Day 10, Having a Mari-time

Today we set out north to Washington State. We lucked out on the weather. We did have a few moments of hail as we left the campsite. We liked Cape Lookout. We had a nice sized campsite but much of it was unusable due to the puddles of standing water. I wonder if it is a breeding spot for mosquitoes when the weather is warmer. I don't suspect we'll be back so I'm happy to leave that as a wonder.

Our drive along 101 and the coast took us through a number of small towns, many of them seem to be named after the person who first settled there. I was enjoying the scenery and not much-paying attention to where we were until we were crossing the Astoria-Megler Bridge into Washington. The bridge is four miles long and is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. Luckily, there is a rest stop only about a mile down the road. It gave us an easy way to turn around and head back. 


At the recommendation of both our friends, Tony and Lisa, and of Denis's brother-in-law, Jim, we made a stop at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. It is a wonderful museum for anyone vaguely interested in shipping and commercial fishing. There are a number of separate exhibits. The museum recommends spending 2-3 hours there. I can certainly see how you can give it that much time. The exhibit I found most interesting was one dedicated to the work the Coast Guard does to rescue fishermen who find themselves in trouble at the mouth of the Columbia River. "The Columbia Bar, also frequently called the Graveyard of the Pacific, is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. It is known as one of the most dangerous bar crossings in the world." Last year, the Coast Guard saved over 600 lives in this spot alone! There are amazing stories told by the (mostly) fishermen who were saved and the Coast Guard rescuers. 


The most touching exhibit was one of Yosegaki Hinomaru. These were flags carried by Japanese soldiers into WWII. They contained well-wishes for a safe return from family and friends. Some American soldiers collected them from fallen Japanese soldiers and kept them as souvenirs. The museum has a collection but as the family members are identified, they are returned to them. 

It was time for lunch. Jim had said the Fort George Brewery was one of his favorite. It is not easy to park an SUV and RV so it was nice that the brewery is within walking distance of the museum. The nice man at the museum assured us it was fine leaving them parked while we had lunch.

Lunch was a delicious seafood chowder and a fried oyster po'boy sandwich. Not surprising, the oysters were delicious. So was the beer. Denis had a hazy and I had a mango sour, which was the best sour beer I've had. 


The bridge is lovely so I didn't mind going over it a third time, though I wasn't the one who was driving...

We headed to our campground. Most of the way there is a two-lane road, so when a logging truck goes over and spills its load, the only thing to do is turn off the engine and sit and wait. We might have turned around and tried another way but the alternative was a long way 'round. Nice thing about pulling your home is you have snacks and a bathroom. 😊

We are at Grayland State Park. Once we finally got the pod set up, Denis wanted to explore the area. We drove by the Westport harbor where many working boats were parked for the night.


We found a nice place to walk and watch the sun go down in a disappointing sunset. Hopefully, it'll be nicer tomorrow. At least it will be warmer.

Location: Grayland Beach State Park, 925 Cranberry Beach Rd, Grayland, WA 98547, USA

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