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Michael J. Moss

  • Karma: +0/-0
on the Road to Bandon
« on: May 09, 2003, 07:18:38 AM »
My wife and I live in Beautiful White Plains, NY. We're celebrating 20 years of wedded bliss ;D (so far without parole) by visiting Vancouver and Seattle, both for the first time. After which, we're driving down to Bandon for three days of golf. (Because I belive this forum would endorse it, we've booked two rounds at pacific Dunes and one at Bandon ???.)

In early july, with two days to make the journey, are there any must do or sees on the road to Bandon? If the answer is cow tipping, I'm going to be disappointed. Also, assuming I sold my entire NASD portfolio when the index was 5000, (give or take a point) what lodging decisions should we make. (No motels wanted where they'll "keep the lights on for you," unless they have an Original Pancake House next door.)

Any suggestions would be appreciated.    
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Jonathan Cummings

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2003, 07:27:19 AM »
Hurry to Bandon and play PD/BD more!
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Norbert P

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2003, 09:39:27 AM »
 I remember going to Butchart Gardens as a kid (in Vancouver,BC) and thought that was pretty special.  

  If you have the time, you may consider driving down the entire Oregon coastline on hiway 101.  It will add a day to travel but it's a memorable drive.  

  Drop me an Instant Message with any plans you may have.  

  Enjoy your visit,   Norbert of Oregon

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
"Golf is only meant to be a small part of one’s life, centering around health, relaxation and having fun with friends/family." R"C"M

Raymond

Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2003, 10:07:55 AM »
I agree with Slag. Take the 2 days you are driving to Bandon as a road trip along the Coast. It's just about the right amount of time. A good midway point after your first day would be the Seaside/Cannon Beach area. July is a busy time on the Oregon/Washington Coast so you might want to make hotel accomodations rather quickly. The Stephanie Inn in Cannon Beach is a wonderful, Romantic hotel on the beach that you both would enjoy for your anniversary (1-800-633-3466). I hope that number works from your area.
One caveat to Slag's suggestion, Butchart Gardens is in Victoria, on Vancouver Island not in the city of Vancouver.
If you need any other info feel free to ask.

Ray
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Michael J. Moss

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2003, 10:29:38 AM »
Thanks Raymond and Slag,

It was suggested that I try to find time to play a course near the Oregon coast called Astoria Golf and Country Club.  It was designed in 1923 by Chandler Egan, an architect with whom I am not familiar. I hear, though, that it is "different."

What kind of guestimate can you give on the time it will take to drive from the Stephanie to Bandon.

Again, thanks for the tip.  
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Raymond

Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #5 on: May 09, 2003, 10:38:29 AM »
Astoria CC is a wonderful course on the North Oregon Coast. It's very reminiscent of the Scotland/Ireland classics. It is a private club though, so you will need to make the appropriate arrangements. It is just up the coast from Cannon Beach. Bandon from Cannon Beach would be a nice, leisurely 5-6 hour drive down the Coast.

Ray
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

W.H. Cosgrove

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #6 on: May 09, 2003, 10:44:43 AM »
I concur on attempting to play at Astoria. Astoria put the Q in quirky.  It is worth the trip to see the third fairway.  

You might want to consider staying at Salishan lodge.  I don't reccomend the golf course but the rooms are nice.  The Oregon Coast is simply a trip that should be savored.  Take your time.  Pull out at the view points and keep your temper if stuck behind a motor home.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

JohnV

Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #7 on: May 09, 2003, 10:45:00 AM »
Since you sound like someone who is interested in more than just golf on this trip, unlike most of the golf nerds on this site (I include myself in that somtimes), I wouldn't rush to Bandon for an extra round or two.  

I would skip the Washington coast.   Most of the drive is very boring through factory forests and you don't get too near the ocean along the way.  From Seattle, take I-5 and go over to see the Mt. St. Helens area then drive down to Portland and spend the night at one of the boutique hotels in town.  Try the Heathman or the Alexis.  Go to Higgins restauarant which is within walking distance of both of them.  For breakfast ask how to get to the real Original Pancake House, it is about 5 miles south of downtown.  The next day cut over to the coast.  Take Highway 26 to Seaside and then go south stopping in Cannon Beach and on Neakanie Mountain to look down at Manzanita.  Visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  If you have a spare hour or two, take the 3 Capes scenic tour just outside of Tillamook.

