By Marie Annette --part 4

Since 1955, in a picturesque setting on the Oregon Coast, on the south end of the "Worlds Smallest Harbor", Depoe Bay hosts an "Indian Style Salmon Bake". Enjoy a succulent salmon meal, great performances and live music.

This Years Hunt is all NEW!

So find your crew and Join the fun!

By Travels with Huggy

We spent four nights at a WorldMark Trendwest (aka Whale Pointe Resort) condominium in Depoe Bay, Oregon on our Oregon Coast trip last month. This was a gift from one of Pat's daughters and her husband for our third wedding anniversary. Here are a few photos from the Depoe Bay area.

by Dave Masko for The Portland Examiner

DEPOE BAY, Oregon – Jon Hamlin learned a few things about Hollywood movie making during the filming of "The Burning Plain" at his coastal restaurant Tidal Raves. First, he was delighted that its star, Charlize Theron, really liked his cheesecake. Second, he discovered how serious movie making can be. And, third, he's "sure glad" to have taken the plunge and turned his restaurant into a film set."

I knew it would be difficult, but I soon realized that making a movie takes the same long hours as operating a restaurant," said Hamlin during a recent interview at his Tidal Raves Restaurant.

... Depoe Bay and Tidal Raves have long been a favorite coastal getaway for visitors from nearby Eugene, Salem and Portland.

On Memorial Day, each year since 1945, Depoe Bay has hosted the FLEET OF FLOWERS. This colorful ceremony is recognized as one of the most impressive observances held in the United States. The event was initiated to honor the memories of two fishermen, Roy Bower and John Chambers, who died at sea in an attempt to aid another fisherman.

Visit Whale Pointe Resort

Enjoy local, succulent crab and watch master craftsmen build and show off their wooden boats. Take part in cheering your "ducky" to the finish line during Sunday’s Ducky Derby. Wooden Boat Show, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 17 and 18; Crab Feed, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 17 and 11 a.m. April 18 until crab is gone

Depoe Bay is said to be the “World’s Smallest Harbor.” Also called “The Hole in the Wall,” it is one of nature's most unusual and beautiful seaside places. The Pacific Ocean butts up against the steep landfall but there is a little hole in the rocks giving access to the tiny harbor.

Winter Whale Watch Week starts December 26th

People come from all over the United States to learn about the gray whales that migrate past our coast each year. The Whale Watching Spoken Here program places volunteers at great whale watching sites during Watch Weeks so they can teach others while watching the whales too. If you love whales, come and be a volunteer!

Sharks have existed in our waters since the age of the Dinosaurs. They live in every ocean on Earth, including the waters of the Oregon Coast. Sharks have remained virtually the same for 350 million years and is the largest and one of the most feared fish in the sea. Sharks are also essential to the equilibrium of the marine biotope.

Of the over 450 species of sharks, only 15 or so can be found in Oregon waters and yes, the Great White Shark is one of them. On Monday a 12-foot shark brought into Depoe Bay by some recreational fishermen has been confirmed as a great white.

The anglers told the State Police Fish and Wildlife Division officer at the dock that the shark had become entangled in their crab gear and was brought to the surface when they pulled in the pots. It is unclear if the great white was alive or dead when it reached the surface.

Under both federal and state laws, taking or possessing a great white shark is illegal. And the shark was confiscated by the officer and released to the Hatfield Marine Science Center at Oregon State University, where Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists identified it as being a great white.

There are always a few Great White’s off the Oregon Coast but they are usually not close to the beach. Our Oregon Coast ocean is usually a bit too cold for them in the summer months. (FYI Oregon Ocean temperatures are actually warmer in the winter) This year our Oregon Coast ocean temperatures are warmer than normal and it is not surprising that this would bring Great White Sharks a closer to shore.

Oregon may have missed a piece of history that it justly deserves.

Francis Drake may have spent the summer of 1579 overhauling the Golden Hinde at Whale Cove near Depoe Bay, instead of in Drake's Estero north of San Francisco. This is the fabled New Albion claimed for the British by the captain.

At least that's the theory of Bob Ward of Newport, a history buff who has embraced the tale that surrounds the first commander to complete a circumnavigation of the globe.

Why is this important?

Well, it's a little too late to change history. But if Drake actually spent that time in what became Oregon, it would have given the British a much stronger claim to lands in western North America. It would also put him in Oregon 199 years before Captain James Cook is credited with being the first European to sail off the north Pacific coast from the south. Terry Richard - The Oregonian Article

For a listing of Oregon Coast events, festivals and happenings check out the Oregon Coast Calendar