Barbara J. Hamby

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Sun, Sea and Rocks

We took the new car over to the coast today. I was anticipating cloudy weather, as forecast, so took extra clothes. It was a gorgeous day everywhere we went. We took a scenic route that involved crossing several bridges and a ferry ride across the Columbia River. I hadn’t been to Seaside for six or seven years and was overwhelmed by the changes in the tourist part of town. Some of the older sections haven’t changed much.

We found a place to park and climbed over rocks to a log where we could sit and watch the activities on the beach. I love breathing the salt air and watching dogs cavort around the sand. Hundreds, if not thousands, of gulls and other seabirds were feeding.

An injured gull was unable to fly and tried to get away from the kids who were hovering around. About the time we were leaving, the kids lost interest and walked off down the beach. I hope the crippled bird was able to recuperate after some rest.

I had my usual bowl of clam chowder for lunch over there. On the way back we stopped at a very crowded Dairy Queen for huge cones. We managed not to drip ice cream onto the car seats or floor, by eating them before we left the parking lot.

The worst traffic we encountered on the whole trip was on Highway 217 and Highway 99W. Coming back from the coast on Friday afternoon works well because most people are going over there.