We just returned from a fabulous family trip around the "loop" of the Olympic peninsula. You can never really have enough time to make the loop on highway 101....there are so many side trips, beaches, rain forests, lakes, waterfalls, and other things to see. It was my birthday, and as such I could demand that the family accompany me wherever I wanted to go. Because this happens only once a year, I decided to make the best of it (for me) and head to the ocean beaches for some beach-combing. I wanted to find a float, a buoy, or some rocks, some sea glass, driftwood, whatever!
We started out highway 8 through Aberdeen (a town that I have always loved, despite their current depressed economy with the withdrawal of the logging industry there....It has a special pull to me). From Aberdeen we headed north through Humptulips and around the Quinault Indian Reservation. Back west to the coast found us in Kalaloch which is not a town but a compilation of beaches preserved through the State of Washington Parks department. which has interest in a coastal strip that runs north all the way to the Makah Indian Reservation near Cape Flattery.
Once we hit the coast again at Kalaloch we ventured out on Beach four for some beach-combing. The rocks here were gorgeous, but the tide was still coming in, leaving us little beach to comb. It was cold, but not raining and the kids were agreeable to hanging out here for a while. Different story later on....
I really wanted to see La Push, and Rialto Beach in particular, which is on the north side of the Quillayute River. Rialto Beach was AMAZING. Truly...this is the wildest and most awe-inspiring beach in the state. I couldn't take photos because it was raining sideways and the wind was blowing. The kids lasted about ten minutes....but Carl and I took our time scouring the beach and climbing over "driftwood" which was actually TREES that were hundreds of years old. They were stacked like cord wood along the spit at the mouth of the river, some partially covered by sand drift. The rocks were like those on Beach four, but there were more, bigger ones. It is amazing the colors these rocks come in, and how they are so perfectly shaped. I was like a kid in a candy store....looking for a perfectly egg-shaped rock in the perfect aqua blue color. Carl found the perfect one to bring home. The kids sat in the car with the heater on, watching a video...oi vey.
Borrowed photo of Rialto Beach
We found our cabin that we rented for the night. It was back south a way, near the Hoh River, and for that reason was called by its owners The Hoh Cabin. Endless jokes from the kids. For supper we ventured 22 minutes north on Hwy 101 to Forks. Forks is right smack in the middle of a tourism craze. Brought on by Stephanie Meyer's books, Twilight and the continuing series, this publicity has been a real boon to this tiny NW town. Almost everywhere we went the signs read "Twilight" or "Edward's favorite" referring to one of the characters. We stopped at the visitor's center and met the head of PR for Forks. She told us that Forks saw 73,000 visitors last year, basically saving the tiny community from the fate of many other small towns in America in the face of our recent recession. I asked her what the craziest Twilight story she had was. She said that a group of women from the UK flew to Forks to buy the most recent installment to the Twilight book series, Breaking Dawn. The friends wanted to get the book in Forks, where the stories are set, and they wanted to buy them before they were released in the UK, several months later. Such was the climate in Forks....teenagers everywhere taking photos of the Twilight landmarks, the truck, the school, the house, etc. My kids pretended not to be interested and did a lot of eye-rolling. I took a photo of them in front of the now-famous "Welcome to Forks" sign. I plan to post it on Facebook and to tag them for all of their friends to see ;)
This morning, our last on the road, we headed toward Port Angeles. We drove around the south shore of Crescent Lake, which was absolutely amazing. I had never even HEARD of it before, what a shame. The kids loved it....they really like lakes for some reason, more than salt water, which I think is a sacrilege.
We have actually driven to Port Angeles from Olympia to have brunch at our favorite restaurant, The Chestnut Cottage. We made it there in time to get some of their fabulous scones, which often sell out on the weekends by 10am. Wish we had one in Olympia, but we would be fatter and poorer.
Onward to Port Townsend to the fabled Glass Beach. We went everywhere the different people told us to go to find it. I dragged out the I Phone to search blogs and posts for directions. We tried everything, visiting half a dozen beaches and walking for miles, but we didn't find it. By now the kids were tired and though Carl feigned determination, I think he was really thinking,"Another beach...really?" That will be a trip for me some other day once I dial it in. Supposedly the beach is the site of the old dump and even red sea glass (the most rare) can be found there on a good day.
Home again, home again.....and back into the real estate world. I admit, once in cell range coming home I was on the phone and email catching up. My temporary cut from communication came to an end, my beach odyssey temporarily halted. I am beach-satisfied for the time being. Wait...! I just heard on the news that a big storm is blowing in. That is bound to bring in some flotsam and jetsam!
Desirable west Olympia...minutes from Evergreen State College, shopping, walking trails, downtown. 3135 Cardinal Drive in Madera is open today from 1:00 to 3:00. Stop by for a visit! This house is absolutely turn-key and very well priced for this neighborhood. It is a large-living 2,636 square feet with four bedrooms, plus a bonus room....one bedroom and a 3/4 bath are on the main floor. Granite, stainless, hardwoods, perfect condition and ready for a new owner! 
