Day 3: Washington coast

We slept in until seven. I went through the morning routine of shaking some fur off the blankets and putting everything back from the front seats to the way back. I have had a tried and true system down pat.

I washed up in the bathroom with baby wipes and Dr. Bronner’s, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and changed clothes. I put some make up on in the driver’s seat. I’ve been wearing this one outfit for the past couple days that is not yoga pants and sneakers and I’m so proud of myself. I think I have a perfectly good excuse for comfy clothes seeing as I’ve been sitting in the car driving so much, but no, I’m wearing jeans. I am a goddess. They’re a lot better with the dog fur situation and I haven’t washed them in so long they’re actually pretty comfortable. Goddess.

We walked on the beach for a long time. We went all the way down to a jetty, which was too far away to tell how big it was; if it was possible to walk on. It was, in fact, very wide with a flat top so we climbed up. There were big boulders a short way down that I’m sure were meant to prevent walking further, but I found an Emily-sized hole and slipped through. The jetty was covered in an uncomfortably-large gravel that threatened to sprain an ankle every 30 seconds. I will forgive the builders as it wasn’t meant to be a public walking path. 

When we got closer to the water spraying up on one side from the waves and I was thinking about turning back before I turned into a tragic Baywatch episode, I heard a wet snort. I looked down on the left side of the jetty where the water was calm twenty feet below and a smooth, gray seal face with big, dark, almond eyes was looking up at me. I couldn’t believe he said hi first! Obviously, his snort was to get my attention. I waved and said “HI BUDDY!!!” I could die today and be happy.

Walking back, I heard seals barking and saw a group of them on the other side of the jetty bobbing around in the waves. Seagulls cawed loudly, flying overhead like a horror movie, and I slipped back through my hole. I took my boots off now that the sun had time to warm the sand. I gave Henley string beans when he posed appropriately for my pictures. And that’s how our morning went.

We left Cape Disappointment and drove 101 North for the rest of the day’s drive. We stopped in South Bend where I was hoping to charge my laptop, write and post with WiFi, drink coffee, and all in a place that was Henley-friendly. I found a coffee shop, Elixir, that checked every single box. We stayed there for a while, enjoying the now-a-days-normalcy of Internet access. 

Heading north, we stopped at Quinault Rain Forest in Olympia National Forest where we took a short walk amongst the biggest trees I’ve ever seen. 

I meant to drive to Ruby Beach today, a place I fell in love with on my big U.S. road trip. The campground I ended up choosing to stay at tonight, Kalaloch, is a bit south of Ruby so we came here first to claim a spot. After seeing the beach 20 yards away from my site, I figured there was no need to get back in the car, drive north just to walk on a different beach, then come back down here. I have a perfectly good beach right here. So we stayed put.

(Ruby Beach is better in every way and I love her with all of my heart, but I just don’t feel like driving anymore.) 

We walked on the beach some more, then walked down the street to a tiny grocery store where I bought smoked salmon, a bag of peanut MnMs, and a 187 mL bottle of Sutter Home Merlot. I know what you’re thinking: How tasteless to drink red with seafood, I know. 

I just realized this is the last time I will fall asleep with the waves for a long time and I feel sad. At least I have peanut MnMs. 

It was a bit windy out.

Dinner is served: piece of French baguette almost stale enough to rip out my teeth, local smoked salmon for $10.50, avocado and cucumber that have been sitting in a cooler with melted ice for three days, and wine so bad I couldn't drink it. Must have had to breathe.