Man Oh Manzanita

We spent this last weekend in the wonderful little beach town of Manzanita, just south of Cannon Beach at the base of Neahkanie Mountain. With seven miles of beach to stroll, good friends to hang with and a house that allows dogs, it was about as close to heaven as a weekend can get. The weather even semi-cooperated, with sun beaming down on Friday and Sunday, and enough rain breaks on Saturday to allow a bit of walking and shopping.

The house, one of several properties managed by Ocean Edge Specialty Rentals, was big enough for six people and two dogs and, even though it was set back from the beach a block, still had a nice view of the ocean from the second floor that contained the living room, kitchen and deck. Sharing the cost betwen two families made it affordable, and the fact that our friends are terrific cooks and like good wine just made it all the better.

On Saturday we took a break from reading and napping to go into town for a little shopping and stopped into Syzygy, a little clothing and shoe shop that would be comfortable in any Portland neighborhood. Just down the street is a small game store, Overboard Games, the perfect place to find the perfect game for those rainy beach days. It's owned by Olga, a fellow blogger and extremely nice person, shown here with her pal Malfi. They've got a huge variety of games from classics like Boggle and Uno to recent releases from independent game creators.

Then there's always a stop at Manzanita News and Espresso to browse their periodicals and have a cup of java. This was an outpost of coolness when I first went to Manzanita decades ago and since then it has been joined by many other retailers and restaurants, but Manzanita still has that small beach town feeling that will always put it at the top of the list when we need to get outta Dodge.

Details: Ocean Edge Specialty Rentals, 330 Laneda Ave; phone toll-free 866-368-3343 (if you call, tell them GoodStuff sent you). Syzygy, 447 Laneda Ave., #2; phone 503-368-7573. Overboard Games, 457 Laneda Ave.; phone 503-368-4873. Manzanita News and Espresso, 500 Laneda Ave.; phone 503-368-7450.