A little further north again....next stop Ocean Shores, Washington

We've been hanging in Ocean Shores at the Elks after the Escapees rally in Grayland. Ocean Shores seemed like the next logical stop along the Washington coast as we continue our slow drive back to the Seattle area. Eventually we need to be back in Seattle by late August. We are flying to Europe primarily to visit our daughter, grand daughter, and son in law in Krakow but are also planning to tour a couple of other cities we have not seen.  

Ocean Shores is yet another small coastal town at the north end of Grays Harbor, and at the opposite end from Grayland. The shallow bay, which is 17 miles long and 12 miles wide, was "discovered" by Captain Gray in 1792 when he sailed here during his fur-trading expeditions along the Pacific. The Quinault Indians were here long before that of course, together with several other tribes.
Here is a good link to the history of the area: Grays Harbor County

The map below shows the red route we traveled from Grayland through Aberdeen, hugging the bay all the way to Ocean Shores.

wikipedia map embellished by the blog author to show Ocean Shores location

along route 105 hugging the bay

Tammy's rig, the Legg's Apex and us

The Leggs, their friend Tammy, and the Allgires came here too after the Escapees rally. With two Alpines parked side by side it was a mini weekend-Alpine-rally.  
And with 4 Escapees here it was an Escapees spot rally.

We've been having a good time together. Lodging at the Elks works for us, with 50 amp and water. There are 10 hookup sites and an area in the back which can be used for dry camping in a pinch. The neighborhood is quiet, and there is a golf course across the street. There is wi-fi and when it's not working well in the RV area, a better signal is available inside the lodge which is open daily.

you are a deer and not an elk!

We enjoyed watching deer walk through the grounds every afternoon. They came across the road from the golf course and stopped to munch on bushes at the Elks. 
It's calving season and there are many young ones. There is a particular mama deer with her two spotted Bambi fauns that like to visit daily.
There seem to be a lot of deer in the neighborhood and they are quite at home with humans and traffic. I followed a trail on one of my walks and the mother and twins munching grass at the side of the path were quite unconcerned about my approach. They looked up and continued munching while I walked on by.

Access to the beach is about a mile away but there is also a trail behind us that we explored one day. It takes you through a forested area and leads to a lake with homes on either side.

The beach here is wide and flat and perfect for long walks and runs.

wide and flat beach expanse

Michael on his morning run.. can't miss that neon orange

A couple of times over the weekend we all headed to the beach in the late afternoon to fly kites. Steve has a P40 airplane kite and an airfoil kite. 

the P40 kite

preparing to launch the airfoil

lift and take-off

wide, flat beach , looking north

enjoying the camaraderie and the kites

kites, dogs, and retirees just having fun at the beach

Janet took a video of Michael at the controls:

one of the Legg's Chin brood

The dogs enjoyed the beach too. As cute as the little dogs are, I am glad I don't have to clean and groom them after their dips in the ocean followed by running around on the sand!















On Friday after we arrived, we all gathered at Galway Irish Pub for their all-you-can-eat fish and chips. 

enjoying a pre-dinner Irish brew

There is a gift shop at the restaurant. I bought Lyons Irish tea, a brand I had not yet tried. It turned out to be a good and strong tea.

Ocean Shores isn't very big. It's a laid back and quiet community, but it does have a main street with several little shops. There is an Ace Hardware store and one pretty well stocked grocery store. Oh, and there is a quilt shop in town that Sandy and I investigated over the weekend. I liked the row by row quilt this shop is offering and got the kit with its Ocean Shores stamp. I've also been thinking about a project with flying geese so this seems perfect. I plan to make a table runner from the kit.  

Row by Row from Beach Tyme Quilts in Ocean Shores

The Allgires left on Monday, followed by the Leggs and Tammy the following day. We decided to linger here longer after hearing about Seattle's forecast for record-breaking temperatures later in the week.  In fact, we ended up staying two weeks. Seattle was also quite smokey from the Canada BC fires north of us. Between the heat and the smoke inland, Ocean Shores was a much better choice.  Having our home where we park it, and parking it where the weather suits us, turns out to be a benefit. 

We enjoyed the solitude and down time. For the previous couple of weeks we had been socializing, gadding about and exploring with friends.  The change of pace suited us just fine. We relaxed, enjoyed the beach, and worked on projects. In other words, we followed a normal daily home routine. For us, home is, after all, where we park it.

I set up the sewing machine and completed several projects. 
Michael has been busy too, working on Alpine related maintenance and other projects. Just as I enjoy playing with fabrics, he enjoys video editing and digitizing the movies he takes, something he doesn't always have long periods of time to complete.

brand new coolant tank and connecting pipe

Michael installed a coolant overflow reservoir after chatting with Todd at length about all things relating to engines. The Napa and Ace stores in town came in handy. Otherwise, the closest town for major shopping is in Aberdeen, 25 miles away.
He also got on the roof to clean and wax it. At least there are no gutters to clean like with our old home.

