Update from Seaside, Oregon

Mon 3rd Oct

The chill out day turned out to be pretty good. We took the ferry over to Bainbridge Island (35 mins), wandered around the shops.
Then would you believe it we finished up at a pub overlooking the harbour that seemed to have nearly every micro brew from the north west. So we sat on the deck overlooking the marina, sampled a few brews, had some crabcakes before setting off back to Seattle on the ferry.

A good "chill out" day.

Tues 4th Oct

Took the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston. Then followed US101 all around the Olympic peninsular. Very scenic, and we know a lot of people like it, but there are equally scenic spots in the Rockies. The weather was overcast so it may well have spoiled some of the best views. Temperature was in the low fifties. Stopped for lunch at The In Place, Forks, then carried on to Aberdeen where we had been thinking of overnighting. However, Aberdeen was not an attractive place - full of smoke from an ancient lumber mill, the air was blue with it and it looked and smelled awful. Travelled on to Long Beach, lovely place, quite delightful.
For those interested, the cost of gas went up as high as $3.24 in eastern Washington state, but was a little lower on the peninsular.
Weather was cloudy with sunny intervals, fifties again.

Wed. 5th Oct
Took a walk along the boardwalk and the beach, windy and a bit chilly. Decided we had to visit the Cranberry Museum - because it was there! Had a walk round the 'ponds' where the berries are grown and then went into the inevitable Gift Shop. Bought some beads, cranberry coloured of course, for the Christmas tree.
We then went a couple of miles South to where Lewis and Clark first reached the Pacific at the mouth of the Columbia. We visited the North Head lighthouse, where a very pleasant elderly volunteer guide took us to the top and explained some of the history. For those who are interested they have fitted some webcams there so that people can monitor the coastal erosion see http://zuma.nwra.com/north_head/
We then visited the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Very interesting, spent a bit of time there. Again, for those who are interested, the replica of Fort Clatsop on the south side of The Columbia burned down the day before we arrived - somebody must have known we were coming!!
By this time, we were a bit parched, so went and had a coffee and some fabulous clam chowder at a place back in Long Beach, the Loose Caboose. The chef served us and apparently he had won third place in a clam chowder contest the previous weekend. Continued our journey to Seaside Oregon where we stayed overnight at the Hi Tide Resort motel with a room overlooking the sea. Plan to carry on down the Oregon coast on US101 tomorrow