Notes

A Castle on Oregon's Coast
Oregon's coastline is full of tricks: veiled surprises and pleasures, private, deserted beaches and concealed gems peppering the towns in the form of lodgings or eateries.
Possibly the most stunning secret on all of Oregon's coast lies simply outside of the art and culture mecca of Cannon Beach, on the north coast. There's a castle a bit south of town, hidden behind the walls of trees just north of the Arch Cape Tunnel. You can end up being king and queen here, at this insanely romantic area that smacks of something between the Bavarian castle that influenced Disneyland's signature structure and the Oregon ski lodge featured in "The Shining."
St. Bernard's Bed & Breakfast is a amazing and sophisticated building peppered with artistic information, consisting of 7 striking guestrooms filled with antiques, stunning home furnishings and a sense of the Victorian merged with modern-day grace.
On one specific night in April, I get to St. Bernard's near to 8:30 p.m., and it's pitch black. I've been here prior to a couple of times and seen bits of it, but for the first time I park in back, finding the charming strings of lights in the garden and on the walls, in addition to the two deer figures made from light bulbs. 부산op I stop to gawk and stare at these, and at the archway going through the building, half anticipating to see a member of some royal household show up in a carriage and be ushered out by some servant.
Inside the huge front door, owner Barbara Dau welcomes me in and up the snaking, stone stairway into the living-room. Here, chandeliers and stylish furniture inhabit the area, with a clever little rounded nook in one corner - certainly part of the "tower." In the early nights, Barbara hosts "social hours" for the guests here, featuring white wine and friendship in front of the fireplace.
I show up far too late for this, of course, but Barbara informs me these can sometimes be dynamic and fun-packed, while at other times none of the visitors appear at all. It's a no-pressure occasion, and with amazing beaches simply a block away - who can blame them? Just throughout the street are the beautiful, immaculate sands of Arch Cape, a small unincorporated neighborhood which includes one store and a smattering of houses. In front of it sits a stunning stretch of beach that runs for miles to the north, while instantly to the south hovers a craggy basalt cliff, where access to a wild and unusual rocky cove is occasionally approved by low tides.
The rooms at St. Bernard's Bed & Breakfast are jaw dropping - at the really least. The "Ginger" ($179) includes blue and white materials, oriental ginger jars and a love seat, with a king size bed from Austria. In "Gaugin" ($169) there's a comfortable window seat, a cool tub, muted pastels of a queen and the artist size bed.
My space was the "Tapestry" ($209), with an extraordinary economy size bed, engaging tapestries on the wall and floor, a big French armoire, and huge soaking tub that screams honeymoon hangout. There's a curious little reading nook with a stained glass ceiling, and the TV comes encased in a charming replica of a castle.
In the evening, the ocean was the only sound you heard: relaxing and calming beyond belief.
In the morning, I observe the window (ironically) looks straight out to a view of Castle Rock - simply offshore from Arch Cape.
Morning also means a luscious, premium, house cooked meal prepared by Dau herself. Dau was a chemist in her former life in Chicago, and joked that meal making should be an extension of that part of chemists that like to cook things. (Given this castle ambiance, I laugh to myself and picture her in a laboratory coat, cackling maniacally as she works up a meal while lighting thunders all around).
Visitors sit together in the beautiful atrium-like dining-room, where they get and talk to know each other. I sat with a young couple from Portland and another older couple from Michigan who have actually been regulars given that the place began in 1995. In fact, they were amongst the very first visitors in its very first 2 weeks.
Besides these various, remarkable facilities, St. Bernard's offers gift certificates. Dau likewise uses wedding plans that accommodate up to 60 people and her signature, marvelous cooking.
Other tempting components of this location consist of more secret beaches simply to the south and north. Its most intriguing landmark is a portion of road blasted out of a basalt promontory - a residue of when the beaches were the only genuine highway the coastal area had, back around 1910.
St. Bernard's Bed & Breakfast is on East Ocean Rd., simply north of the Arch Cape Tunnel. www.st-bernards.com. 800-436-2848.
For more on this region see www.beachconnection.net/vtour_cbeach.htm.

Possibly the most sensational secret on all of Oregon's coast lies just outdoors of the art and culture capital of Cannon Beach, on the north coast. There's a castle a bit south of town, concealed behind the walls of trees simply north of the Arch Cape Tunnel. You can end up being king and queen here, at this remarkably romantic area that smacks of something between the Bavarian castle that influenced Disneyland's signature structure and the Oregon ski lodge featured in "The Shining."
(Given this castle ambiance, I laugh to myself and imagine her in a laboratory coat, babbling maniacally as she whips up a meal while lighting thunders all around).
St. Bernard's Bed & Breakfast is on East Ocean Rd., simply north of the Arch Cape Tunnel.
Website: https://rentry.co/so2uo