Klipsan Beach Life Saving Station – where we stayed. http://www.learnatthebeach.com/
The place doesn’t have signage and doesn’t look like much on the outside, but is fantastic inside. We had the downstairs unit which had a king bed, a pull-out couch, a cot and a long sofa. We also brought our camping cots which the boys used one night to sleep on the porch. Our friends had the upstairs unit (no pets) which had a King bed and a trundle bed with a pull-out couch. Both units have kitchens with most necessities (we brought a wine cork and bought a metal strainer); cable, DVDs and VHS movies as well as lots (and lots) of books and board games. There’s also a laundry room, toys and games for the kids, sand toys and a hose for rinsing off the sand from feet (and the dog).
Cell coverage is spotty; now you see it, now you don’t. We had no coverage at the house, but just a few feet down the beach access road (and at the beach) we had full bars. The router was down the first night so no email or internet which gave me a bit of a panic, but they fixed it the next day (reboot!) and we were up and running so I could upload photos to Facebook and check out day trips, maps, etc. Yeah, I played a bit on FB too, although the coverage was sllloooooowwww.
It’s a short walk to the beach; as in maybe two minutes by foot. The waves could be heard at night from the house and the sunsets were fantastic. Most days were ‘gloomy’ and sometimes it burned off by afternoon; but we had two completely sunny beautiful days. Regardless, the boys body-surfed every day. The dog went into the water up to his chest and chased pelicans and seagulls equally. He also chased anything the wind picked up, dug to his heart’s content and had to constantly be reprimanded for attempting to eat dead whatever-it-was on the beach.
We spotted an eagle at the roadside marker we stopped at to feed Stang and then saw another at our 2nd day to Beard’s Hollow. We saw hawks and cormorants and cranes too.
Stang actually barked at us to stop the car and feed him. He hasn’t eaten on road trips in the past so we were going to wait until we got to our destination. He was having NONE of that and gave us the ‘Chewbacca’ growl at a certain point in our trip. It was pretty funny; we fed him and he literally vacuumed it down in seconds flat. The weather, as usual, was sunny, windy and cold at the beach in August. I didn’t bring enough warm clothing. Thankfully the place we’re staying had windbreakers we could borrow for the mornings – usually by afternoon it was warm enough to go without a jacket or sweatshirt.
Foods (groceries) were EXPENSIVE. I can’t decide if it’s just because it’s a ‘tourist’ town or because we bought staples that we already had at home. I think we spent $400 in grocery-type items (produce, pancake mix, milk, eggs, bread, sandwich makings) in 6 days. We also ate out two nights (Pizza & Chinese) but cooked the other four or had leftovers. My husband snores. LOUDLY. Thank the Lord for Tylenol PM and ear plugs. It also helped that we had lots of exercise, fresh air and we were all pretty bone tired.
I wonder what people do for a living here. There aren’t enough places to work for the residents to all make a living, not to mention that it’s a seasonal town and I’ll bet it’s pretty quiet October through April. There isn’t a Wal-Mart or Target or large employer within a 25 minute drive; but I’m betting a lot of people work at least an hour commute away. There were also a LOT of houses/property FOR SALE signs and I wonder how much is economy and how much is just attrition.
My idea for breakfast: Cereal, bagels, yogurt, melon, milk, OJ. His idea: Pancakes, bacon and eggs. Every morning.
Blake is never allowed to have Mountain Dew.ever.again. J The combination of scout songs, buzzed pre-teen and 6th-day-of-vacation is really not a good fit for mom’s sanity. And the dog really doesn’t like to be “pantsed” (he doesn’t have pants so it was quite a sight).
People love our dog; we get more compliments on what a good-looking dog he is, followed by questions or memories of their own boxers growing up. He (the dog) had a great time and is a very good travel dog. He was exhausted when we got home and immediately crawled on his bed and started snoring.
