Camping Part 2: Washington Coast

The other part of our 2-week camping trip was down the Washington coast. The day we got to the beach, the campgrounds were pretty full and sites were few and far between. Because it was so late in the evening, the park ranger allowed us to camp in an unreserved handicap spot. The photo above is the beginning of the beach trail that started next to our campsite. The drizzle that had been following us all day stopped long enough for us to take a walk down the beach and search for sand dollars.

At first we had no luck, though there were broken bits of them everywhere. We eventually found a newly washed up one that still had the little spines attached. These are not the prime sand dollars for collecting as they can be a little irritating to the fingers and tend to smell. It's not the kind of smell that's easy to identify and would tend to make the people around you stand a little further away. They do, however, make excellent frisbees. Each time I'd fling one back into the ocean, T would yell, "Wheeee" in a scratchy falsetto I found hysterically funny. Of course, he was required to yell it every time I found another one. We eventually collected some perfect samples, so the trip wasn't a complete waste.

As soon we got back from and ate dinner, it started drizzling again. That was when we found out that the tent wasn't quite as waterproof as we had thought. No problem, we were sleeping on an air mattress, so an inch of water in the bottom of the tent was no big deal. About an hour after going to bed, I noticed that my hip was beginning to touch the ground. I realized then that we were in for a long night.

By the next morning the rain had moved on and having survived the flood, we drove farther down the coast to Long Beach. Long Beach hasn't changed much since I was last there years ago. Neither has Marsh's Free Museum which according to funbeach.com, our trip would have been "...incomplete without a visit to..."


This is the Cape Disappointment lighthouse. This picture is taken from in front of the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. The hike to the lighthouse is a winding trail through the forest that takes a little bit of guesswork and faith to follow. There were some kids working on rebuilding the trail, so maybe it's a little easier now.


The interpretive center is built on top of two gun emplacements built in 1905 and decommissioned after WWII. We wandered all through the facility looking into storage closets and exploring tunnels. We even found one room with a fireplace. With the plants growing everywhere it was easy to imagine we were in the middle of a tropical jungle and I immediately wished I could take this section home for our backyard. Doesn't it look like a perfect patio with a pond or fire pit in the middle? Cape Disappointment was not at all disappointing and we look forward to going back when we have more time to explore.


This photo is of our dog Jake who is, at best, a reluctant traveler. This is after he slid off his bed in the back seat and wedged himself in behind the driver's seat and the console. Those who know Jake will not be the least bit surprised by his behavior. Jake's favorite place to hang out is on a stationary couch rather than a moving vehicle thankyouverymuch.