Three days on the Oregon coast, mostly in fog
I had planned this trip around one photograph: Haystack Rock at sunset, the sky orange behind it. I got that photo on the third evening, for about four minutes. The rest of the time the coast was wrapped in a soft grey fog, and it turned out to be the better trip because of it.
Day one: Astoria to Cannon Beach
Astoria is a working river town that happens to be beautiful. I walked the Riverwalk at seven in the morning while the sea lions argued under the docks, then drove south with the windows down and the heater on, which is the correct way to drive the Oregon coast in September.
Day two: low tide
Low tide was at 6:40 a.m. I set two alarms. The pools around the base of the rock were full of ochre sea stars and green anemones, and a volunteer with a red jacket and a laminated card told me more about nudibranchs than I knew there was to know.
What I would do differently
Bring a proper rain shell, not a windbreaker. Book the motel with the kitchenette. And check the tide tables before booking anything at all — the coast runs on the moon, not on your itinerary.