Spectacular Sunday Drive

We got off late from Crescent Lake Lodge. The day was clear and beautiful and we breakfasted together in our cabin on granola, yogurt, tea and coffee, thanks to Lee and Danielle.  Juliet got some play time, and we took turns photographing each other in front of the lake. The photos almost look like we were taking them in front of a poster, but they were real.  

We decided to go north and find a beach for our picnic. We found a wonderful spot on the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca looking across to Vancouver Island.  The tide was out as we hopped from one sandbar to another.  The water was warm and shallow and the sand was elastic.  We spotted a pair of Bald Eagles lunching on a low tide morsel on one of the sandbars. Danielle and Lee had brought a delicious loaf of bread and some juicy turkey and ham, so our lunch was splendid.  We parted ways after that and while Danielle and Lee turned back to Seattle, we headed south toward our hotel in Long Beach.

It was a longer drive than we had expected, but the scenery was spectacular.  We took a detour to La Push, a small fishing village in the Quillayute Reservation.  The beaches were outstanding.  Eroded rocks poked from the sea reminding me of the tip of Brittany.  The ocean currents that carved them must be fierce.  There was an enormous tree stump on the beach that dwarfed the beachcombers.

 

From La Push we headed south, stopping from time to time to admire more spectacular beach views.  Occasionally we glimpsed the Olympic Mountains, but our view was usually hidden by ridges of hills covered with trees.  Some of them were the giants of the National Park, but many were tree farms in various stages of harvesting and regrowth.

We arrived in the beach town of Long Beach where we dined on crab cakes and oysters before turningwas in.