Willapa Bay

Sir or Madam: For an autobiography, I should be grateful for recollections from anyone who can remember me.
-- Willard R. Espy

Monday, November 12, 2001
One year ago: Comedy Competition
Two years ago: Orycon I
Three years ago: A Coach Bag

We had a nice breakfast this morning, cooked in our "cabin" kitchen: toast, juice, coffee. How economical! We packed up our stuff, then drove out to the beach. Jack didn't want to drive my car on to the beach, though this is allowed. We walked out a ways, then Jack sat on a large driftwood log and smoked a see-gar, while I went closer to the water. The surf was quite impressive! Since the beach is flat, every now and then a wave comes much farther up than the other waves. You have to watch out or you'll get caught!

Then we set out to walk around downtown Long Beach. Marsh's Free Museum was open now, so I was able to see Jake the Alligator Man and the other marvels there. I was actually more interested in all the old mechanical musical machines, which mostly still work.

We visited a few other stores, but the most clever marketing combo I saw was a quilting store and fudge shop, Anna Lena's. The fudge was good! So I got some chocolate decadence fudge and some cappucino fudge. I was tempted by the special deal (buy a pound, get a half pound free), but we really didn't need a pound and a half of fudge.

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We backtracked a bit south to visit the Lewis and Clark center we'd missed out on yesterday. First stop: the beach again! There's a large jetty built by the Army Corps of Engineers. Here we heard sea lions barking. I walked close enough to the waves to be able to make them out; they were floating in the lee of the jetty and chatting with each other.

The museum was very worthwhile (and made me want to see the Ken Burns documentary on L&C again). They also had stuff on early lifeboat crews, and an real lighthouse lens. Jack said you used to be able to actually get inside the lens!

We drove off north, through a lot of land owned by timber companies. There's a long distance where not too many folks seem to be living. Our route took us along Willapa Bay (here's a study on the ecology of the bay and how private ownership of oyster tidelands has affected it.)

We stopped for lunch at South Bend, and ate at a restaurant right on the water. We had a great view, but the smell of restroom disinfectant was a bit strong for me. The sun was out. I liked my pan-fried oysters, and Jack had a halibut saute. We did a quick tour through the Willapa Seaport Museum.

The most amusing sight in Raymond (twin city of South Bend) is the Wildlife-Heritage Sculpture Corridor, called "enchanting." These are large steel cutouts of animal or human figures typical to the area.

Willard R. Espy is an author who played with words, who came from Oysterville (north of Long Beach) and returned there all his life. As we drove, I tried to tell Jack about him, but didn't do a good job. I know I have at least one of his books, so I'll have to dig it up!

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The rest of the drive wasn't so scenic. We headed to Aberdeen, then over to Olympia, to pick up Jack's daughter H--- who had been with her mom for the weekend. D'oh! She was still out somewhere, even though we arrived right on the dot of the time we said we'd do the pickup. I was a bit aggravated, since this isn't the first time this has happened.

It was late in the day, dark, and rainy. Not a good time to go to the Nisqually wildlife refuge, which we did another time. I just drove up the hill to Lacey and parked at a strip mall, then went into a Ben Franklin crafts store for solace. Jack stayed in the car. When a half hour had gone by, we drove back and successfully made the pickup.

This was a good long weekend! I like traveling about and spending time with Jack. The convention was good for me, too.