After spending a week in Las Vegas, last month, I’m ready for a low key vacation. Sometimes, you just need to get some rest and relaxation, right? After we join our extended family for a barbeque and some socializing at a family reunion in Winlock, WA, we will make the 2 hour drive to Long Beach, Washington and spend a week of R & R. We’ll be joined by a couple of our grown children along with their babies – (someday I’ll tell you about our grandkids).
This will be another trip where we will stay at one of our timeshare Worldmark resorts. We are booked at Worldmark Long Beach, which is the newer/remodeled (and, I’ve heard, the nicer) of the two WM resorts at Long Beach. According to the description, they have direct beach access, so that will be a plus. I intend to take some long walks on the beach.
I decided that I would compile a list of things that I want to see while here. Keep in mind, that this will be a low key and relaxing vacation, so we don’t plan to pack in too much over the week, but we do want to get a flavor for what goes on around the area.
Cape Disappointment
On the Washington side of the mouth of the Columbia River and on the southern most tip of Long Beach, is a state park. I hope to spend a few hours at the park. They have the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, two lighthouses, Fort Canby, and if that isn’t enough, they even have something that they call Waikiki Beach. Let’s see if it measures up to the Hawaii version. I suspect that since it’s supposed to be about 20 degrees cooler than it will be in Hawaii, this beach will be much less crowded then the tropical version.
Oysterville
It’s a ghost of a town that was thriving from the oyster trade back in the gold rush days. The inhabitants of Oysterville made their mint by shipping their oysters to San Francisco and catering to the gold seekers. At one point in Washington history, it was even the county seat.
From what I understand, they boast a number of historic homes, churches, and other structures that are camera worthy and have stories to tell. I’m anticipating a walking tour of the town.
Museums
Lots and lots of museums. We’ll start with Marsh’s Free Museum. Their claim to fame is the alligator man they call “Jake”. It seems to be something like the petrified man at the Olde Curiosity Shop on the pier in Seattle.
Then there’s the cranberry museum and the kite museum. If we decide to cross over into Oregon, it’s not so far to the Columbia River Maritime Museum. I’ve been to that one before. It’s not so large, but it was very interesting. I may take the family there one day during our visit to the area.
Festivals
Depending on when we decide to go to Long Beach, there are a number of festivals and activities. This website has a list of upcoming events. They seem to have a year round party at Long Beach with a number of activities going on at various times throughout the year. Fortunately, it’s much more of a low key party than at Las Vegas.
