<p>A poetry box affixed to a garden gate on Ocean Vista Drive satisfies those with a lust for whimsy.</p>

Whats the first thing you think of when somebody says Seaside? Volleyball? Bumper cars, bicycles, the Prom? It wasnt art that you thought of first, was it? But there is an art side to Seaside, and it can be found in the most unexpected places.

On the outside wall of a public lavatory, for example, the one at Necanicum Drive and 12th Avenue, youll find a very large mosaic of a salmon, and its even a salmon that has migrated. In this salmons case, the migration was from the intersection of Holladay Drive and Ocean Way, the wall of the old Safeway, where it was taken down piece by numbered piece and reassembled.

Not far from the salmon is the Seaside Museum, with a mural on the wall of the Daddy Train. Early in the 20th century, families from Portland took up summer residence in Seaside in order to enjoy the cooler climate and the other attractions of the coast. The fathers, of course, had to continue work in Portland, migrating to the coast on weekends, aboard the Daddy Train.

If theres a theme to Seasides outdoor art, it might be migration. A few blocks from the museum, on the back wall of the Just Hair salon at 783 First Ave., is Deborah Kerners mural, Migration on First Avenue, which depicts three orcas migrating in a southerly direction.

The largest mural in town, and perhaps the finest, is that on the wall of the Ace Hardware at Holladay Drive and Broadway, painted in 2008 by Roger Cooke. It portrays the area that is now Seaside and Gearhart, and the life of the Clatsops there before the arrival of white settlers.

Exploring the art of Seaside isnt simply sauntering into a gallery or museum. It can involve a lot of walking, or you can rent one of the ubiquitous bicycles, buy some saltwater taffy for energy, and youre on your way. If architecture is the art that delights you, make your way south on the Prom and on toward the Cove, then back downtown via Ocean Vista Drive, one block in from the Prom. Youll find a variety of beach cottage styles, and the occasional detail that makes such cottages fun. Look for a gate on Ocean Vista made of all manner of objects, flanked by a poetry box which holds John Masefields Sea-Fever (I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky ).

Back in town, theres plenty of art indoors, too. The most unusual setting is Hold Fast Tattoo Co. & Art Gallery, 611 Broadway, which shows a changing variety of art in its large and comfortable space, with the low chatter of tattoo artists and their clients in the background. When youve finished being tattooed, a very short walk takes you past Fairweather House and Garden (and their display of art) to T. Anjuli Salon and Gallery (1 N. Holladay), where you can get your hair cut while looking at their current display of contemporary art. You can then go next door to the Seaside Coffee House, get a cappuccino and look at the art there.

Or if tattoos and cappuccinos are not your thing, why not end your walk on the art side at Yummy Wine Bar Bistro? Its at 831 Broadway, just past the Clatsop mural on Ace Hardware. There, over chardonnay and steamer clams, you appreciate even more art (the exhibit changes every few months), and consider that in Seaside theres more to art than what you find in galleries.