Now, usually when someone tells you they spent the holidays at “the beach,” you picture them slathered in sunscreen, lounging under a palm tree on a stretch of dazzling white sand lapped by warm, brilliant blue waters. Surely, that lucky soul traded icy winds and frigid temperatures for some tropical location like Maui, the Bahamas, maybe Phuket or Bora-Bora. However, if you and your conversational companion are from the Pacific Northwest, you’re equally as likely to understand (and still envy) that your friend spent time at the Oregon or Washington coast. Yes, we residents who enjoy our “liquid sunshine” and are reputed to have webbed feet (or, at the very least, moss growing between our toes) relish our time at the beach, no matter the time of year.

For the past few years, my husband and I and two other couples have enjoyed several days over the New Year’s weekend at the northern Oregon coast, and we’ve been blessed with clear, sunny skies; light winds; and briskly chilly temperatures. We rent a large, comfortable home within a short stroll of the ocean and make sure it’s equipped with at least one large, cable-connected TV (because, of course, football!!); a roomy, modern kitchen; and space for us all to gather or find a cozy corner in which to curl up with a good book.

This year we found a duplex in the charming, artsy community of Cannon Beach. The town stretches along the coastline whose most prominent and well-known feature is Haystack Rock,   a 235-foot-tall sea stack whose tide pools make for fascinating explorations at low tide. The town features plenty of art galleries, boutiques, cafés and coffee shops, a bookstore and bakery or two, the ubiquitous salt water taffy and fudge shop and a few brew pubs and wine shops. They offer plenty of entertainment if it’s a little too raw along the water, and I’ve always also enjoyed strolling the side streets, taking in all the charming old weather-beaten cottages and larger, stately coastal homes. I get a kick out of the funky architectural oddities and whimsical decorative touches that make each place, large or small, unique and special.

Cannon Beach, OR

Although we did have a few heavy showers pass through — including a bout of snow and freezing rain — each day offered at least a few hours of sunshine and calm winds when we hit the beach for some soul-satisfying wave gazing and beach combing.   And, because this is Oregon, we were joined by lots of other hearty Northwesterners, nearly all of whom, it seemed, had at least one canine companion with them. Recent storms had washed up enormous tangles of bull kelp, attracting the interest of dog and human alike. On New Year’s Day morning we witnessed one intrepid (crazy?) gentleman who, after trying to entice his dog to join him (“Hey, man, I love those treats you give me, but I’m not that nuts about you!”), made what we guessed was his annual — and solo — “polar bear plunge.” (At around 42 degrees, the ocean was at least 10 degrees warmer than the air temperature.)

Each evening we witnessed stunning sunsets,  watching for nearly an hour as the light faded, the colors in the sky and reflected on the wet sand deepened, and a slender new moon guarded by a glistening star brightened overhead.  Those moments of deep peace and beauty, juxtaposed with the warmth and laughter of friendship shared, presented a most gracious, harmonious start to 2017.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor