A Long Weekend in Long Beach, WA
Over Memorial Day weekend we took a trip to Long Beach, Washington and Portland, Oregon. We wanted to hit the seashore to soak up some sea air and experience a little bit of the Pacific North West beaches.
An easy choice was to visit Long Beach, about 2.5 hours drive from Seattle. It is one of the longest running beaches in the country and as well as one of the longest drivable beaches. Apparently it is not uncommon for tourists and thrill seekers to get caught out on the beach and sometimes loose their vehicles to the tides. In our short experience of the place we found it to be absolutely stunning in it's beauty. We could easily imagine what it must have felt like for Lewis and Clark to have discovered this part of the country. Although there are roads and touristy towns along the way, the country is still very much alive and looks as though it could have never been touched. This is especially true when you look out over Cape Disappointment, named for how difficult and harsh the sea can be at the mouth of the Columbia river. It is notorious for being a location of many shipwrecks and harsh storms.
The Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment | Photo by: Lauren L Caron © 2016
We're not the most outdoorsy couple, but we did make a point to walk the easy hike up to the lighthouse along the Discovery Trail to take in the view. We also walked out along the jetty in the park, to catch the view from sea level.
The hotel we stayed in is call Adrift Hotel, a newly renovated hotel on the beach that features minimalist decor. Not the coziest or most luxury retreat, but nice and easy. Also, they are dog friendly and that major selling factor for us. For the two days we were there, it was rainy and wet, not the best beach weather, but perfect for photographs! To offset the chilly weather, we drove up the beach to visit the working goat farm to see some goats and buy some cheese and soap.
Cape Disappointment | Photograph by: Lauren L Caron © 2016
All Photographs were taken by Lauren L Caron © 2016
