Clam chowder and a warm fire

Can I let you in on a secret? In January, on the Oregon Coast, it’s probably raining. This makes it a great time to hit the beach for a rainy but beautiful walk, then grab some clam chowder from Mo’s and hunker down by the fireplace (all of Keystone’s vacation rentals have fireplaces in the condo).

Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, make your own clam chowder. If you don’t have a personal favorite, we love Alton Brown’s. Buy your fresh seafood from Barnacle Bill’s Seafood Market and bring the rest from home or one of Lincoln City’s several convenient grocery stores. Keystone’s oceanfront condos all have gourmet kitchens ready for you to whip up your culinary delights.

The Sand Dollar (pictured), located at the Pacific Winds complex in Lincoln City, still has January and February availability. Call us at 503-443-1414 or book online today!

Holiday Traditions

When I was growing up, my family stayed in a vacation rental a few different years. (It wasn’t the Oregon Coast, but we did live on the coast, so going inland was a big deal.) We only went a few years, but the memories are lasting – taking a tree with us to set up, enjoying hot chocolate and the fireplace, and activities that we couldn’t do at home (in our case snow, in this case the beach).

As a parent, I’m creating traditions for my own family. Hot chocolate and a fireplace still play a prominent role. And fortunately, those can go with us when we decide to take our holidays on the road.  Christmas pajamas and opening a present are more good traditions.

What holiday traditions does your family have? Are you creating new traditions this year with Keystone? 

Christmas Shopping in Lincoln City

With the Christmas season already here and many people beginning their holiday shopping, we thought it would be helpful to write a few posts about the shops and places we love to find the perfect gifts.

For guests who will be staying in one of our Lincoln City vacation condos, the Tanger Outlets are a must-shop location for great deals and a wide selection of gifts.  Open daily starting at 10 am, shoppers can find everything from Aeropostale to the Nike Factory Store and Bath & Body Works.

For those looking to add to the already discounted prices offered by the outlet stores, the Tanger Outlet website is an ideal resource for finding coupons and sales offers.

If you are curious as to whether your favorite store is at this location, check out the store directory & map here.

For more information about available vacation rentals in Lincoln City, visit Keystone at www.KeystoneVacationsOregon.com

Cooking in a Vacation Condo

One of the many benefits of vacationing in a condo is the kitchen. Many of Keystone Vacation Rental’s properties have luxury kitchens complete with stainless steel and granite.

At the same time, it is a vacation, and most of us probably don’t want to slave all day in the kitchen. We are compiling a list of our favorite tips on cooking in vacation condos. Check them out on our Pinterest board, Cooking in a Vacation Condo.

Our staff’s favorite tip so far:

Bring freezer meals. Do most of the cooking at home, and use the condo kitchen to cook and serve already prepared foods. You can also buy a prepared freezer or refrigerated meals for an easy alternative that is still cheaper than eating out. (We love Costco for these stock-ups, although you’ll need to plan ahead as there isn’t one in Lincoln City.) Want a list of make-at-home foods that are proven to pack well and please the family? This article, from LifeasMom.com, is a great starting point.

Fogarty Creek State Park

As a child, I remember my parents taking me to the coast time and time again and out of those many trips one particular beach was always been a top contender for ‘favorite spot on the coast’. It’s name, Fogarty Creek. About a half mile from our Village at North Pointe condos, this cove is perfect for travelers of all ages as it offers sand, surf, a creek and a large rock to climb up.

Out of curiosity I did some research about the park and how it got its name.  Below is an article written by Niki Price that I thought was informative and shed some light on Fogarty Creek’s history.

John  J. Fogarty was a distinguished judge, a businessman and a Lincoln County pioneer. He might have liked a county building, a courthouse or  even a scholarship to bear his name. Instead, Fogarty has been  memorialized by a waterway, and then a state park, at the very spot  where he fell, fully clothed, into the creek.

That place is Fogarty Creek State Recreation Area, on Hwy. 101 just north of Depoe Bay. A favorite rest stop since the 1950s, this Oregon State Park is carved  from a forest of spruce, hemlock, pine and alder, and offers a covered  gazebo and wind-sheltered picnic tables. Two paths, one on either side  of the creek, lead under the highway to a small ocean cove. In the  center is a formation that is commonly called Rabbit Rock, which at high  tide provides spouting horns and wave wonders, and at low tide can even  be climbed.

It’s a playground for wildlife, too. The Oregon Coast  Birding Trail marks Fogarty Creek as a good place to spot winter wren,  song sparrow, dark-eyed junco, spotted towhee and hairy woodpecker,  throughout the year. Migrants include a number of warblers, like the  Wilson’s and the hermit. For the past five years, a conveniently open  snag on the south side of the cove has been home to a nesting pair of  bald eagles. Down in the rocks, in the intertidal zone, wander gulls,  sanderlings and black oystercatchers. Beachwalkers, and patrons at the  neighboring Surfrider Resort, see harbor seals resting on Rabbit Rock, or seal pups resting on the beach.

