4A • May 11, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
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SEASIDE VISITORS BUREAU
A train emblazoned with the Seaside logo makes its way through Portland.
Seaside flies under the radar no more
B
arely had the ink dried on
my column last month about
out-of-town news alerts and
digital traffic-getting listicles
when international honors fell to
the city of Seaside — and rather
unexpectedly at that.
The lists are “Best Summer
Vacations” and “Best Summer Vaca-
tions in the U.S.”
U.S. News Travel considered
cities, parks, beaches and small
towns around the world and in this
country, measuring “affordability,
weather and variety of things to do
plus traveler and expert sentiment.”
According to the rankings, Paris,
France is the world’s No. 1 summer
vacation list, followed by Florence,
Italy; Boston, Massachusetts; and
Dublin, Ireland. Seaside, Oregon,
is fifth. I mean, we’re talking about
Paris, the City of Lights, and Seaside,
the city of surreys and fried clams.
In the rankings limited to “Best
Summer Vacations in the USA,”
Seaside is even higher, second
behind Boston and ahead of Steam-
boat Springs, Colorado; Nashville,
Tennessee; and yes, Portland,
Oregon.
In ranking 700 destination cities,
parks, beaches and small towns,
U.S. News Travel measured afford-
ability, weather and variety of things
to do plus traveler and “expert
sentiment.”
Seaside is described as a relaxing
resort town and “beloved West
Coast getaway for families.”
Popular activities include biking,
hiking and canoeing “and relaxing
on the wide, sandy beach,” they
write. “Seaside also boasts a tasty
local food scene that spotlights sea-
food, street food and more.”
Selling Seaside
The recognition was announced
by Jon Rahl, Seaside’s director of
Best summer
vacations…
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
… in the USA
tourism marketing, at the April 23
City Council meeting.
“Quite the pretty cool company
that Seaside got,” Rahl said.
City Councilor Steve Wright
added: “I think we can all agree this
is a pretty big deal.”
Much of the reason why Seaside
is on a list with the world’s finest
cities is attributable to Rahl himself.
Rahl — recently named assistant
city manager — has done a world-
class job of focusing the city’s
tourism resources and projecting
them to a wider market via print,
television and social media.
All you have to do is look at the
brightly lettered Portland light-rail
trains seductively whispering “Sea-
side,” with dazzling pastel imagery
of seahorses, carousels, bikes and
beaches. They rumble through
the crowded city broadcasting to
Portland’s visitors — and Portland’s
visitors are worldwide.
On the ground, creative plays
like the large orange Adirondack
chair emblazoned with the word
“Seaside” and strategically located
in front of the Visitors Bureau in-
vites travelers to sit right down and
stay awhile.
“That continues to reap rewards
for us,” Rahl said.
It’s not the biggest Adirondack
chair in the world — not even the
biggest in Oregon, Seaside Civic
and Convention Center General
Manager Russ Vandenberg added.
But it’s plenty big and visitors love
to take selfies on it.
Rahl attributed the city’s success
to infrastructure development
like the city’s convention center
1. Boston
2. Seaside, Oregon
3. Steamboat Springs,
Colorado
4. Nashville, Tennessee
5. Portland, Oregon
STEAMBOAT.COM
… in the world
Seaside edged out Steamboat Springs, Colorado, as a summer vacation
destination.
expansion and renovation, along
with the innovation and enterprise
of hoteliers rehabbing properties
and the influx of new restaurants,
“which makes our destination that
much more popular.”
The Visitors Bureau’s social
media postings, Facebook videos
and television ads are so emotional-
ly resonant they are satisfying even
after the fifth or sixth viewing. Their
themes hit all the buttons: family,
pets, scenic beauty and the great
outdoors.
Rahl and his team kicked off the
year by winning recognition from
the Oregon Governor’s Confer-
ence on Tourism for Best Visitors
Bureau, an award delivered by peers
for marketing throughout the state.
Thumbs up
Editor Gwendolyn Shearman
of U.S. News Travel said her team
initiates the process by selecting
destinations from throughout the
world.
They score each destination in
11 different categories, Shearman
wrote in an email.
For rankings such as the Best
Summer Vacations and the Best
Summer Vacations in the USA, edi-
tors also factor in the seasonality of
a destination and when the best time
to visit is for the everyday traveler.
Rankings are based on user rat-
ings and editors’ scores, from zero
to five — “phenomenal.”
Editors apply these ratings to
categories including sights, culture,
people, food, shopping, family,
nightlife, adventure, romance and
accessibility.
Users vote “thumbs up” or
“thumbs down” whether a destina-
tion belongs on the list.
Destinations’ overall scores are a
weighted average of the individual
editors’ averages, based on which
factors users said were most import-
ant to them.
This is the first year Seaside has
been included in the scoring, Shear-
man said, receiving high marks in
the sights, family, food and accessi-
bility categories.
“Seaside stood out this year
because of its appeal to both
beach-going families and outdoor
enthusiasts. Plus, its location in the
Pacific Northwest is a great alterna-
tive to more well-known (and more
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
crowded) beach destinations further
south.”
What does it all really mean?
“We can’t really predict or offer
insight on how the destination’s
popularity may increase as a result
of the list, but we always welcome
destinations promoting their rank-
ings on social media and the like,”
Shearman said.