A very good hotel about 3 or 4 hours north of Bandon is the Salishan Lodge.  Very nice accomodations and an excellent restaurant.  It is just south of Lincoln City in Gleneden Beach.  It has a fun golf course.  Check out the art galleries around Yachats.  As you continue south to Bandon make sure you go by Tommy Naccarato's favorite Oregon course, Sandpines (quickly). ;)

Take your time and stop and smell the roses along the way.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Norbert P

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #8 on: May 09, 2003, 10:45:45 AM »
 www.MapQuest.com   is handy and fun and won't get you lost like my suggestions would do.  Yes, Butchart is on Vic Island.  My bad.  I was little when I went.

 Astoria GC (semi-private) has a good write-up in Brad Klein's "Rough Meditations".  Huge ridge-dunes.  I hope to play it this year.  Also Gearhart Links (oldest golf course in American West - 1892) is just down the road and is a lot of fun. Yes, a true links but morphed by 110 years of the loose hand of man.  

 H. Chandler Egan did some (major) work on Pebble Beach.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
"Golf is only meant to be a small part of one’s life, centering around health, relaxation and having fun with friends/family." R"C"M

W.H. Cosgrove

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #9 on: May 09, 2003, 10:49:43 AM »
One more idea.  

I suggest you call the 'O' Canada House in Vancouver.  http://www.ocanadahouse.com.  

I don't generally like B&B's but this one is special.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Michael J. Moss

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #10 on: May 09, 2003, 11:11:48 AM »
Cos, JohnV et al.,

Many thanks for the recommendations.  The whole key to the trip is the Original Pancake House- in particular the "49er Flapjacks," a breakfast dish unparalleled in the east. ;D
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Andrew_Roberts

Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #11 on: May 09, 2003, 11:13:13 AM »
If you have time to take a day trip to Victoria, take it and go and see Butchart gardens and shop downtown.  
Also in Vancouver is the Capilano suspension bridge.  

Seattle sucks and don't drive during rush hour.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

JohnV

Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #12 on: May 09, 2003, 11:19:37 AM »
Andrew, Seattle isn't bad if you stay at the Edgewater Motel and fish out your window. ;)

Mud Sh-sh-shark

THE MUD SHARK DANCING LESSON!

Lemme tell you 'bout the Mud Shark...
The origins of the Mud Shark are as follows: There's a motel in
Seattle, Washington called the Edgewater Inn. The Edgewater Inn's
built on a pier.. so that means that when you look out your window
you don't see any dirt -- it's got a bay or something out in your
backyard,,, And to make it even more interesting, in the lobby of
the aforementioned motel there's a bait and tackle shop where the
residents can go down whenever they want to, and rent a fishing pole
and some preserved minnows and schlep back up to their rooms, open
the window, stick their little pole outside and within a few minutes
actually catch a fish of some sort that they can bring into their
motel room and do whatever they want with it... you know what I
mean? Now in this bay there's quite a variety of ah... fish! Not
only do they have mud sharks up there, they got little octopusses
that you can catch. And all these denizens of the deep can come in
real handy... Let's say you were a travelling Rock and Roll band
called the Vanilla Fudge. Let's say one night you checked into the
Edgewater Inn Motel with a 8mm movie camera, enough money to rent a
pole, and just to make it more interesting -- a succulent young lady
(Mnaaaah!) with a taste for the bizarre... My mind drifts back to a
meeting, a chance meeting in the Chicago O'Hare Airport where the
members of the Vanilla Fudge told Don Preston about a home movie
they made at the Edgewater Inn with a Mud Shark. I'm gonna tell you,
this dance, the Mud Shark, is sweeping the ocean!...

Out
You go out
So far out
You do the Mud Shark. baby ... etc
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Andrew_Roberts

Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #13 on: May 09, 2003, 11:29:24 AM »
JohnV,
It is if you live here.

It's not that bad,  Snoqualmie Falls is a great place to go.  So is Mt. Rainier.  
I would also suggest to you Herman is to drive the Oregon Coast.  It might be slow but it is breathtaking.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

George_Bahto

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #14 on: May 09, 2003, 11:37:26 AM »
Mike - have a good time - don't fall off the edges of the fairways - itz a blast and keep the ball low!

don't get lost in the "city" of Bandon - itz confusing

gb
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
If a player insists on playing his maximum power on his tee-shot, it is not the architect's intention to allow him an overly wide target to hit to but rather should be allowed this privilege of maximum power except under conditions of exceptional skill.
   Wethered & Simpson

Tommy_Naccarato

Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #15 on: May 09, 2003, 11:50:20 AM »
All great suggestions really, although some more accurate facts on Astoria.

