There is something about a town tucked between the mountains and the sea. Often, it feels like one has reached the far end of the world when he or she arrives in a place like this. Some well-known examples are Bar Harbor, Maine and Big Sur, California. I have been to Bar Harbor and nearby Northeast Harbor, and indeed, these towns do have a special feel to them, with beautiful mountains on one side and sparking ocean on the other.

While planning an early summer trip along the Oregon coast with a friend of mine, I read about a town named Yachats. It looked like it might be another one of those places "where the mountains meet the sea." The travel books all gave this town high marks, so we decided that we would stay there on the first night of the trip.

My friend and I flew into Portland on a day that featured record heat. The outdoor temperature gauge in our car read 99 degrees as we left the airport. We drove west toward the Pacific, and watched the temperature drop degree by degree as we got closer to the sea. By the time we reached the seaside town of Tillamook, the temperature was 49 degrees