August 4-10, 2019 – Quileute Oceanside Resort, LaPush, WA
We are off to the Pacific Ocean for an RV adventure with Daniel and Nicole along for the fun!

Sunday – A sunny, pleasant day for our trip to Quileute which was smooth with just a few traffic delays. It took about 5 to 5 ½ hours total including stopping for gas in Fife. Our site faces west and we have a spectacular panoramic view of the ocean, several sea stacks, two tiny islands, and some forest covered high ground to the south, with the Quileute River draining into the ocean to our north. We can leave the RV and have our feet in the Pacific Ocean in about 90 seconds! It was 85 degrees about 10 miles out but a wonderful 68 degrees and breezy when we arrived. We hooked up, unpacked, and settled in before relaxing in the RV. Laurie and Daniel grilled some delicious hot dogs (everything grilled tastes better!) which we had with macaroni and cheese and pickles. We started our evening with a quick walk to the beach which is strewn with a lot of driftwood, some of it HUGE! Laurie and Daniel skipped some stones in between waves but we soon headed in because it was chilly and windy. Then it was movie time – Spectre (James Bond). It was a long, action packed movie which we enjoyed with a milkshake and cookie break in the middle (Nicole had made some sumptuous chocolate chip cookies before we left home). All in all a very nice day.

Monday – Today was cool (63 degrees) and cloudy the entire day. The sun was supposed to come out in the afternoon but never made it. Had a very loud practice tsunami alarm and announcement at noon. We spent our day inside where it was warm and cozy, each doing their own thing varying from reading, computer time, writing, organizing recipes, etc… Dinner was ravioli, bread, and salad. A walk after dinner helped us stretch our legs after being inside all day. This evening’s movie was Captain Marvel – a fun, action-packed movie. Once again we had a milkshake and cookie intermission.

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty much a repeat of Monday, except no tsunami practice alarm:

• Tuesday: Grilled chicken, zucchini, and pasta for dinner with The Accountant being the evening’s movie
• Wednesday: Chili for dinner and watched an episode of The Expanse TV series.

Thursday – Today started out cooler and foggy. Heavy condensation left everything wet and dripping. Surprisingly, the sun made a mostly hazy appearance for a couple hours which just happened to be when we went for a walk on the beach! Some fog was still around the surrounding islands, sea stacks, and tree tops with the sun out so it was very scenic. Then the fog rolled in again for a while, heavier than before, then departed turning the afternoon and evening nice. We grilled hamburgers and had fries and pickles with them. It was a pleasant evening even though there were still clouds overhead so we had a campfire and made yummy s’mores! There was an area clear of clouds over the water out towards the horizon so we saw a pretty sunset. When the fire died down around 9:45 we headed inside smelling very smoky!

Friday – We woke up to sunshine for a change, although there’s still clouds around. We went to the Hoh Rainforest today which is little over an hour drive from us, mostly east, on the west side of the Olympic Mountains. It was about 73 degrees inland, humid, and cloudy – which really didn’t matter since we were mostly under trees. The area is very lush and green as it gets about 12 feet (yes, FEET) of rain per year. A lot of the trees are enormous, in height and girth. Moss drapes many of the trees and plants, and the ground is often a deep carpet of ferns. We saw a couple squirrels, a few birds, and many slugs. Supposedly there have been bear sightings since there were signs with warnings. We hiked 2 trails for a total of 2 miles, about a 100 foot elevation gain on each, so mostly relaxing. We saw the Hoh River which is a pretty milky, slate blue from the sediments in glacial runoff, as well as several clear, gurgling creeks. One trail was mostly quiet and we often had it to ourselves. The shorter hike, however, was very busy and there were lots of kids. It was good to get some exercise, especially in such a beautiful area. We relaxed until our dinner of homemade spinach pizza that we brought from home. This evening we watched Now You See Me 2 and finished up the ice cream (somebody had to do it!) in milkshakes along with Nicole’s cookies.

Saturday – Sad to depart as it was a such nice morning. Walked over to get a last look at the beach where about a dozen surf-boarders were trying to catch some of the short-lived waves. We departed just before 10:00 and arrived at the storage unit about 2:45, stopping for gas on the way. There was some rain early on which was good to wash the saltiness of the ocean air off the RV, but it was sunny and 70-ish back in Mukilteo. We unpacked then Nicole and Pat went to pick up the cats at the boarding place. They were extremely happy to see Nicole, meowing loudly. It took a little time but everyone, cats included, settled back in and were glad to be home.