Let's Go Fly A Kite

My song title today is from Mary Poppins and it was another glorious day. We left Seattle and stopped at a Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed in HaRVey the RV. The we drove about four hours to the southeast corner of Washington to the Long Beach Peninsula.

We decided to spend a night here and explore the beach and area. This is where the Lewis and Clark expedition finally found the Pacific Ocean and there are many historical sites and forts to visit. In the town of Long Beach we found a small seaside place which reminded me of the Jersey shore minus the boardwalk and crowds. Surprisingly it was nearly deserted and this is the middle of July. It is quite windy and cool and definitely not swimming weather, but they have all the shore type shops, amusements and seafood restaurants.

After a nice lunch we opted to see the Kite Museum since Long Beach is the site of the International Kite Festival each year. The museum takes itself a little too seriously though it was interesting to see flying gadgets from around the world and how kites have been used in the military and in aviation. They even have a Hall of Fame and some amusing uses of kites. Jeff is posing in the photo with an enormous bird kite, probably a Phoenix.

Naturally we decided to purchase a kite and set off for the beach. Jeff is demonstrating how you fly a kite from your chair. It was so windy he undid the string and the kite took off with no running or throwing it in the air like we did as kids. We sat there and enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine.

We were surprised to find a sandy beach although the sand was almost black with the same texture as the Jersey shore. No big waves here and just a few brave souls were in the water. You can drive your cars on the beach and they have a small boardwalk which is just a raised pathway along the back of the sandy area. There is also an eight mile trail that connects all the Lewish and Clark sites.

Later we went out for dinner and I had oysters which are a specialty here and harvested nearby in Willapa Bay. They were good!