December 29, 2019
The fairies have struck the Oregon Coast and I’m 100% serious – I mean, I saw it on Facebook after all!
The weather was rough on my birthday, no surprise as we are currently in the heart of winter, meaning that daily ball drop didn’t happen. However, the Lincoln City (Oregon) fairies have been hard at work for the past few years in celebrating the creativity and the beauty of the Oregon Coast. Hand blown glass floats are released throughout the year, daily in fact, within a seven mile stretch.
To start your search begin at Roads End or Siletz Bay (or vice versa) and enjoy the adventure of beach combing! The tips on their website let you know that this is the kind of treasure that they want you to find so they won’t be hidden to inconspicuously!
One rule though? One float per person per year so make sure to bring friends with you in case you stumble upon a treasure chest! Occasionally beach combers will be alerted via social media announcements of a mega-drop! I’m not sure if that is what they call it, but that is what I am for lack of a better term!
These mega-drops can include one-of-a-kind 20th year anniversary balls (dropped this September 20th and October 20th to commemorate the occasion) or the additional 50 glass balls hidden for the remaining year!
Find them on social:
Personal Adventure Story
Living just close enough to go to the Oregon Coast, I have been blessed with the ability to head there in just 45 minutes of straight shot driving. I literally take a left out of my apartment, a right on the main street of Philomath and head west for 45 minutes until you win the quarter for seeing the ocean (no one else’s family does that on road trips???).
As tourism on the Oregon Coast continues to be revamped, I have been very excited about the glass ball drops that happen on the coast. Such beautiful, delicate, life sized marbles I share a similar fascination with my mother. Okay, my mom’s fascination is more of an obsession!
This was my mom’s third trip on the glass ball hunt! She wasn’t able to find the first two on trips with my older sister Nicole. Being the competitive younger sister, I was convinced that I was going to find one for her! I watched every person on the beach with apprehension.
“Are they someone hiding glass balls??”
“Are they looking too? Did they find one??”
I can only liken the entire experience to what it must feel like to be on Survivor when you’re trying to be one of those extra MVP players who finds the hidden immunity idol with just one small clue! I hadn’t dressed appropriately, I swear I never do for the coast, and was wearing my favorite pair of distressed Cruel Denim jeans and Nike’s. It was a tragic mistake and I quickly found myself soaked from mid-thigh down from walking through the reedy saltwater grass.
On our adventure, I found tracks and remnants of deer on the coast and, in a strange twist, a LOT of dead animals! I’m not sure if it’s just the season where food is scare and the harsh winds and chill coming off the surf can make it hard for an animal, but we found five dead seagulls scattered on the coastline as well as the disgusting remnants of a seal.
Tips & Suggestions
- Wear waterproof boots that are tall in the wintertime. The weather can get quite harsh on the coastline in the winter time and you’ll have to ford a couple small streams to get through the length of the beach.
- You can take your dog, but pick up after it. I loved seeing all the puppies playing in the misty saltwater air but there was too often that we stumbled across a pile of you-know-what. Make sure to pick up after your pets.
- More importantly, pick up after yourself! Besides your canine companion, make sure that you pick up after yourself as well! Remember – what you pack in, you must pack out!
- Bring a bag and gloves if you feel inclined. While I demand (if I can do that) that you pick up after yourself and your pet (if applicable), I also recommend that you bring a small trash bag and wear plastic gloves and pick up trash as you go. While we were beach combing we found lots of small trash items such as fast food wrappers, coffee cups, etc. I wish I had gloves and a way to carry it out and am definitely doing so the next time.
- Never turn your back on the ocean. Please be safe – that is all. Sneaker waves are terrifying!
- Pay attention to the people around you, you never know who could be hiding them!
At the end of the day, you may not want to pay much attention to my advice because we did end up empty handed. We had a great time checking out the local shops that blow different types of glass orbs, jewelry and home decorations. You can even take a course and blow your own if you want!
Places you can create your own glass ball:
- Alder House Glassblowing: Treasure Collupy, Lincoln City, OR
- The Edge Art Gallery: Amanda Williams, Newport, OR
- Fernhill Glass: Claude Kurtz, Astoria, OR
- Flanigan’s Glass Gallery: Brett Flanigan, Lincoln City, OR
- Gathering Glass Studio: Keith Gabor, Ashland, OR
- Glass Oasis: Paris Birdwell, Otis, OR
- Glass Quest: Mark and Marcus Ellinger, Stanwood, WA
- The Hot Shop: Jeff Hajek, Newport, OR
- Kelly Howard Glass: Kelly Howard, Lincoln City, OR
- Lincoln City Glass Center: Kelly Howard, Jon Meyers, Daniel Millen, and James Benson, Lincoln City, OR
- Studio West: Ciara Cuddihy-Hernandez, Eugene, OR
As always, you can find me on social media at….
Shoot me a message if you find a Finders Keepers Lincoln City Glass Orb – I’ll be jealous, guaranteed, but also very excited for you!
Pacific North West Country Girl 
Lincoln City has been called “7 miles of smiles”. Can these finders-keepers glass floats be found on beach by the “D” river? Nelscott? Road’s end beach? or are they all in the Taft area?
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It’s temporarily suspended at the moment due to COVID-19 but you can find them from Roads End on the north to Siletz Bay on the south!
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Kewwwl! That Purplish glass float that you’ve shown, above, looks nice.
Lucky you. You get to live in “God’s Country”. All of Lincoln County’s Beaches. Road’s End beach, D River Beach, Taft in front of Mo’s, Fogarty Creek, Nye Beach in Newport, Yachats beach.
Some great restaurants, too. This “washington state” guy has tried: Kyllo’s, the Dory Cove, Mo’s, Pig-n-Pancake, the Blackfish Cafe….all good! Newport Cafe in Newport is good, too. I also enjoyed roaming through Bob’s bookstore (the smaller and newer one, in “Oceanlake”, I think).
May you all conquer the virus and get things open again! “It’s Better at the Beach!” 🙂
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