2017-12 S45 (Siletz Bay, OR)

Another throw at the map and we have had our last flight of the year. It’s 2 days before Christmas and it’s clear outside! Time to go for a a flight. The Oregon Coast is clear too; very rare. We are just going for a day trip, so we look at some of the smaller airports we don’t normally fly into due to weight concerns. Siletz Bay and Nehelam bay are the 2 that catch our eyes. We’re hoping to walk from the airport to lunch and maybe fly a kite at the beach.

We choose Siletz Bay. It’s just over an hour from Auburn. The closest airport with weather is Newport, OR just south of Siletz and shows marginal VFR, but our plan B is to go back to Seaside which we pass on the way down and know it’s clear.

We take off to the north at Auburn and turn south towards the Oregon coast. The Oregon coast is a beautiful high cliff coastline with lots of large rocks protruding out of the water.

The Siletz Bay Airport is just south of one of Oregon’s more famous city’s, Lincoln City. We planned to visit the Side door cafe once we land. The runway sits north – south and the wind favors runway 35. After we land we park at the tie down area. The airport doesn’t offer any services or have an FBO. Google maps showed we would exit the airport on road. Walk down 101 a bit, then be at the restaurant. We bring the little dudes bike and the Tula carrier to navigate the distance. To our surprise there is a set of steps that takes you straight to the restaurant and you only have to cross 101 and not walk along it. This is awesome as major roads are normally a limiting factor with small kids getting places without a car.

The food and lunch at side door was hands down the best meals we have had in a long time. The restaurant has tall ceilings and lots of colorful art and plants around. The waitress is very attentive and gets the little dudes order in right away. We order the clams, and the crab blt and crab melt. All of the food was the best quality and so much crab. It was almost like too much crab on the sanwhiches.

After lunch we walk to the beach. We’re hoping to fly a kite, but it is not windy!! We also got a later start then we were hoping and are running out of daylight. We used the world mark hotel to access the beach. And it looked like a great place to stay.

Our first $100 hamburger trip with plane girl is complete. But it was more $100 crab sandwiches. We were so impressed how easy the access was to the restaurants and the beach, next time we come, we will stay the night!