Welcome to the Northern Oregon Coast!

Well, it is taking me a bit longer to get this blog up and running than I thought. I will keep plugging away at it. I am not new to blogging and I know that it takes a bit of time, sometimes, to get the blog rolling. So, as I mentioned before I live in a small village on the Oregon Coast. We have one short main street that ends at the ocean.

We have a natural food store, Mother Nature's Natural Foods, that has a decent selection of foods fit for a vegan and a cute little organic produce selection that has saved my dinner a few times.

This little store carries Daiya Cheese! It isn't very big and they service not only the local population but a much larger tourist population so their vegan selection is pretty basic but it is enough in a pinch! They also have a small selection of vegan baked goods and treats as well as gluten free items.
There is a local pizza place, Marzano's, where you can order a pizza with veggies and without cheese. Honestly, I make a fantastic vegan pizza so there is no contest. In addition next door to the natural food store is the Left Coast Siesta (www.leftcoastsiesta.com) which is vegan friendly. I haven't really found any other restaurants in town as vegan friendly as the two mentioned above.
So basically the options for eating out are very minimal. We aren't in Portland are we!
So why would a vegan wash up on the beach here? Well, this is one of the most beautiful spots on the coast. It feels like home to me. This wonderful little town is full to bursting with talented, creative, hard working people. There is also a constant stream of people who have homes here but live most of the time elsewhere, such as Portland. They bring in new perspectives and experiences to add to the mix.
I am not, nor have I ever been, a city girl. So I am at home here where I can enjoy the beauty of the ocean and forest, the people, and the occasionally fierce and wild weather.
Eating vegan however, is a challenge but not uncomfortably so. I belong to the Astoria Food Co-op. Astoria, of Goonies fame, is about 45 miles north up Highway 101. Sometimes 101 closes down when the weather gets rough. There are floods and occasional mudslides that can and do occur. Fortunately we usually have warning when a storm is coming so we have time to stock up. The co-op is small but they carry a larger vegan selection at slightly better prices (oh yeah, cost of living a bit more expensive here) than in town.
Astoria also has my favorite bakery, The Blue Scorcher Bakery (www.bluescorcher.com). Not only do they sell a wonderful organic whole wheat (and vegan) bread, they have a nice little eatery where they make whole food meals from scratch. I occasionally stop there for lunch when shopping at the co-op.
There is a Costco now just south of Astoria but I find that Costco just doesn't carry enough of what I eat to make the membership worthwhile and I would much rather support local businesses when I can.
I still need to explore the towns between here and Astoria as well as to the south. We spent a summer in Cannon Beach just north so I know there is even less available there or close to the same. Seaside has a little health food store. I still need to explore that city too.
So you can see, I have my work cut out for me. I am not a huge fan of dinning out but it is a nice treat once in a while. I will make an effort to explore a bit more.
This post has gone on for long enough! I will be putting some of my favorite vegan links on a side-bar. This coming week I have a trip up north planned to replenish the food supplies. I will be going on a 21 day cleanse found in Kris Carr's new Crazy Sexy Life Diet book. I would like to include more raw foods in my diet. I don't think I want to be a completely raw vegan but adding more raw meals would be a good thing. I haven't even begun to talk about the beach and ocean. More coming soon!
-Renee