultimate brunch spot. We had to wait quite a bit (even with reservations), considering we had a pretty huge crew. I would suggest making reservations for any party size, however, because this place is wild in the mornings. Definitely a hot spot! The service was fantastic – despite the stress of dealing with such a large group, the servers all had great attitudes and took the time to ensure our order was done perfectly. Since I’m big on sweets in the morning, I decided to go with the Silver Dollar Pancakes, which includes 10 miniature pancakes! Everything is really reasonably priced, and the restaurant is within walking distance of almost any popular spot in town (including the beach!)
Right across the street from Pig ‘N Pancake is one of the coolest shops ever, a crazy hat store which sells nearly every wild creation of “hat” ever made. Small hats, big hats, cartoon hats, sexy hats – 'Mostly Hats' has everything! We spent literally hours in there trying on hats and laughing till we cried at how ridiculous everything we tried on was. I would definitely recommend going in there for a good laugh!
In the end, we lasted the entire weekend with MINIMAL complaints against us at the Ebbtide Motel, and it was a fabulous, memorable weekend getaway!
