Ilwaco: Walking the Docks and Dreaming of Fish

It's been a year since I went fishing for salmon and crab in beautiful Haida Gwaii, Canada. I was really missing hanging out on the docks and sniffing for fish. So during my trip to the Long Beach Peninsula when we decided to go to Ilwaco, I got really excited. They have FISHING BOATS in Ilwaco and that means.. FISH! Ilwaco has a real fishing port and even though they are busy fishing and processing fish, there are great things there for visitors and their dogs to do.

It's mostly about fishing in Ilwaco, WA and I want to go too!

We drove up to the Port of Ilwaco and found a convenient parking lot right across from the docks. There were lots of places to explore... fishing charter businesses, restaurants, art galleries and even a book shop. I loved walking and sniffing and exploring.

I really don't need a fish finder. I can SMELL them!

Each time we came to a gangway down to the docks, I pulled to go down there. I wanted to get on a boat AND GO FISHING. The sea air blew in my face and made my ears flap! So after trying to get my owner to walk down two gangways, she finally gave in and took me down to the fishing boats. There were huge boats and smaller ones. Many were from out of state... even the South Pacific.

Here I am asking nicely to go down on the docks. I love the smell of fishing boats. Please?

We walked to the end of the dock and turned around. Once we returned to the walkway, I enjoyed the grass, the Condor Sculpture and the fish shops. I gave the condor sculpture the once over just to make sure it wasn't real! This life-size replica of a real California Condor has a nine-foot wingspan. Why was it there? Well, reportedly, Lewis & Clark, the explorers, saw that type of bird on their trip to the area.

Here's that SCARY condor!

The next thing that really interested me was the parade of fishermen returning from their charter fishing trips. They had tons of salmon in bags. Once they got up to the walkway, they took the fish out, hung them up and had their pictures taken with their catch. I have to say, the salmon I caught in Haida Gwaii was bigger than most of their fish for sure!

Here's the salmon catch from one of the charter boats.
SIGN ME UP!

I really wanted to sniff the fish but my owner wouldn't let me. We took a picture and walked on.

By then, I was getting tired. I had run on the beach for an hour in the morning so I was ready for a nap in the car. I gladly hopped up on my seat, had a drink of water, and stretched out. You see, it is overcast and misty many days on the coast so I wasn't in danger of overheating in the car. I went to sleep quickly.

It was only later that I found out that my owner had met a friend for lunch at Ole Bob's Seafood right across from the parking lot where I was sleeping. As you might guess, they didn't bring me any seafood after their DELICIOUS LUNCH! But what's new. Such is the life of a dog.

I know she had lunch there. I saw her come out!

That was our last stop on our wonderful trip to THE BEACH. I was sad to leave but am already planning my return. There is so much to do and see on the dog friendly Long Beach Peninsula of Washington.

Wordless Wednesday: The Beach is for Sleeping

All that fresh sea air, exercise and my fun room at the Adrift Hotel on the Long Beach Peninsula of Washington gave me reasons to sleep!

Don't you just love the decor?

Oyster Hunting on the Long Beach Peninsula

What a morning! I decided to go oyster hunting. I heard that the Willapa Bay oysters were really good. I decided that since I am a hunting dog, the best way to get some would be hunting.

Now, where to go? I looked on the map and saw a town named OYSTERVILLE! It was clear at the end of the Peninsula on Willapa Bay. That sounded like a great place for oyster hunting. So we packed the car with water, cameras and ME, of course, and headed out.

It took awhile to get there, I thought. But maybe that was because I was excited. Soon, we saw the Oysterville sign and turned off. It is a historic town founded in 1884. In fact, it is so historic, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Here it is... the place to go oyster hunting!

Before I could get some hunting in, we did a little walking tour of town. I read all the signs about Oysterville history and looked at the homes, school and church. It was like going back in time.

There are a lot of historic homes and buildings in Oysterville

I kept pulling toward the bay. I was ready for the OYSTER HUNT! Finally we went down a grassy street onto paths leading to the bay. My feet got wet in the squishy vegetation. I looked for oysters everywhere and didn't see a one. Since I am not a swimmer, I gave up and returned to a drier path.

On the hunt... Here, oyster, oyster!

