Long Beach Archives • Weekend Walkabout

Long Beach Coffee Roasters – Long Beach, WA

July 31, 2013July 29, 2013 by Don Wilson

I feel compelled to stop at a coffee shop frequently while traveling. They offer so much variety and interesting decor and concepts.

At Long Beach Coffee Roasters, we found a strange mix of new age, antique, and home town cafe.

The free Wi-Fi was the main attraction for us. Internet access was a bit of a problem around the area, so we came here mostly to spend some time catching up with our emails and facebook connections.

My mocha was satisfactory, though not quite as sweet as I prefer. I think the coffee was good, but a little exotic and unusual for my taste.

The barista with the blue hair was very chatty with the local guests that entered the shop. As and outsider, I didn’t feel quite as welcomed as other guests seemed to be, so I suspect they are most comfortable with their regular customers.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad experience and it served our purposes.

Long Beach, WA – Our Week in Pictures

July 30, 2013August 30, 2013 by Don Wilson

At Play on the Beach

Interesting Things to See

World's largest frying pan — World’s largest frying pan

World's Largest Chopsticks — World’s Largest Chopsticks

Orca the killer whale sculpture — Orca the Killer Whale Sculpture

Seahorse sculpture in the park — Seahorse Sculpture in the Park

Old mariner sculpture in the park — Old Mariner Sculpture in the Park

Museums and History

Marsh's Free Museum — Marsh’s Free Museum

Old Church on the Oysterville Walking Tour

Great Places to Eat

Cottage Bakery - Long Beach, WA — Cottage Bakery

Scooper's Ice Cream — Scooper’s Ice Cream

Sandsations Professional Sand Sculpting

End of the Day in Long Beach, WA

Cottage Bakery – Long Beach, WA

July 18, 2013 by Don Wilson

I had seen photos of Cottage Bakery on Pinterest before our trip, so I suspected that it was a highlight to a number of people’s vacation. I’ve never shied away from checking out a local bakery, so I figured that I owed it to myself and to my readers to make my own evaluation of this one.

While on a walk by my lonesome, I decided to stop by.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in the shop was that I would have to wait in line to see what they have in their pastry counter. I’m really not the patient sort, but in this case, having to wait in line meant that the product was in demand. That’s a good thing.

I purchased a small selection from the pastry counter and took them “to go” back to my condo to share with the family. We sampled their fruit turnovers, a cream cheese butterhorn, and something they call a blueberry race track. Later we went back as a group to try a few more items, including their muffins.

Everything we consumed from this shop was very tasty. I would have to say that Cottage Bakery will be a regular stop on every trip we make to Long Beach.

Lost Roo – Long Beach, WA

July 15, 2013 by Don Wilson

At the recommendation of one of the Long Beach locals, we stopped in at the Lost Roo restaurant for fish and chips. While there, members of our party sampled crab cakes and clam chowder, in addition to the fish and chips.

No one in our group were the least bit disappointed with the experience. The food was tasty and plentiful. The service was prompt and friendly. The decor and surroundings were clean and comfortable. The prices were reasonable – even for our frugal style.

I enjoy dipping my fish in barbeque sauce. During the meal, I asked for some BBQ for dipping. The waitress, seemingly apologetic, commented that their barbeque sauce is made with blueberries and wanted to know if that would be all right. “Hello!” Of course it’s all right. Who wouldn’t want to try some blueberry barbeque sauce?

The Lost Roo will definitely be a restaurant that we will return to on our next trip to Long Beach.

Scoopers – Long Beach, WA

Olebob’s Seafood Market and Galley Cafe – Ilwaco, WA

July 13, 2013July 13, 2013 by Don Wilson

Olebob's Fish Market and Restaurant — If you aren’t looking for Olebob’s, you will likely miss it.

Olebob’s is the kind of place that one would drive right by and not even notice as someplace that they might wish to stop. It’s located along the port of Ilwaco in the midst of several seafood packing houses.

