The Harborview Inn with it’s cement block walls and pretty blooming rose bushes out front and clown fish windsocks hanging from the roof line was fine for the night but it was time to get on the road! The fog was not nearly as thick as it was the day before and most of the time we were heading north so the sun wasn’t shining in our faces except when we headed into a curve that wasn’t surrounded by tall beautiful pine or spruce trees. The towns sometimes ran from one to the other – all old and now, all - very touristy. Cannon Beach even has a boardwalk and a very busy downtown – very Deco! Hello Florida! We stopped at a small market and bought a ½ dozen of eggs and began our search for a good spot to stop and fix breakfast! We found a small county park right on a pretty little lake and H went to work! Soon we were dining on perfectly prepared bacon and eggs with a side of fresh red tomatoes brought all the way from Michigan. We now only have 3 left from the big bunch that we brought from home! They’ll be gone on Saturday.
We crossed from Oregon to Washington at Astoria over the Columbia River and worked our way north, staying as close to the coast as we could – hoping to visit even more amazing stunning vistas. The views we encountered were pretty in their own right but not what we expected. This part of the state is lumber country and a lot of Indian Reservations. The coastline, when we did get to see it, was rugged but the waters were rough and coffee with cream colored with frothy foam. Fish hatcheries abound and seafood restaurants are in every town.
We are spending the night in an old, small, lumber town whose real claim to fame is that the ”Twilight” book and subsequent movie were from right here. The movie was actually produced down in Oregon because the taxes and other costs to film it here were too high. Go figure – they made copies of everything up here and rebuilt them down there. We ate in the coffee shop/restaurant where Bella used to go. The town even has a map marking all the places in the book where the kids used to frequent – the high school, the hospital, the coffee shop, the store where she bought her prom dress and the beach where she used to walk. H says we can get some pictures of these places to take home for our granddaughter, who is “into” Twilight stuff!
The Town Motel was painted a bright sky-blue and had fuchsia and purple hanging floral baskets everywhere. Each room had a white plastic loveseat in front of the lace-curtained picture window. The grounds were all abloom with flowers in every hue of the rainbow! The inside of the room - out dated English floral. Oh well. We slept well and there was plenty of hot water. However - - the 3 water fixtures did not drain very well. Time to move on!!
H agreed that we could backtrack a bit and drive up into the Olympic National Park and the Hoh River Rain Forest since we would not likely be in this area again. On the way up into the mountain we drove thru drizzling rain in the forest but the sun peaked thru weakly when we reached the top. After going thru the information in the visitor center, we took a short hike thru the dripping wet, moss laden, verdant green Spruce Forest. The trees had lime green moss draped all over them like the live oak’s silver gray Spanish Moss down in Florida. The dead trees were even wrapped in green velvet. On our way back down out of the forest, the sun really shone and managed to filter down thru the dense treetops. A sunny end to a very gray beginning!
Out of the park and on to Port Angeles! After a stop at the visitor’s center to gather a pile of pamphlets and a list of motels, we had lunch at Wendi’s and then selected the Riviera Inn, which has turned out to be a way better choice than the evening before. We have now “shopped” the downtown area and then went for a walk around the neighborhood where H found a 2 story Colonial house for sale that he liked. It faces the river with a wonderful view and a price tag in 6 figures – starting with a 7!
Tomorrow is Sunday and we will be on the 8:20am ferry to Victoria Island for 2 days. The van will stay in an overnight parking lot in Port Angeles. Our necessary items are downsized into one bag to carry on the boat which will dock right downtown. We will be staying in the downtown area to make things easier. A tote bag has replaced my purse. The camera batteries are charged and our passports are ready. This laptop will not be going with us so don’t look for the next blog for a few days. OH, just think of the things we are gonna see! I’ll tell you ALL about it soon!