I was getting upset. How could I go to Oysterville and not come home with any Oysters? We went down a long street toward some grey buildings right on the bay. I thought these people would know where to find oysters. We got to the buildings and saw a big sign, Oysterville Sea Farms. Next to the sign were mounds of oyster shells. THIS WAS THE PLACE!

I poked my head in the door and was invited in by a nice lady. I looked up on the counter and thought at least I could buy some oysters from them. After all, they were professional oyster hunters.

They showed me the fresh caught oysters in the refrigerator case but I didn't get any. I was feeling a little disheartened when the nice lady offered me A TREAT! Now things were really looking up. TREATS! If I couldn't have an oyster, at least I could get a treat from the oyster lady!

Here's those fresh oysters. This is what I was hunting but just didn't look in the right places, I guess.

We went out back on their deck overlooking the Willapa Bay. It was beautiful. I didn't see any oysters but I could smell them! The lady gave me a HUGE dog biscuit. I was so excited I made the usual fool of myself sitting up and jumping around. I LOVE TREATS!

They are REALLY nice at Oysterville Sea farms. I loved their deck. What a view!

I crunched on the dog biscuit and then we sat and admired the bay and the beautiful day. Their Willabay Specialty Foods shop was full of interesting foods that were made right there. It's a great place for humans to go shopping! They even have a special wine to go with oysters (for those who are successful in their hunt, anyway).

The drive back seemed much shorter that the drive out there. I rested most of the way.

Right now, I need to take a nap. I'm back at my room in the Adrift Hotel and I'm ready for a long rest after my big Oysterville adventure.

Love, Cinnamon, on the Long Beach Peninsula

Coolin' Off and Having Adventures at THE BEACH!

I don't know what to tell you first... about all the fun I had getting here to the Long Beach Peninsula of Washington or about being here. But right now I have to say I am enjoying the cool misty weather, the sound of the surf and the dog friendly Adrift Hotel & Spa right on the beach! Although I haven't had my spa treatment yet, I have nosed around the beach and town and really like it here.

What a nice room for me at the Adrift Hotel. I wonder where my owner's room is?

When we got here and checked in I GOT TREATS! So it was right then and there that I knew they liked dogs. Then we had a look at our room. I really liked it and especially liked the sliding glass window that let the sea air in. You see, it's really hot back in my home in Vancouver, WA... really hot! I am so glad to be AT THE BEACH!

So then we went exploring. I walked through the sand and hopped up on the board walk. That was fun. The sea air was blowing my ears!

It was then I spied some HUGE BONES in the sand. Turned out it was a skeleton of a Grey Whale. I'd never seen anything like that.

Here's the whale bones. I considered taking one back to the room to snack on.
But figured I'd better not!

After that we went down on the beach and I got sensory overload. Wow... there were crab shells, seaweed and little see-through sail things that I found out were related to jellyfish. Those funny little things had washed up on the beach. I LOVE THE BEACH AND THE SMELLS. It's a great place to explore and do a little wave avoiding.

So then we checked out the Lewis and Clark Discovery Trail.  It's paved and runs all the way to Ilwaco. I'm hoping to check out more of the trail today. There are lots of places for a dog to walk here and lots of sand.

Later in the day we were back on the beach and ran into some horses and riders. They were in the same place we were when the huge elk appeared. THEY WERE HUGE!

Here's the horses on the beach. I like horses but there is a dog that goes with them that
really doesn't like ME!

I went to bed late because my owner was having fun dining at The Depot Restaurant. She enjoyed the seafood a whole lot (I stayed outside in the car and slept) BUT I DIDN'T GET ANY! I did get a little walk in Seaview and really liked it.

But now, since I got my owner up to take me for a walk at 6 am, I'm going to have a little morning nap in my nice room at the Adrift Hotel.

Love, Cinnamon

Full Moon and the Woods are Full of Coyotes

Here I am at 4 a.m. wide awake. I wanted OUT!

I woke up with a start. I looked at the clock. It was 4 a.m. If you know me, you know I usually don't get up until, say, around 9 a.m.! But things were really weird last night.

The full moon shone on the trees in the woods and was lighting up the den where I sleep. I heard the terrifying sounds of coyotes on the prowl. THEY WERE IN THE WOODS RIGHT BEHIND MY HOUSE.