In 2018, she said, editors have
found readers are particularly inter-
ested in visiting more under-the-ra-
dar vacation spots and smaller
towns in the United States. “More
of those types of vacations appear-
ing on many of our ranking lists,”
she added.
In Seaside, all you have to do
is take a leisurely stroll along the
Prom on a clear 65-degree morning
in May to place Seaside high on
your own list. We’re proud to have
our city named among the finest in
the world.
Go early if you want the apple turnovers
I
spent the morning in Gearhart
the other day. It was a Monday
morning and the Pacific Way
Bakery and Café was open; they’re
closed Tuesday and Wednesday. I
got there early enough to snag an
apple turnover. If you haven’t had
one of their apple turnovers, you’re
missing out. In a couple of weeks
when school’s out and throngs of
summer vacationers start rolling in,
you’ll have to get to the bakery no
later than 10 a.m. if you expect to
find apple turnovers, lemon tarts,
chocolate croissants, maple sugar
rolls, or cherry almond scones in the
case, that’s how popular the pastry
is. When what’s in the case sells out,
it sells out. So get there early if you
have your heart set on something
they make there.
After my Americano and pastry
break, I took a walk. I had the dog
with me. We walked on Ocean
Avenue and parts of south Marion.
For the two years we rented a house
in Gearhart I walked everywhere. I
walked up and down Cottage Ave-
nue. I walked every street. I walked
in the dunes and on the pretty,
narrow, root and rock rutted foot trail
known as the Ridge Path.
Walking in Gearhart is a treat if
you haven’t done it in awhile. True,
I have to get in my car now to get
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
VIEW FROM
THE PORCH
EVE MARX
there, but it’s worth the gas. This
time of year is especially pretty as
the rain has mostly stopped and
it’s warmer and people have had a
chance to get some work done in
their yards. I noticed on this walk
how many homes have been recently
re-shingled and freshened up.
There’s a building boom in Gearhart:
every where I looked, I saw new
homes, renovations, new or rebuilt
porches, new stairs, new windows,
pretty additions. I wonder if the
recent ruling on short-term vacation
rentals has spurred a sense of pride
in homeownership.
When I was living in Gearhart,
I thought it humorous when long-
time, full-time residents complained
about the summer crowds and how
there was no parking spaces avail-
able in downtown Gearhart and
how annoying to have a dozen more
people walking around town. The
summer people come from Portland
and Seattle mostly. Sometimes they
come from very far away. Some of
these summer people own property
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
John D. Bruijn
ADVERTISING
SALES
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
April Olsen
Carl Earl
CLASSIFIED
SALES
Danielle Fisher
EVE MARX
Beach path in Gearhart. New rules
define how vegetation can be cut or
removed.
in Gearhart they visit a few times a
year. More often, they rent a house
for a week or a weekend, or stay at
the Gearhart Ocean Inn or Gearhart
By the Sea.
The beach is pristine in Gear-
hart. And empty. Save for July and
August, besides the terns and the
STAFF WRITER
Brenna Visser
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Skyler Archibald
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Esther Moberg
Jon Rahl
Paris
Florence, Italy
Boston
Dublin
Seaside, Oregon
gulls, you’re very likely to be the
only one. There’s no discernible
leash law in Gearhart so people bring
their dogs. In the peak months of
summer when it stays light until 10
p.m., and people are out riding bikes
and taking sundown strolls, it can get
a bit crazy, especially if you had your
heart set on peace and quiet and the
dream of a stellar beach to yourself
and the elk.
Should you be so lucky to be a
coast native, now’s the time of year
to appreciate the tiny jewel that is
Gearhart. Right up until 4th of July
weekend, Gearhart is quiet. It’s
a great opportunity to appreciate
the empty beaches, walk the quiet
streets, peruse the downtown. There
are some really darling shops. Be-
sides McMenamin’s, which has a full
bar, there are several dining options.
Try the clam chowder or the chili at
Gearhart Crossing, the fresh Dough
Dough scones and Sleepy Monk
Coffee at By The Way. There’s a new
seasonal lunch and dinner menu at
the Pacific Way Bakery and Café and
the chef at the Sweet Shop has even
devised a keto-friendly menu, which
is a great way to jumpstart your
beach body diet.
Best of all, the only line you’re
likely to wait on is the one in the
post office.
MEETINGS
MONDAY, May 14
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY, May 15
Sunset Empire Park and Rec-
reation District, 5:15 p.m., Bob
Chisholm Community Center,
1225 Avenue A., Seaside.
Seaside School District Board
of Directors, 6 p.m., 1801 S.
Franklin, Seaside.
Seaside Planning Commis-
sion, work session, 7 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
WEDNESDAY, May 16
Seaside Tourism Adviso-
ry Committee, 3 p.m., 989
Broadway.
THURSDAY, May 17
Seaside Tree Board, 4 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Seaside Transportation Advi-
sory Commission, 6 p.m., City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY, May 22
Seaside Airport Advisory
Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
TUESDAY, June 5
Community and Senior Cen-
ter Commission, 10:30 a.m.,
1225 Avenue A., Seaside.
Seaside Signal
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