1-H. Chandler Egan had nothing to do with Astoria. The honor recipient belongs to one of its founding members, George Junor, who had the foresight back in 1911 to forgo another architects plans of cutting into the dunes--a high priced plan for a club that had virtually no money; and instead using the dunes to their fullest, creating some of the quirkiest golf in the world. Hail-hail to Brad Klein for giving Astoria G & CC the world prominence it deserves amongst golf course afficianado's throughout the world. It's that---FUN and interesting, and exciting! You won't find the most interesting bunker work in the world or even Oregon at Astoria. You will find a course that plays off of every feature of these close-knitted dunes and it is a roller-coaster ride from beginning to end.

2--Tillamook Cheese Factory is a must.

3--Stop by Yachats and see some of the most pristine linksland left in America that could feature two of the Games greatest courses of all-time, given it was in the right hands. (Thus meaning that someone hit both John Fought and Peter Jacobsen over the head with a Maxwell's Silver Hammer immediately)

4--Visit the wonderful seaside town of Florence. It is one of my personal favorite places to vacation in this world. I mean this. I have so many wonderful family memories of this place, it brings tears to my eyes, BUT--If the subject of Golf comes up, more specifically the name Sandpines--Golf on the Oregon Dunes, make sure you also get a list of local dentists that are blacklisted from performing anywhere else in the country and are known to do work without the use of novacaine. You serve yourself a better chance of enjoyment having a tooth or two pulled then visiting and having to see the disgust of Modern American Golf's Greatest Wasted Opportunity.

Vanilla Fudge? ? ? I think I partied with them once at the Continental Riot (Hyatt) House!



« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Andrew_Roberts

Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #16 on: May 09, 2003, 12:02:19 PM »
I agree with Tommy that the Tillamook cheese factory is a must.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Michael J. Moss

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #17 on: May 09, 2003, 12:09:28 PM »
Tommy and George,

GCA is the greatest. It's a golfing Frommer's. Thanks for the help. I feel I can't go wrong. All I need is more time.

George,  just so you know- I've solved the problem with wind in your face- I now hit grounders!

P.S. Played Sleepy Hollow recently. I've still yet to hit the down-hill, par-3 reverse-Redan. I do like that hole, though. I can't recognize any of the classic MacDonald "greatest holes" out there.  I know Tillinghast showed up on the scene later but did I miss them? I forget what you said in the Evangelist.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

JohnV

Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #18 on: May 09, 2003, 12:15:31 PM »
When you go to the Cheese Factory, you have to get the cheese curds.  They squeak when you bite them.  Then there is the ice cream... ;D

Andrew, my ex-wife is from Seattle and I spent 6 months there working with Craig Edgmand so I know a little about it.  Seattle is ok as long as you don't have to drive a car any time between midnight and 11:59 PM.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Andrew_Roberts

Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #19 on: May 09, 2003, 12:20:49 PM »
I also agree with you John, that Seattle is okay if you don't have to drive and if you don't mind living in the Socialist Capital of America. :) :) :)
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Pete_Pittock

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #20 on: May 09, 2003, 12:40:46 PM »
The original Original Pancake House is in Portland on SW Barbur Blvd @24th St.

A new aircraft museum in McMinnville contains Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose.

Take two hours and drive from Portland up the Columbia Gorge on the old highway.

In Coos Bay area take time to drive out past Charelston to Sunset Bay to Shore Acres.

Lighthouses.  
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Eric Pevoto

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #21 on: May 09, 2003, 01:01:31 PM »
Nice one, John V!  That, I believe, must be the first Zappa reference on GCA.  

As for Washington, I spent a weekend in Steilacoom (sp?) and on Anderson Island.  Not bad.

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
There's no home cooking these days.  It's all microwave.Bill Kittleman

Golf doesn't work for those that don't know what golf can be...Mike Nuzzo

Billsteele

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: on the Road to Bandon
« Reply #22 on: May 10, 2003, 09:45:25 AM »
The Edgewater story has several variations but the most famous (or infamous) involves Led Zeppelin...not Vanilla Fudge.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »