6/19 Long Beach, WA to Edmonds, WA

After checking out this morning, we drove out to the beach for another walk by the ocean. The beach was closed to cars, as some grading was going on, so we parked near the gate and strolled down the beach. There was hardly anyone there – it was more like a winter crowd, or non-crowd, than the beginning of summer. We brought along a gallon zip lock baggie, and Erin collected some sand. We now have some from the Atlantic, the Gulf Coast, the Pacific, and best of all, some white sand from White Sands, New Mexico. Erin uses it in some of her table decorations.

Even though it’s the last day of our trip, we were mindful that we were still on vacation, so chose a more circuitous route home rather than drive the Olympia to Seattle freeway corridor. From Long Beach, we drove to the towns of South Bend and Raymond, then towards Hoquiam, where we turned east on highway 12. At Shelton, we turned off onto highway 101, following the west side of Hood Canal. We stopped at a state park near the south end of the canal, and saw several people digging on the beach. There were many oyster shells on the beach, but they were digging clams out near the water at low tide. We walked out and checked one bucket, and they had a nice collection of little neck clams, and even a geoduck. Continuing on north, we crossed the Hood Canal floating bridge and made a stop in the town of Port Gamble. There was some activity going on, as they were setting up for a Civil War reenactment event on the weekend, but it wasn’t too crowded yet. We went to the general store to see if they had Erin’s favorite ice cream flavor – licorice. They did, and we each had a double scoop waffle cone. No licorice for me, though – I had pistachio and huckleberry.

It’s only about 8 miles from Port Gamble to Kingston, where we could catch the ferry over to Edmonds. Just as a reminder that we were close to home, we got a light dusting of rain while in Port Gamble, and a little more while waiting in line for the ferry.

We arrived home around 5 o’clock, and were Lucy and Rosie glad to see us. They ran back and forth between us and followed us out to the car as we brought stuff into the house. TJ was a no show – Mark had reported via email that she had disappeared a few days ago. We’re hoping she’s just in one of her quirky hiding moods.

It was a wonderful trip, but it’s always good to get back home. We’ve got quite a job ahead of us in editing pictures and videos, and that may actually have to wait. After some rest and boat preparation, we plan on heading out aboard the Potentate for a few more weeks of adventure before returning to reality. Stay tuned for another blog.