Whenever I am looking for a place to eat during one of my vacation trips, I try to find locals who will confide in me where they like to eat. I avoid the trendy tourist focused restaurants and instead attempt to find where the “real” people eat.

Olebob’s came on one of those recommendations. I asked where to go for the best seafood. I was told that if you want Clam Chowder you should go to Captain Bob’s Chowder House, located next to Marsh’s Free Museum. If you want fish and chips, you should go to the Lost Roo. If you want crab cakes, you should find Olebob’s.

The short trip to Ilwaco was well worth it. We easily located Olebob’s Galley Cafe nestled in behind their seafood market. We found casual accomodations and a relaxed family atmosphere. We placed our order at the counter and sat at a table for a short wait for our food.

The food arrived quickly and was hot and tasty. The crab cakes were scrumptious as were the fish tacos that I ordered. Our only disappointment was that the portion sizes were on the small side. None in our group walked away from the table completely satisfied and full. For the prices, we anticipated more food, but on the other hand, it’s fresh seafood. Maybe our expectations were wrong.

Still, for the quality of the food, I would definitely go back.

Scoopers – Long Beach, WA

July 9, 2013July 9, 2013 by Don Wilson

Sometimes we like to stop for ice cream or frozen yogurt – ok, frequently, we love to eat frozen desserts. Our trip to Long Beach was no exception.

While strolling downtown along the main strip, we came across a place called Scoopers. Their sign out front boasted 48 flavors of ice cream.

“That’s a lot of flavors!” I thought. “I’m sure I’ll find something I like.

Upon entering the shop, we were engulfed by the aroma of sugar. “Mmmmm.” They have a glassed in counter full of chocolates. They carry a good variety of fudge. They also sell espresso drinks. All this was very tempting, but we were in the mood for ice cream, so we made our way past all that.

I learned that the sign out front was a little misleading. They actually had 64 flavors. The have a diverse selection of Alpenrose brand ice cream. I ordered a scoop of their Mt. Mazama Mint Fudge (I’m partial to chocolates). Oh, boy! It was amazing.

Their prices were reasonable. A one scoop bowl was $3.50 and two scoops were $4.75. My wife and I, being the frugal shoppers that we are, ordered a 2 scooper and shared it, instead of each having our own bowl. That workaround saved us $2.25.

Later, I had the opportunity to speak with the owner of Scoopers. He shared that the business began as a corner Standard Oil/Chevron service station in 1928. They continued to sell gasoline until 2003, when they decided that they couldn’t compete with the likes of Costco and Safeway.

He maintains that they have 3rd generation visitors who stop by whenever they visit the Long Beach area. Well, you can add me to the list of vacationers who will return to Scoopers on the next trip to Long Beach.

On the Beach at Long Beach, WA

July 8, 2013July 8, 2013 by Don Wilson

Playing with baby on the shore of the beach.

Much of my purpose for traveling to beach is for the pleasure of walking on the beach and watching the kids play in the sand and in the water. Having 2 young grandchildren along with us for our trip to Long Beach, WA, we are enjoying it immensely.

On the first full day at our destination, we took some time to walk the short jaunt to the beach. At about 65 degrees F. we prepared for the cool temperatures by wearing sweatshirts or windbreakers. A short distance into our walk, we began shedding our jackets. Sixty-five felt warmer than I had expected it would.

Of course, the kids were oblivious to the cool air. They just wanted to run and play in the sand and water. There would be no keeping them away from all that.

The breeze was strong enough to fly our kites that we brought with us to the beach. I may have enjoyed the kite flying more than the babies.

I’m really not much of a “water person”, myself, but there is something about long walks along the shore that is so relaxing and refreshing. With 28 miles of sandy beach, Long Beach gives plenty of opportunity for those long walks.

This trip to Long Beach is during the week following the Independence Day holiday. After scheduling our vacation for this week, we found out that they are having an annual sand sculpting competition at the end of the week. I’m sure we will schedule more time at the beach during the festivities.