Let's Go To The Beach!

What Fun We Had!

Our annual multi-generational family beach vacation took us to Westport, Washington this year. We all met at the Airbnb on a Friday evening, ready for a long weekend walking the beach, building sandcastles and exploring nearby areas.

We were in a beautiful Airbnb, Beachfront Bliss, just south of the town of Westport, RIGHT ON THE BEACH, perfect for a large family gathering. Plus, we brought our food for the weekend so we could focus on family, fun on the beach and celebrating an early birthday for the youngest member of our crew!

Our first evening was filled with a beautiful sunset and a relaxing evening after a short walk on the beach. We also got to see this huge - I mean hundreds of thousands of birds - fly down the beach in front of the house! We were mesmerized by the many birds that just kept coming and coming! This picture captures maybe 1/50th the number of birds we watched fly down the beach! There were so many we were beginning to conjure up some horror movie!

The First Morning at the Beach

On our first morning, we decided to take a walk, heading south down the beach, even though the weather was rainy and windy. We still had so much fun, looking for rocks and shells - and finding lean-to structures and forts - and even a money tree of sand dollars! We spent almost three hours playing and walking, with no idea of how long we'd been gone! Our family members who stayed at the house had no idea how much fun they missed!

Westport has long, wide beaches with a lot of room to explore. The sand is smooth, for easy walking. We walked for over an hour before turning around, and we could have walked for several hours more before running out of beach!

That afternoon, we decided to work on some art. Those who wanted to participate gathered around the large table and enjoyed talking and working on art that reflected the beach. And yes! We brought a lot of art supplies.

The second night brought more beautiful sunset views from the house!

Grayland and Tokeland

The next day, we went south on Highway 105 to Grayland and continued on to Tokeland to check out the Tokeland Hotel, built in 1885, making it the oldest hotel in Washington State. We found a charming hotel highlighting the history of the Tokeland area.

George and Charlotte Brown settled near the Shoalwater Tribe, led by Chief Toke. In 1858, the Browns built a homestead on 1,400 acres, raising crops and livestock and trading with Native Americans. Later, their daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband, William Kindred, built what is now the Tokeland Hotel, making it a home for themselves and visitors to the area. They also developed a golf course, post office, oyster farm and dairy in the area.

The new owners of the hotel, Heather Earnhardt and Zac Young - and their family of five children - have recaptured the earlier history and hospitality of the Tokeland Hotel and offer Southern hospitality at both the hotel and their award-winning restaurant, The Wandering Goose. To learn more about what they are doing, check out their Instagram Little Goose Farms.

Westport

We left Tokeland and headed north to the town of Westport, in Grays Harbor County, on the south side of Grays Harbor. Westport was originally the home of the Chehalis tribe until they were hit with a smallpox outbreak that took out most of the tribe. The remaining tribe was moved to a reservation about 60 miles inland.

Westport has always relied on fishing and seafood canning for its economy. When salmon restrictions were implemented in the late 20th century, Westport was able to add to their economy through recreational opportunities such as surfing and whale watching, even though they still rely on fishing and canneries. The town also added a shipyard, Westport Yachts, that builds luxury yachts here and in two other locations on the Olympic Peninsula, helping the economy of the region.

We visited downtown Westport and the marina, walking out on one of the piers and checking out commercial fishing vessels and crab pots on the dock, longing for some fresh crab. We also stopped for some shave ice while we were in town, and of course, some saltwater taffy at a local shop that has dozens of flavors!

While in town, we also walked to the end of Main Street to the viewing tower, down by the beach, to get a better look out to sea! Great views!

Surfing is popular with some of our family, but they didn't go during this visit. They did, however, stop in to make a couple of purchases at The Surf Shop, serving the Pacific Northwest since 1986 as Washington's FIRST surf shop.

There is A LOT more to do while in Westport! The Grays Harbor Lighthouse, Westport Maritime Museum, Grays Harbor State Park, Westport Aquarium - for just a few ideas!

Check out Visit Westport at https://www.experiencewestport.com/ for more ideas.

Back at the house and the beach!

It was time for a stroll through the neighborhood, birthday dinner, opening gifts and a last walk on the beach - with some sandcastle building - before leaving the next morning!

On our neighborhood walk, we discovered a piece of history, what we believe to be the Grays Harbor Coast Guard fog signal station, located on a neighborhood street close to the beach where we were staying.