Farewell Washington

The Wares are on the move again.



We woke up to a stunning view from our 3rd floor bedroom window at the Hoh Humm Bed and Breakfast and the morning only got better from there. The very reasonable price of our room also included a farm-style breakfast. One of the things that drew us here in the first place was that they promoted the fact that they're kid-friendly (uncommon for many B&B's). After a pleasant visit with the other families over breakfast, the kids all followed the hosts around the farm while they did chores (feed the chickens, gather eggs, take care of the pigs, goats, llamas, etc.). It was just another unexpected, yet wonderful experience we've had on our vacation.

After a couple hours lingering at the farm, we loaded up the kids in the car and headed a short way back up the road for our visit to the Hoh Rain Forest. The words that come to mind as I reflect on it: big, old, mossy, peaceful.




A short drive down the road from the rain forest put us at Ruby Beach. I've traveled many places during my time in the Navy, but I've never seen anything quite like the shoreline of the Pacific NW. Mountains and tall trees near the beach make for quite a sight to see. The kids and I enjoyed sampling the wild berries that grew along the path on our walk down to the beach (the ripe ones were orange). This missus wasn't quite as keen to sample wild berries that she couldn't identify.



We'd lingered so long at Hoh and Ruby, that we decided to limit ourselves to only one more beach for the day. After all, we still had to make it to Portland to stay the night. A friend had recommended Cannon Beach in Oregon, so down the road we went. We wound up a few miles short of Cannon at Seaside, OR. The beach was picturesque, nice and sandy, and the water a good 5-10 degrees warmer than it was in Washington (we're still just dipping our toes in the water 'til we get to Southern California). However, there was a mysterious green substance at the edge of the surf that I couldn't quite identify that soured the experience a bit. Given that it's never fun to imagine yourself wading in...whatever...we got back in the car and headed to Portland.

I debated whether to write anything about this at all; I've decided to go with the abbreviated version: our lodging was less-than-ideal. Sludge on the beach + worst drivers in the west (so far) + bad lodging = the Wares with a very negative view of Oregon in general, and Portland specifically. We'll see if tomorrow (a work day) can help turn that perception around.

Thanks for reading.