I jumped up and howled! I ran downstairs to the sliding glass door to the yard and went bonkers! My owner came running and wouldn't let me out. The hair on my back was standing on end. Nothing could quiet me. It was as bad as knowing a pack of werewolves were out there. I had to get out. I just had to!

But my owner would have no part of letting me out. She knew if I went out, I would awaken the whole neighborhood. By then it was 4:15 a.m. I paced, I growled, I howled inside the house.

To calm me down, my owner took me out in front on the leash. She walked me up and down the street. I was still hyper-alert but that helped. The coyotes weren't in front. Finally I calmed down a bit. She shut the windows in the den so I couldn't smell or hear them.

After several trips down stairs begging to go out (and the my immediate forced return to my upstairs bed) I finally gave up.

By 5 a.m. I went back to sleep. WHAT A NIGHT!

It's too Hot! The Good News and the Bad News about the Weather

Clear

88.8 °F

Feels Like 92 °F

Tomorrow is forecast to be Warmer than today.

Well, that's the bad news. It's HOT TODAY! I'm so hot, you could fry an egg on my back! Arrghhhh!

I want to go to the BEACH!
(Does this rug make my tummy look fat?)

Good News: The good news is that we are GOING TO THE BEACH for Monday and Tuesday nights. I am so excited. We're headed for Long Beach, WA and the Adrift Hotel and Spa. They like dogs there. I'm going to check it all out and write about what I see and experience.

More Bad News: The bad news is that we can't go today, or even tomorrow. I have to endure the heat and be patient. Arrghhhh!

Love, Hot Cinnamon

Salmon and Rainbows: A Great Vancouver USA Morning!

Here I am hoping for Salmon samples!

We went to the Vancouver Farmer's Market when it opened at 9 a.m. because it was still cool out. We looked high and low for our friends who were going to meet us there. We couldn't find them. By 9:15 I was tired of waiting and wanted TO GO SHOPPING!

I was hoping for lots of free samples. So I looked at each table to see what they might be selling. There was way too much lettuce and way too many flowers. I was hoping for something for DOGS! I got petted and met some nice children so that was good.

My owner bought some peaches and apricots from Maryhill Orchards. They had samples of nectarines but I don't like fruit so didn't ask for a taste. They were nice enough, but I didn't like their selection of food.

So once we got the fruit, we went across the way to A SALMON STAND! It was the Harvesters Catch Guy. Now things were looking up. I LOVE FISH AND I LOVE FISHING!

They told me they are catching Salmon up by Forks on the Olympic Peninsula (I'm actually going there at the end of the summer.)  I was thinking I might score a taste of Salmon. But it was all frozen and there were no samples. No smoked Salmon and no fresh Salmon for dogs. Drat! They were nice enough there and I got a little bit of attention. BUT WHAT I REALLY WANTED WAS SOME SALMON! I think we'll have to buy a beautiful Salmon filet next time we go to the market.

Here I am getting a little attention from the Salmon guy.

I had fun at the Farmer's Market mainly because of the people. But there just wasn't enough being sold for dogs today.

On the way home we walked through Esther Short Park and happened upon a little Pride Festival. Rainbows were flying and people were setting up tents. Maybe they would have dog treats? I could only hope.

Treats or no treats, I had a great time going from booth to booth. Everyone was nice and full of pride. I fit right in. I'm pretty proud of who I am too!

So I spied a water bowl at a booth and really appreciated the dog water. I started meeting people at some of the political booths. I'm pretty political myself. After all, I run the National Headquarters of Dogs Against Fireworks. So I fit right in.

Here I am with my new friend and my new rainbow lei at the Pride Festival

They were really sweet to me at the Democratic Party booth. In fact they offered to deck me out in a rainbow colored lei. At first I thought it was something to eat, but once I realized it was to wear, I wore it with pride. I even had my picture taken with the cute woman who was working the booth. She liked me! I decided I made some good friends at the Democratic Party booth. Maybe they would help me with my campaign against fireworks!

So the day turned out pretty good. I got some great attention at the Farmer's Market and a beautiful rainbow lei at the Saturday in the Park Pride Festival.

I think this biker is headed for the Pride Festival!

On the way home I saw a rainbow mural.... I think I like festivals with rainbows!

Love, Cinnamon