I want to see the ocean again

[pinkytoe]

I am feeling land-locked and want to see the ocean so thinking about planning a late September birthday trip for a week or so. Not too people-y, great seafood. I have been to the northwest and gulf coasts but never anywhere else. Budget is negotiable. Just looking for some ideas to get the ball rolling.

[iris lilies]

Oregon coast.

Newport, Roseburg, etc.

bae’s neck of the woods will show you plenty of ocean too.

[Tradd]

I am feeling land-locked and want to see the ocean so thinking about planning a late September birthday trip for a week or so. Not too people-y, great seafood. I have been to the northwest and gulf coasts but never anywhere else. Budget is negotiable. Just looking for some ideas to get the ball rolling.

I don't remember where you live, but what about the Great Lakes? They're the inland seas.

[pinkytoe]

I'm in Colorado but this will be a bit of a splurge trip so either US coast or maybe Mexico/Costa Rica.

[catherine]

Maine.

Tybee can weigh in here, but I was just in Maine with my grandson/DD/DSIL

I think it fits your criteria of.not too people-y and great seafood, especially if you like lobster rolls!



https://visitmaine.com/places-to-go/...s%20and…

[Tybee]

We stayed here and liked it:

Official - Colonial Gables Guest Rooms & Cottages on Belfast, Maine Coast

but as you can see, in Maine, this is considered oceanfront, which is a problem for me, what they call oceanfront here.

I grew up with Georgia and Florida sandy beaches, then South Carolina sandy beaches as an adult, so that would be my preference for a beach vacation in September. It is hurricane season so I would not go to Mexico, but I would risk Georgia or South Carolina.

In Beaufort, SC you could get to Hunting Island State Park which is right past the island where we used to live. Or you could also drive down to Hilton Head or Tybee for a change of venue.

Maine is very scenic, and people love Arcadia Park, and September is a good time to go. And of course there is lobster!!

Beaufort and Sea Island are more about shrimp. Culturally, very different places. If you like to swim in the ocean, be aware that great whites have killed people at Hunting Island and in Maine, now, as well. There is a good doc about this on Cape Cod that I just watched, can't remember the name. But it explains it really well and how they are dealing with the dangers. As recently as 10 years ago, when we lived near Hunting Island, there had been no deaths from Great Whites.

[iris lilies]

I don’t think there’s much beach on the Oregon coast so if you want sand in between your toes, probably that’s not the experience. But I just remember being in Newport looking down on the ocean. Hardly anyone around. And I don’t know about the quality of the seafood. It probably isn’t great.

[pinkytoe]

We stayed in Yachats OR a decade ago. The Oregon coast is beautiful but I recall climbing down steep rocky terrain to get to the sand. Maine sounds intriguing.

[Tybee]

We stayed in Yachats OR a decade ago. The Oregon coast is beautiful but I recall climbing down steep rocky terrain to get to the sand. Maine sounds intriguing.

The beaches here remind me of Oregon beaches because there is a lock of rock and a lot of climbing down steep rocky terrain. The Bar Harbor beaches look good:
Bar Harbor Beaches - Acadia Region Beaches

There are sand beaches at Ogonquit and some near Portland but they are very crowded and extremely pricey. All of Maine is insanely pricey, actually.

My brother lives on an island off of Portland and people go there for beaches--you have to go on a ferry to get to it. And the beaches there are rocky, too, for the most part. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.

If you like body surfing which I used to like in SC, I don't know where you could do that in Maine. My dil had to get a wetsuit for my granddaughter because she is very thin and the water is so cold she was turning blue.

But scenery here is gorgeous to look at, that's for sure.

[nswef]

I always felt that the Great Lakes were not the OCEAN, but they have tides, some waves and sandy beaches. What I liked best was when you came out of the water, the sand just comes off easily, unlike our Maryland ocean beaches where sand sticks to EVERYPLACE on your body! We were on Lake Michigan and loved it, the color, the tide and the gentleness- this was in late august. We didn't swim, though. I don't do much swimming any more...and now when we go to Ocean City we just watch the ocean from the boardwalk like old people! Main water is frigid! Again, went in September, went up to my knees and could not breathe from the cold! It was a state park beach and no climbing down. Some of the Maine beaches have sea walls with ladders to climb down at low tide...