Great finds on the Peninsula:
Chen’s Chinese food – they don’t scrimp on quantity of food. It wasn’t the best Chinese we’ve ever had, but their crab puffs, egg roll and “Happy Family” were outstanding. http://www.chenslongbeach.com/
Chico’s Pizza – outstanding pizza, thin crust, lots of topping choices and a pretty okay salad bar plus arcade games and lots of seating. They will deliver and also offer a ‘bake it yourself’ option. We have eaten here every time we’ve come to Long Beach and it’s well worth it. http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicos-pizza-parlor-long-beach
Skookum Surf – surf lessons, rentals (bikes too!). Their website says one hour of instruction but their brochure says two and they definitely give two hours of quality, hands-on instruction with lots of instructors. We had about 5 instructors for 20 people on the lesson. Completely impressed with their staff and the boys had so much fun they want to do it again next year. http://www.skookumsurf.com/index.html
Loose Caboose Diner – We’ve eaten here twice; both for breakfast. Scrambles, biscuits & gravy, Eggs Benedict with crab, platter cakes and trains that run above your head. Friendly staff, small seating area but well worth it. http://www.yelp.com/biz/loose-kaboose-diner-long-beach
Scrappaccino – Tanning, fudge, souvenirs, espresso and scrapbook supplies. We didn’t try the tanning but it’s a fun multi-functional place. The only thing I might add in a perfect world would be wine… http://linktown.king5.com/biz/scrapaccino/long-beach/wa/98631/9478079
Marsh’s Free Museum – home of Jake the Alligator Boy and all kinds of touristy souvenirs and antiques, including old-time games, salt-water taffy in multiple flavors, shells, t-shirts and lots of kitschy stuff. It’s a museum, it’s a gift shop, it’s a little shop of horrors. http://marshsfreemuseum.com/
Go Karts & Krazy Kars – all the boys had fun, no matter what their age. And, sometimes in the summer on weekdays when it’s not busy, they’ll cut you a deal on price. http://www.longbeachgokarts.com/
Long Beach Coffee Roasters – free Wi-Fi (we used it until we had it available at the house), great coffee and near the Go Karts. Try their Mexican Mocha, it is fantastic. http://www.longbeachcoffee.com/
Jack’s Country Store – in real life it’s as awe-inspiring as the catalog, only you can actually touch all the stuff. They have groceries and Dutch ovens and tin signs and BBQ supplies and Breyer collectible horses and a whole lot more. I’m fond of saying that if they don’t have it you probably don’t need it. Funniest find was “Anti-Monkey Butt Powder”. Yeah, we bought some to go with our “Boudreaux’s Butt Paste”. http://www.jackscountrystore.co/
We took day trips to Cape Disappointment and North Head Lighthouses; visitors couldn’t go inside either one (we were able to climb the stairs and see the light last year on our visit to North Head). Cape Disappointment was quite a hike, but well worth the view and the time. You can wander around to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center as well. To park at any of the Washington State parks you’ll need a “Discovery Pass” for $30 (good for 364 days from purchase date) or $10 per day.
We also visited and ate at “Ol Bob’s” on the waterfront. Spendy, but very good. Saturdays has an outdoor market with everything from dog clothing to handcrafted walking sticks and jewelry.
Another day trip to Astoria, Oregon to see the Columbia River Maritime Museum, eat at the “Wet Dog Café” and have our fuel pumped for us in Oregon. We could have stayed longer and seen more but the boys wanted to body surf (again) so we headed home.
On our day home, we took the long way and drove north through Raymond and up to Hoquiam, via Westport. Not much to see, but we had a picnic lunch at Twin Rivers Park and then headed home.
Favorite memories were surfing and body surfing (Blake, Rogan), having a vacation with boys (Rogan – he has two younger sisters), Go-karts, flying the kite and beating up on the youngers (James – he didn’t really beat them up…much), watching the dog run in the sand and meet horses. one entire girls afternoon with Jen M. (me), seeing the eagles and the lighthouses (Russ).