The  cove is popular with anglers casting for surf perch, and for  rockhounds, searching the gravelly beds for agates. During minus tides,  the mudstone beds to the north become beautifully sculpted tidepools  that give way to mussels, starfish, limpets and anemones (the next set  of very low tides will begin around 4 p.m. Feb. 15). And then there are  the derelict picnic tables, which some ambitious folks lugged to the  beach but apparently forgot to drag back. Today, one lies tilted in the  creek along with the drift logs. It has all the necessary amenities,  except one: the bronze plaque, or even the painted sign, that tells the  steady stream of visitors about John J. Fogarty. He was born in  Ireland, in 1852. After the death of his father, the young John and his  mother immigrated to the United States. He lived in Indiana, Ohio and  California before settling in Oregon in 1884. Fogarty purchased a tract  of land in South Beach, near the present location of the Newport  Municipal Airport.

From 1906 to 1910, he served on the Lincoln  County Commission, and later served as a judge of the circuit court.  Fogarty died in 1923, but left behind several children. His ancestors  are still listed in the Lincoln County phone book, and some may even  live on Fogarty Street, in Newport.

According to “Pioneer History of North Lincoln County,” compiled by the  North Lincoln Pioneer and Historical Association in 1951, the waterway  between Lincoln Beach and Depoe Bay was originally known as Salmon  Creek.

Then, one Sunday in 1903, “Mr. Fogarty, then a county  commissioner, came wearing his Sunday clothes to look over a possible  site for a bridge across the creek. He lost his footing and had to take  an ‘unscheduled swim.’ The other homesteaders wouldn’t let John Fogarty  forget his ducking, and began calling the creek by his name.”

Then  again, perhaps a plaque could wait. Another version of the story, told  much later in a magazine, says Judge Fogarty fell off his horse into the  water. One more, graciously located for the TODAY by Anne Hall,  director of the North Lincoln County Historical Museum, has evidence  that the judge was looking for a place to build a cabin, rather than a  bridge. But the jist is the same.

“He was wearing his best clothes  at the time, and according to his son, his friends and neighbors thought  it was funny and never let him forget it. That’s why they began calling  the creek ‘Fogarty Creek,’” Hall wrote last week.

There’s yet  another story, found among references as respected as “Oregon Geographic  Names,” that contends it was not the judge, but his son (also called  John, but who was generally called Jack Fogarty, or Captain Jack) who  made the splash.

Sounds like the plaque might have to wait. But  maybe it’s a fitting lineage for a place that is so full of fun. When we  asked the Oregon Coast TODAY Facebook community for input, they  responded with stories of weddings, picnics and family vacations. One  reader reminded us that the beach picnic and football scene in  “Sometimes a Great Notion” was filmed there in 1969.

Tamara Merry  had a memorable first date at Fogarty Creek, more than 20 years ago.  They were looking at the waves, feeling romantic, when a hail storm  suddenly erupted.

“We ran as fast as we could for cover, and I  slipped and slid all over the little bridge there. I was soaking wet and  extremely embarrassed, but hid my embarrassment with laughter. To this  day, my wonderful husband of almost 16 years says that’s when he ‘fell’  for me!” And somewhere, from out in the ether of coastal history, Judge Fogarty chuckled.

More information about this article can be found at http://www.oregoncoasttoday.com/fogartycreek.html

Thanksgiving at the Oregon Coast

Thanksgiving kicks off one of the most celebrated holiday seasons of the year.  Year after year many families travel to the Oregon Coast to visit family, see friends or just unwind and relax.  For those who will be making the trip or the families that may be still be giving it some thought, here are some activities you may be interested in.

  • On November 29th – Thanksgiving Holiday Special Glass Art Drop (part of Finders Keepers) of 100 hand-crafted glass art pieces – floats, sand dollars or crabs – along the 7.5 miles of Lincoln City beaches, weather and ocean conditions permitting. FMI 800-452-2151
  • Community Tree Lighting Celebration (November 29th) at the Lincoln City Cultural Center. Lighted tree, choir music, refreshments, make-and-take ornaments and a visit from Santa!
  • Whale of a Christmas in Depoe Bay (December 7th) – Amidst festive decorations and carolers, the Depoe Bay Christmas tree is lit. Join us for this truly magical event.
  • Johnny Wheels & The Lincoln City Rollers (November 30th) at 9:00 PM at the Snug Harbor Bar and Grill

Keystone Vacation Rentals hopes everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Top Five Fall Things to Do on the Oregon Coast

1. Walks on the beach. Beach access is a short 75 yards from our oceanfront condos.

2. Storm watching. Storms are the perfect time to get some great ocean photos.

3. Participate in local events, such as the Italian Fall Harvest Demo class at the Lincoln City Cultural Center

4. Whale watching from the patio or balcony of your luxury oceanfront condo in Lincoln City or Depoe Bay.

5. Holiday shopping. Chose from the Tanger Outlets, local antique stores, art galleries and more.

This Halloween, take the Eeeeeeko Tour

Oregon Coast ghost legends about. October is the perfect month to take the self-guided Eeeeeeko Tour. The tour includes restaurants, private homes, cemeteries a museum and the inevitable coastal shipwreck sites.

Note: Keystone Vacation Rentals oceanfront luxury condos are all certified ghost free refuges.

 

 

Lincoln City Kite Festival

Looking for fun things to do on the Oregon Coast this fall? Check out the annual fall Lincoln City Kite Festival on October 5-6.

Join the adult’s or kid’s kite making workshops (the kid’s workshop is free!), watch the big show kites, win raffle prizes, enjoy a parade and more.

Need a place to stay? Enjoy the Kite Festival along with the many amenities of our beautiful oceanfront condos in Lincoln City, OR.