The Discovery Coast

Off to explore the Long Beach Penninsula known as the Discovery Coast. Ambling up the west side of Rte 103 the ocean is on our left and the road is mostly residential with picturesque beach cottages on our right. There are miles of pristine ocean beaches and plenty of access points as we passed through little hamlets of Klipsan Beach, Ocean Park, and Surfside. We came to the end of the penninsular and crossed over to the east side. We followed Sandedge Rd along Willapa Bay. There was an interesting little side road on our left which led us to a little village called Oysterville.

Although Oysterville is a ghost town, it has life. The historic district, with Willapa Bay as it's backdrop, looks like a movie back lot from a 19th century community. We passed storybook cottages with amazing gardens . The village dead ends at the Oysterville Sea Farms where they harvest oysters. The owner was out collecting Oysters and arrived with a wheelbarrel full as we roamed the store shelves. We purchased a small container of oysters to cook later and then continued down the road. Following the bay road Captain's Coffee appeared. As its cold, raw, and showery we stopped for a hot drink. We passed by several oyster canneries and drove down to the dock of one. There were enormous piles of oyster shells at the end of the dock. We couldn't believe the amount of them. People use the broken shells for landscaping as well.

Our next stop was Long Beach. We parked on the sand beach, watched the surf, and drank our drinks. Long Beach is a fun place and is famous for it's eccentric charm. Long Beach is the world's longest beach. During the summer it offers many festivals and soaring kites. We wanted to walk the boardwalk but decided to wait and hope the weather gets better.

There's more on our to do list today so we're off to the town of Ilwaco (pronounced way-ko not whak-o...). This is an incredible place and is framed by one of the world's most beautiful harbors. Turning onto Alternate Route 100 we drove through the Lewis & Clark State Park to the picturesque North Head Light perched high on the headland overlooking the Pacific. This light is a testimony to the cape's challenging weather. Winter winds have been clocked here at 160 mph. The rain stopped so we walked the trail to the light and enjoyed the views.

Next stop is Cape Disappointment. This is the older of the two lighthouses. Many difficulties were overcome, include the loss of all construction materials in a shipwreck at the mouth of th Columbia. Finally in 1856 the 53-foot masonry light was completed. As we drove through the park we stopped at Waikiki Beach. This is where Lewis & Clark came ashore when they finished their expedition. John Jacob Astor also landed on this beach to trade with the local indians.

Ilwaco Harbor Village was an interesting place with refurbished fishing shacks. It was time for some chowder and we decided on "Ole Bobs" right on the harbor. It was really quaint and the chowder was good. Afterwards we passed the Cape D Coast Guard station and training center. Unfortunately we weren't allowed into the station as it's now part of Homeland Security.

Back at camp we looked over materials on Washington to help us plan the next few weeks. We'll be seeing mostly beaches, scenery, trails, and hopefully "sun"! Ken did some maintenance. We had dinner, watched TV, and went to bed.

Pictures: (right to left) Oysterville Cottage, Oyster Shell Pile, Long Beach Entrance, North Head Lighthouse trail, North Head View, Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, Waikiki Beach and Cape Disappointment, Ole Bobs