Westport, Again!

We are back at the Pacific Ocean for the third time this year!  Arriving late on Wednesday we stopped in town and had dinner at the Fish Shack and walked the trail before heading to our home away from home travel trailer. The RV park is very nice.  All the luxuries of home, running water, sewer, TV and WiFi.  Our trailer is very comfortable and we  both slept soundly with the sound of rain on the tin roof. 

This morning was the first morning razor clam tide of the season.  It was pretty dark when we headed to the beach but daylight arrived with the low tide.  We quickly dug our limits and headed back to camp. 

 Bruce's new favorite store.  We actually hit two of the Dennis Company's today looking for replacement shoes.  This is the store in Raymond.

 This is the pier in Tokeland.  The day started out with a touch of rain.  By the time we reached the water it was 58 degrees and sunny. 

 Tokeland crab boats - you can buy fresh live crab right on the dock. 

As usual we got a little goofy with the camera.  We are so lucky we have the time to travel - retirement is so worthwhile!

Projects!

 

Step one for the RV parking area.  Take out the fake water spigot.  The big timbers will frame a gravel area for the trailer to park.  The wind has been howling all weekend so it's been inside projects.

One of the inside projects has been a new coffee table.  Bruce designed and built this table from   reclaimed 2x6's, no nails and a blend of burning the wood with a torch and 2 kinds of stains. One of a kind for sure! Bruce will be taking orders..... just kidding!

Signs of Spring

This morning I looked around the house for some signs of spring - not in the dining room... the Christmas Poinsettia is still going strong.  I love the pink color this year.  The trick for the poinsettia plant must be neglect.  My 007 bulldog doesn't quite match... looking for a location and place of honor for this little guy. 

Outside I can see most of the snow is gone from the hills.  The Chinook Wind took care of warming everything up. 

Some of my plants are starting to sprout - the trees have been trimmed and the garden tilled just waiting for some warmer weather.  This week has been in the high 50's and low 60's. Won't be long now we'll have the garden planted and the lawn mowing will begin. 

This Marmot was out enjoying the warm spring day on Tjossem Road.  First time we've had one stop what he was doing and smile.  Notice the teeth?  5 days until the official start of spring but I think it's here in the Kittitas Valley.  Yippee!! 

The last day

 Today was our last day on the coast so we made the most of it.  Started the morning driving down to Tokeland for gas. 

 Checked out this old cannery - crab were $10 fresh off the boat. 

This cannery has been owned by the same family since the 1930's.  Lots of canned seafood and some cute home accessories.  Great place to stop. 

 Funny sign -

 We ate lunch at this place on the waterfront in Westport.  I had an amazing fish taco and Bruce had crab cakes - super delicious, we will be planning at least one meal there on our next trip!  I expect they will be voted best fish & chips in 2013 as well. 

 Walked out to the end of the boardwalk.  It was gray but not too cold. 

 In-coming crab for the cannery - the boat was pretty low in the water so we think it was full of crab. 

 A family was doing some crab catching off the public pier.  This seagull was trying to sneak a bite from their bait bag.  A couple of kids pulled up a crab pot while we were there - two crabs in the basket.  The boys were so excited, pulled out their crab measure to make sure the catch was legal. 

 Last day photo - the sign behind says "Enjoy your stay".  We sure did!

The last clam tide this evening was challenging - rain and wind kept hiding the clam spouts.  45 minutes and we had our limits and headed back to camp.  The past week has been great, the RV is a perfect way to vacation. 

Clams

 These are the holes on the beach after a hard hour of clam digging.

Apple and Mike got their limits for the second day.  The weather was gray but not too cold. 

Company!

 Pat and John drove down for the weekend - they are staying in the rooms attached to the RV park we are camping in.  They drove into Westport and bought some fresh crab on the dock.  The crabs were so fresh they were still warm from the boiling pot! 

Bruce showed John how to clean the crab at the cleaning station.  We fixed Crab Louie's for dinner.  Best crab I've had in years!  The cleaning station is also where Bruce has been processing the clams - such a luxury! 

 The ocean had an eerie warm fog at low tide.  But the clams were showing nicely.

 John and Pat tried clam digging for the first time ever. 

 John and Pat quickly got their limits - John was really enjoying himself.  This morning he said he wasn't even sore!

 Brother Mark came for the dig - looks like he's explaining to his big brother the way of the tide.

 Two of the Oergel brothers. 

 Mike and Apple are also here for the dig along with his daughters and grandkids.  Mike's Grandson Alex loving the sand and clams.

Lots of people digging.  The weather was warm without any wind.  Great day to be at the beach! 

The Pacific Ocean in March - Blue sky and 50 degrees!

We drove into Aberdeen today to pick up some groceries, supplies and a wooden bear from a chain saw wood carver.  On the way back to Westport I shot a couple of pictures out of the truck window - almost caught a picture of the Oyster beds
 Oyster store we will be visiting when we have time.  We rushed back to camp to get ready for the clam tide at 4.

 A few people beat us to the beach!

My fifteen in the clam net - the shovel is just for show.  The clam gun is our new tool of choice.

 We easily got our limits within about a half hour.  The weather was so super nice we only wore sweatshirts and jeans. 

A great example of the size of the clams this season.  Wow! We are enjoying having our own place to stay.  So far, so good! 

To the coast!

 We left home yesterday for our first outing in the RV.  It was snowing like crazy!

 Arriving in Westport the rain seemed never ending.  Right around noon today (in time for the first clam tide) the sun came out.  We are staying in a pretty nice campground.  The owners are from Sweden and so very nice - no worries about paying just check back when you are leaving... I love that attitude! 
Home sweet home!  So much nicer than the cabin we stayed in last January.  Our first campout is going well  - everything works and we are warm and dry. 

Backyard project

 We decided to take down the pergola this spring and build a cover for the back patio.  The pergola has looked great for the past six years but we really needed a cover on the patio so Bruce could use his smoker all winter long.  This is a picture from last spring - I forgot to take a picture before we started.

 Step 1 - We spent the whole day unscrewing the cedar boards.  Bruce numbered them all so they can be reinstalled somewhere else. 

 This is the back of the house - looks so plain!

 The construction crew arrived at 6:45 on Monday morning and began digging holes for the posts. 

The posts are right at the end of the cement.  Part of Oergel Creek had to be diverted.  Thank goodness the creek is dry at this time of the year!

 Day three saw the roof mostly done.

On Friday the crew was done! My kind of project - we put the creek back together today.  There is still painting and stain to do but we need to wait until the weather is warmer.  I think this addition will really add to the use of the patio year around.