2011-09-26: Storm Day
Our first day here was spent entirely in the coach due to a HUGE Pacific Northwest storm with winds high enough to actually move the coach a bit. We used some of the time working on crafts with Al painting and...
2011-09-26: Sewing
...Tryna getting some sewing done.
2011-09-27: Waves
With the sun shining and the puddles dried up, we ventured out to the Long Beach Boardwalk to take in the waves. We were told by one of the locals that the Columbia Bar was closed to shipping traffic yesterday with two cruise ships turned away and missing Astoria.
2011-09-27: Beards Hollow
Beards Hollow was named for Capt. E.N. Beard whose ship, the Vanalia, missed the mouth of the Columbia River in 1853. All hands were lost, and Beard's body was found on the beach near this hollow.
2011-09-27: Mushrooms
Al was pretty sure that these mushrooms we found were morels and thus edible but I decided I was going to just take a picture and not eat them.
2011-09-27: Cape Disappointment Lighthouse
After many difficulties, including the loss of all construction materials in a shipwreck at the mouth of the Columbia River, the 53-foot masonry Cape Disappointment lighthouse was finally completed in 1856. It helped vessels approaching from the south negotiate the area around the mouth of the Columbia which had become known as the "Graveyard of the Pacific". It did not help ships coming from the north so the North Head Light was constructed just 2-miles away.
2011-09-27: North Head Lighthouse
65-foot tall North Head Lighthouse sits on solid basalt more than 190-feet above sea level and was established in 1898. The original first order Fresnel lens used here burned 5-gallons of kerosene per night and produced a light that could be seen 20-miles out to sea.
2011-09-27: Ilwaco
Because of its location, Ilwaco and its scenic harbor offer a first-hand experience of humanity's long partnership with the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.
2011-09-28: Ocean Park
Ocean Park is located about halfway up the peninsula and is a step back in time. Our first stop was at Jack's, a 126-year old, block of hardware store that has anything and everything you might be looking for. I actually had to hustle Al along or we'd probably still be in the store. We then did the historic tour of the many 1800's homes in town. Many of these houses were built from shipwrecks and their cargos that washed up on the beach.
2011-09-28: Nahcotta
The port of Nahcotta is located on Willapa Bay and is nestled among processing plants and mountainous piles of oyster shells.
2011-09-28: Willapa Bay
Most of the bay's tidelands are privately owned and are where the famous Willapa Bay oysters are grown. We were surprised to learn that it takes 3-years for an oyster to mature. We now understand why they are so pricey.
2011-09-28: Oysterville
With Willapa Bay as its backdrop, 80-acre historic Oysterville almost feels like the back lot of a movie studio. Eight houses, a church, the cannery and a one-room schoolhouse are all on the National Historic registry.
2011-09-28: Oysters
Back at home, Al eats his bbq'd oysters from where else by Oysterville!