Ilwaco’s Saturday Market

Every Saturday during the summer, Ilwaco, Washington, has a Saturday market.  There were lots of craft booths and one produce booth.  I bought red and yellow grape tomatoes and corn on the cob.      

I have some more postings from our weekend at the beach, and I’m a little behind because of the lack of internet.  We’re staying at Cape Disappointment State park until Wednesday morning.  A whole bunch of campers left on Sunday and a whole bunch of new campers replaced them.  We’ve had glorious weather while we have been here, which makes it worthwhile putting up with the summer crowds.

Sunday afternoon’s highlight was seeing Margie and Bruce again.  They and their “grands” came out to the park for a visit.  Yes, those girls are just as cute and winsome as they appear in their photos.  What a delight to spend time with all four of them!

Saturday at Cape Disappointment State Park

View of the Pacific Ocean from Beard’s Hollow Overlook  

Since we visited Cape Disappointment State Park in April, a new Beard’s Hollow overlook has been built along the road into the park.

Beard’s Hollow is named for Captain Edward Beard, the commander of the Vandalia.  In January, 1853, his ship was sighted sailing nearby with no sign of trouble.  One week later, the Vandalia washed ashore near McKenzie Head.  The captain’s body was found in this inlet.  No one survived to tell the story, but many attribute the loss of the Vandalia to the treacherous conditions at the mouth of the Columbia River.  Many ships have been lost in this area, which is how it got it’s name, Cape Disappointment.

Dave at the Beard’s Hollow Overlook

There’s nothing disappointing about the park, though, and this weekend was one of the busiest summer weekends.  Many people were enjoying the park’s Waikiki Beach.  Unlike its better known cousin in Hawaii, this Waikiki is full of driftwood.

Waikiki Beach

  North Jetty’s rocks

Pelicans over Waikiki Beach

Last night Long Beach had fireworks in celebration of the Kite Festival.  The display was supposed to start at 9:30, but it didn’t get going until 10 pm.  In the meantime, we watched night kite-flying demonstrations.  It was interesting seeing the kites all lit up.  Unfortunately, it was very COLD at the beach, but we unthawed on the way back to our campsite!

Update on Jonathan

I’m  writing this while sitting out at a picnic table at North Jetty.  Behind me, up on a hill, is Cape Disappointment lighthouse.  Why I am sitting outside, besides taking advantage of the sunshine and mild weather?  It’s because this spot in the state park has two bars of cell service, which allows me to tether to my computer.  I need the umbrella so I can see the screen. 

Have you seen all those pictures of people using their computers outside or at the beach?  How do they do that?  I can’t see the screen if I’m outside.   As it is, my face is reflected in the screen, and I don’t like looking at myself while I type.  Oh well, at least I’m connected to the internet!

We talked to Jonathan yesterday.  Since he put the news on his Facebook, I think I can put it on my blog.  He made it into Trooper Basic!  21 out of the 54 cadets are moving on to Trooper Basic and the others will be employed as security officers.  Those people can apply to get into Trooper Basic after they’ve been out in the field for a while.

Jonathan has two more weeks of the “arming” session and then 21 weeks of Trooper Basic.  After that comes eight weeks under supervision in the field.  Then…if he makes it…graduation at the state Capitol on March 16, 2011.  His dream and career choice is coming true!

Sunset at Benson Beach, Cape Disappointment State Park

Cathlamet to Long Beach, Washington

As we drove from Cathlamet to Long Beach, Washington, we stopped at another Lewis and Clark site, Dismal Nitch.  It’s a nice rest area now, located just east of the bridge that crosses from Astoria, Oregon north over the Columbia River to the Washington side. 

In 1805, Captain William Clark named the dreary spot “That Dismal Little Nitch” because they were trapped there for six stormy days by fierce winds and high waves.   It wasn’t dreary at all today, with its spectacular view of the Columbia River, the bridge, and lots of small fishing boats.  

When we arrived at Cape Disappointment State Park, which is located south of Long Beach at Ilwaco, the weather was nice and the sun was out.  Dave hooked up the motorhome (full hookups with 50 amp), and tuned in the satellite dish.  The only thing we are missing is cell service and internet, but with a booster, we are able to get just enough cell service to get calls and tether to the internet.  After lunch, we headed to the Kite Festival in Long Beach.

 

Cathlamet, WA

We are heading to Cape Disappointment State Park for a few days and our site there is not available until tomorrow, so we stopped for one night at the Port of Cathlamet, WA, also known as Elochoman Marina.

Our RV site isn’t great, just a parking place with electric and water (no sewer), and a fairly high price of $25.  But fast, free wifi is included in the price, we have a good Verizon cell signal, 50 amp service, and the site is a pull-through.  The views of the Columbia River are priceless.

     

The town of Cathlamet is an easy walk from the Port via a waterfront trail.Cathlamet (Cath-la’met) derives from the Chinook work “calamet”, meaning stone, and was given to the tribe because they lived along a rocky river bed.  Cathlamet was sighted in 1792 by Lt. WR Broughton, an officer in Captain Vancouver’s fleet.

In 1805, Lewis and Clark led their Corps of Discovery into the Cathlamet area and the Wahkiakum County shores.  The explorers wrote about trading with the two Native American tribes, Cathlamet and Wahkiakum. 

 

When James Birnie retired from the Hudson’s Bay Company, he founded a trading post “Birnie’s Retreat” in 1846.  His establishment launched Cathlamet on the Washington shore.  Today you can take a self-guided walk or drive and see twenty historical sites in Cathlamet.

   

Wifi and RedBox

The other day when we went to McDonalds, we saw a steady stream of people using the Red Box DVD rental machine.  It made me think about how McDonalds has been able to draw people into its stores by offering that service. 

I haven’t used a Red Box yet, but if I were traveling full-time, and couldn’t use Netflix, I would be making use of Red Box, which can be found in a lot of grocery stores and big box stores.  I even saw a sign on the McDonald’s Red Box stating  that used DVDs could be purchased for $5.  I was also happy to see that they appear to offer family-friendly DVDs.

Now McDonald's is offering free wifi at many locations.  This is another timely marketing tool.  People are looking for wifi hotspots and will associate McDonalds with a place where they can use the internet and check email.

And yes, we did see people eating there, too, not just renting and returning DVDs and using their computers!

Spoof—A Homeschool Family

Tim Hawkins is an comedian who features clean jokes.  I found the link to this YouTube today and thought it was worth sharing.  The video is only a little over a minute long, so it shouldn’t take up too much bandwidth.
I don’t think that this YouTube spoof on homeschooling will offend anyone.  As with most spoofs, there is a lot of truth in this one.  Maybe it won’t be amusing to anyone who hasn’t homeschooled, but I thought it was cute.
 

I hope you enjoyed this insider’s look at homeschooling! ;)