 Gibran wrote "Let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance between you". I'm going to copy those words of Gibran and post them near my bed. With Ray taking a temporary job in the Northwest, we are both enjoying the space in our togetherness, and togetherness in our space. During this trip we headed from Seattle to Kalaloch Beach in rainy February. We took the Seattle Ferry to Bremerton, about a half hour ride, where we would wake up the next morning to begin our journey. We stayed at the Hampton Inn next to the ferry and enjoyed a scenic view of the marina from our room. For a hotel, I was impressed to find green pressed drinks, and gluten free alternatives at the continental breakfast buffet. I don't know why I am surprised by Seattle's progressiveness.  It was a foggy and rainy morning in Bremerton, not unusual for February. We could see the Ferry crossing the water from this view. At night the many lights on the shore and marina looked festive. With breakfast in our bellies, we traveled south around the eastern part of the Olympic Peninsula then up the western side to Kalaloch Lodge. We made a note-worthy stop at the 1835 built, comfortable and inviting Tokeland Hotel and Restaurant and will someday enjoy a return trip there.  Tokeland Hotel and Restaurant sitting area, one of several places to sit and relax. After lunch at Tokeland Restaurant and watching the guinea hens outside we headed north. Am I the only one learning to check every step of the way? We ended up in what we thought was our destination but was-in fact...not. Maybe it was the fried oysters fogging up our brains. We ended up in Taholah, the end of the coastal road north from the Tokeland Restaurant. To get to Kahaloch we had to back-track and go around the protected coastal wilderness to get to our destination. Ugh, we'd been on the road in rain since morning and it was approaching the evening. It looked on the map like another hours drive. The shore and forested land is protected from vehicles for the sake of the wilderness and life therein. It's not possible to drive straight up the coast in Washington State. While it was really frustrating to have not read the map correctly, it was a good lesson in knowing Washington better and to not take for granted that the coastline would be available to us furless two-leggeds. Luckily even though not on the map, there were several roads heading east and one read "To 101 N. I turned and fairly soon we reached our destination.  High tide here is shallow but powerful. Kahaloch Lodge is a National Park Lodge and Restaurant. There is little in groceries or anything else close by. Our room overlooked the mouth of a creek which fed into the ocean. The roar of the ocean was a loud, continuous roar. I couldn't get over how very loud it was. There was also a lot of wind that evening and rain blowing horizontal. We woke to a cloudy sky with the promise of sun by 11:00 along with a high tide at 11:35. All the workers at the lodge were happy for a sunny day and proclaimed that it has been "some time" since a day like this was remembered. Everyone had on a bright smile to go with the bright day. After breakfast, we headed north, a quarter mile walk on 101 North from the lodge to a footbridge lead into the forest.  Ray leading the way toward the shoreline from the forest path. Seafoam The high tide brought with it the sea foam. So much of it, we were amused and entertained. Why was there so much foam? According to the National Ocean Service agitation of wind and waves can cause seafoam. The jello-like textured substance made us both laugh as it undulated in the wind and little balls of it lifted and blew over the surface like tumbleweeds.  Knee deep seafoam stirred up from the wind and waves the night before.
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AuthorI write about things that inspire me like art, nature, and travel. Archives
June 2020
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