travel : long beach, wa

last week we headed out to the cloudy and cool washington coast caravaning with my mom to long beach. we never seem to leave on time for things, but this is why i love road trips - it doesn't really matter! that's not to say i wasn't running about trying to hurry everything along. but hey, you can pull over whenever you need a coffee or to change a diaper. and if your kid ain't happy, no one suffers but you.

our boy is a great little traveler. he always has been, and we are unbelievably grateful. with stu not technically employed since january, we have been trying to dash off as often as we can. this trip was really special to me. we visited the same spot one year and one month earlier which gave us a side-by-side comparison to how much our boy has changed. last year he was one and barely walking, this year he was running, digging, "swimming", building sand castles, flying a kite, riding carousel and real horses, and holding his own ice cream cone (a big milestone in our family).

ok, i can't help it. the boy had so much fun, i can't resist sharing :

alright, i think i have that out of my system.

highlights of long beach... it's a dinky town, let's be honest, filled with tchotchke shops and greasy food. the beach is flat and cars can drive on it. but, there are some gems to be found. if you want tide pools, go to the seaview beach entrance, hang a left and DRIVE on the beach (yes i felt terribly guilty, then elated, nearly doing doughnuts in the sand!) for about 5 minutes to the end of long beach. go at LOW TIDE but watch your clock, people can get stuck out here. you'll see lots of muscles, barnacles and anemones, and have great big rocks to climb on. no star fish on our visit.

we loved our time out at cape disappointment. there is a well-designed museum depicting life at the time of lewis and clark. it has a gorgeous view, an old fort, big fatty eagles, and the lighthouse is just a semi-challenging hike away.

just below cape disappointment is waikiki beach, where we waited and waited for lunch at 'serious pizza'. the owner seriously oversold his product. it was good, but he said his was better than veraci's, and that is a big claim. veraci is my favorite, and serious pizza didn't come close.

waikiki beach is fantastic. i've never seen anything like it. for a while i have been so sad about how everyone today has an iphone stuck to their face, but here... imagination abounds. drift wood covers the beach, and all around are the beginnings of structures waiting for kids to build upon them. in one area there was a ship's mast with sail and teens and tween were scouting around for the perfect piece of wood to complete their design. it filled me with hope.

restaurants :

go to ole bob's fish market in ilwako (just 5 min from town) for fresh dungeness crab. we also got their perfectly delicious shrimp cocktail with homemade sauce. we did not try the house special - crab cakes. i steamed the crabs for a couple of minutes and melted some butter with garlic, then poured some very cold sauvignon blanc. YUM. it really was the most flavorful dungeness crab i've had, it almost compared to alaskan king: the most devine thing in the universe.

doogers isn't bad and so noisy your child could scream non-stop and no one would bat an eyelash. a big fish tank in the waiting area kept the boy very entertained.

the ice cream shop & candy shop at the end of town is just what you'd want. kids eyes bug out, and so do my husband's, every time.

my favorite place to eat is a lovely restaurant called pelicano. it's 5 min away in ilwako. you get to stare at the harbor, something i love to do, enjoy their perfect light delicious food, desserts, and dreamy cocktails. plus, the people working there are beyond sweet. the chef even gave me tips for pan searing halibut.

my mom babysat and sent us out to dinner at the shelbourne. we were underwhelmed. our server was the most lovely woman, but the owner seemed a little arrogant and after boasting about his fantabulous wine collection, brought us a bottle of ice cold syrah. he also offered to have us sleep in his wine closet. odd guy.

lodging :

we are super lucky. my parents belong to a time share that has condos all over the place. they always invite us along, which for us mean free vaca! (thanks mom and dad). here is a peek inside the long beach trend west unit we stayed in. this is the presidential suite, which has a huge kitchen and a hot tub on the deck. you can see why we extended our stay.

up the street is two last things i must mention. the organic market is like a tiny whole foods, and if you're a little food snobby like me, it is a necessary complement to the grocery store on the main drag.

we loved the people and horses at back country wilderness. they have a little pony, annie, that was slow and gentle for our boy to practice on. two days later we came back and did a full hour ride. little man and stu rode together on their biggest horse, mandingo.

it's a tourist town. it's 4 hours from seattle. if you go, i hope these tips will be useful, and that you can have fun in all the silliness.

happy trails,

p

travel : summer starts in friday harbor

every trip we plan weighs me down with worry. i can't get excited until we're on the plane or in the car, bags packed and somewhat on-time, and even then i'm sweating how we will all weather the guaranteed changes in routine. i like routine. my boy likes routine. it works for us. daily life is simple, predictable and pleasant. vacations can feel like work!

with an unusually long 10-day visit from my cousin angela (our boy's auntie lala and director / co-ep of the fabulous beekman boys), we decided to fly up to friday harbor monday through wednesday. while it was a more expensive choice to take kenmore air's seaplane instead of the anacortes ferry, the experience and time saved was well worth it. my 2 year old aspiring pilot was almost as enthralled as me. we especially loved hanging out at the bothell lakeside airport watching seaplanes come and go, and the little australian shepherd mix doggie running everything.

our good friends were already in town, and with incredible kindness, they lent us their car and babysat our boy during naps so the grownups could have some exciting adventures.
on day 1 we got an adrenaline buzz from a 2 hour tour of the gorgeous sunny island by moped. i was a little skittish starting out, and was actually passed by a bicycle while headed downhill... twice.

in the morning of day 2, we drove to a beach where our little man and one of his best friends built sand castles and ended up nekked in the frigid surf having a blast. meanwhile, angela thoroughly enjoyed her spa treatment at lavendera. nap time allowed ang and i to check out bird rock hotel's (our lovely boutique inn) retro beach cruisers to recapture childhood, riding in the summer sun to picturesque driftwood covered, rocky, jackson beach. these bikes were adorable, but rather rusted and lacking modern features - like gears and hand brakes - so we ended up walking far more than planned. (the hotel also leaves earplugs on the nightstands, and on wednesday morning we needed them. their afternoon lemonade and cookies made up for this).

dining on friday harbor was gratifying and child friendly. we had unusual mexican food at pablito's taqueria where the horchata was sweet and cold. my chorizo, kale, and garlic scape empanada and fish taco lunch faded when compared to the day's special : a potato pancake stuffed with pork and onions and topped with avocado and "nappa" cabbage.

our first night dinner was at roche harbor resort's mcmillan's where we had perfect margaritas, prime rib and side of alaska king crab (also, we loved our charming server, boo boo). we took our wound up boy to the resort's nearby playground after dinner, and felt like we were visiting the 'kellerman's' holiday camp in dirty dancing - everyone seemed know each other. tradition abounded at sunset as they played 'taps', 'god save the queen', and 'oh canada', accompanied by a canon firing. i spotted a home store at the resort next to their bocce courts that beckoned me, but sadly it was closed.

our last dinner was at duck soup inn, a quirky-cute spot that is respected as the most haute cuisine (focusing on local and organic) on san juan island. i truly enjoyed their spinach and corn soup, and my lemony shrimp linguini with summer peas, accompanied by a bright cold sauvignon blanc. and finally, do not miss the quintessential island meal on the sunny harbor side deck of downrigger's. shiny, crisp halibut and chips were spot on, as was the halibut burger and arnold palmers.

traveling with kids takes organizing, planning, careful packing, and realistic expectations. but i promise it is energy well spent. we got sun and sand and lots of memories to look back on and laugh about - especially the photo of our little man with nothing but shades and a trucker hat on that he will never live down!

get out and enjoy this amazing season. and remember, you can always buy more diapers along the way.

paulette

... what is your favorite travel tip?