This Elks' lodge is active with daily activities so there was no concern about being bored. 
I joined the weekly line dancing sessions. The teacher, Ethel, is a marvel. I couldn't quite believe my eyes when I saw her pick up a cane to lead us in a dance. She had a scary health issue several years ago and doctors thought she would never be mobile again. I guess she proved them wrong and today uses the cane to steady herself "just in case." It doesn't stop Ethel from continuing to enjoy what she loves best. I learned several new dances and had fun with the gals. 

We both joined a dance at the Elks one Friday night and had a jolly time. And the following Saturday there was a "Cheeseburger in Paradise Party" dance with a live Jimmy Buffet tribute band. The Dave Roberts Band was excellent and the company at our table lively and friendly. I don't remember laughing so much for a long time. 

We had a great time and danced the night away.

And in case you are wondering, we did indeed have cheeseburgers and fries for dinner, in honor of the song, Cheeseburger in Paradise, which became one of Buffet's signature songs.

The last week of our stay, the weather turned cooler and it was mostly overcast. Occasionally it was misty and one night it rained quite hard through the night. We realized that it's a long time since we heard rain on the Alpine roof. 

Our beach experiences were still enjoyable, just different from sunny southern California beaches. Michael ran on alternate days while I walked and took lots of pictures of things that were of interest to me. We have a routine that works. He runs while I walk briskly for 20 minutes. Then we each turn around and 20 minutes later we end up back at the beginning again. I can usually spot Michael ahead in the distance with his bright orange running shirt which stands out particularly well on grey days.

 The beach is wide and flat making it easy to walk and run. 

The sand is grey and quite grainy. There are very few shells but they do stand out against the grey background.

razor clam shell

Typically I saw numerous washed up crab carcasses on my walks gathered in specific areas. The birds must love it here.

Occasionally there are seaweed bits and grasses strewn across the sand. In some spots there are accumulations of small grey stones. 

Everything seems to have a grey hue: the overhead sky, horizon, the sea, and the sand.

There are always cars on the beach, either cruising along slowly or parked. It's a strange concept to us but the beach is part of the state highway system. Apparently it goes back to the time when there were fewer roads in the early days of automobiles. 

Today driving on the beach is simply accepted as part of a beach experience, particularly here at Ocean Shores. 

There are several specific areas along the beach that are closed to vehicular traffic from April through Labor Day. Someone mentioned it was to protect the razor clam beds. Sign posts along the beach warn cars not to drive beyond a certain point. This car, however, apparently missed the sign and drove anyway. 

Digging for razor clams is a popular pastime, particularly in the fall and winter months. At this time of the year there were families building sand castles and kids digging large holes. The water is too cold to swim but we did see a few crazies running in and out of the shallow waves. 

Kite flying is a popular activity. Michael saw horses on the beach one day, and we saw a group of adults on rented motorized bikes whizzing along the sand having lots of fun.

One day a Rialta pulled in to the spot next to us. This is the cute and compact RV we had for many years before the Alpine. I called the Rialta our condo on wheels but seeing both RVs side by side like this perhaps it would be more appropriate to call the Rialta a studio loft. The difference in size is quite notable. Of course, the Rialta was a lot easier to maneuver in tight and small spaces and we could always rely on parking her just about anywhere. Not to mention the great gas mileage we got. 
Before the Rialta, we toured the US and parts of Canada in an even smaller Eurovan camper. Now we have had a Small, Medium, and Large RV-ing experience😉 
The most comfortable for living in is of course the Alpine. However it is also the most complicated. There are trade-offs and no one size fits all.

We met the couple in the Rialta. They had just bought it recently and were thrilled with its well laid out floorplan and easy maneuverability. Both widowed recently, they met online and are now happily gallivanting about in their Rialta. It reminded me that we bought our Rialta from a "more mature" couple for whom this was also a second marriage after being widowed. They too met on line and since they enjoyed traveling, they purchased the Rialta to go on honeymoon. Needless to say, the two of us had several giggles about Rialta being a honeymoon RV!

Tomorrow we make our way to Puyallup, near Tacoma. It will be just over 100 miles' drive. The heatwave is over and a predicted sprinkle will help clear the smokey air finally. 
The following week we will be off to Europe. I am not a good flier at the best of times, but seeing our daughter, grand daughter and son-in-law is exciting. 
I will continue to post as I can, time and wifi permitting. For the next month, Alpine adventures will extend to rail adventures in Europe.