Kurt Cobain’s spirit surely captured my soul when we roamed around his childhood hometown one sunny August day. Not being a Gen-X’r, I’d only admired his innovative rebellious music and audacious style askance, from the lofty spires of motherhood, as I was raising my kids…Read More

Kurt Cobain’s spirit surely captured my soul when we roamed around his childhood hometown one sunny August day. Not being a Gen-X’r, I’d only admired his innovative rebellious music and audacious style askance, from the lofty spires of motherhood, as I was raising my kids far south of Seattle. Grunge rock didn’t exactly take hold in the conservative Central Valley of California, where the music playing on the airwaves leaned more toward country, Christian rock, and Mexican Norteño music.

In fact, when we first drove into Aberdeen, I had no idea that Kurt was born just next door in lumber town Hoquiam and spent most of his childhood and teen years growing up in Aberdeen. Even the welcome sign as we entered town didn’t jar my memory. It read, Welcome to Aberdeen – Come As You Are. I later learned that it had been put up by the Kurt Cobain Memorial Committee just months before, early in 2005, the title of one of Nirvana’s most popular songs.

Logging town: As we crossed the Chehalis River into Aberdeen via Cosmopolis from the south, my thoughts were, Weyerhaeuser OWNS these towns. Steam was spewing from twin smokestacks as we drove past a logging mill. Trucks loaded with logs ply the streets. Evidence of the wood products industry is everywhere, most of it with the Weyerhaeuser label. Timber barons made their fortunes here at the turn of the century. Some of their old mansions still stand, most notably, Aberdeen Mansion, the Cooney mansion in Cosmopolis, and 20-room Hoquiam’s Castle, now all bed-and-breakfast establishments.

Booms and busts: In the 1920s, Aberdeen had one of the highest ratios of millionaires per capita in the U.S. Logging in Aberdeen had its ups and downs, with booms after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, during the 1920s, post World War II, and again in the 1960s. Restrictions on logging passed in the 1980s due to environmental concerns put the brakes on big time, stressing the local economy and offending and incensing the logging culture. New mills and expansion of existing mills and jobs began again in 2002, as privately farmed forest lands matured.

We stopped at the Aberdeen Visitor Center for some information and pamphlets. The Grays Harbor County Visitor’s Guide looks good on the surface but quickly revealed hopefully unintentional typos: Re: Kurt Cobain, Deat at 27: What a waste, (Kurt might’ve got a kick out of that one), and about William Boeing, …opened up a profitable lumbar business… in Hoquiam… I don’t think we’re talking chiropractic here.

Child of Aberdeen: It’s not hard to imagine Kurt growing up in grungy Aberdeen. One of our first stops was old man Clevenger’s junk store, taking up almost half a block, full of everything most people wouldn’t want, garage sale rejects. But he does make a tasty white chocolate pecan fudge. Around the corner is a seedy defunct theater. Though murals grace the walls of not a few buildings, many of them are sorely in need of re-painting. Downtown Aberdeen’s alleys are topped with a jumble of poles and wires, cars and trucks use them as shortcuts, and at one point, an angry man’s shouts coming out of an alleyside window reverberated down the length of one. Next to the Bank of America, where we stopped to get some cash, a smudged, peeling seascape mural hid the wall on which, in 1986, teenaged Kurt spray-painted Ain’t got no how whatchamacallit and was subsequently arrested by Aberdeen police.

Abundance of resources along the Chehalis River and in and around the bay into which it flowed provided plenty to support numerous Tsihalis (meaning “sand”) Indian villages for centuries before white men came. They lived in large cedar plankhouses, were expert canoeists and skilled basket weavers, and traded with other tribes. They and other Salishan tribes living in this region fished for salmon and sturgeon, gathered clams, oysters, crabs and mussels, hunted deer, elk, and birds, and picked roots, bulbs, and berries. The Boston Fur Company began trading furs with the tribes in 1788, but settlers were put off by the inaccessible, dense forests. In 1868, Irishman Samuel Benn settled at the confluence of the Chehalis and Wishkah Rivers and started a dairy farm. Soon, more came to start saw mills and a salmon cannery. By 1889, the town of Aberdeen, named after the city of the same name in Scotland, was incorporated. Productive lumber mills and the coming of the railroad made Aberdeen a busy port.

Where’s that Lady? Roadwork blocked off the access street to Aberdeen’s historic seaport, so we parked at the Wal-Mart nearby and wandered over to view the 40-foot-wide brick-inlaid Compass Rose. Nice enough, but somewhere I’d read that the replica of the Lady Washington was supposed to be docked here too. This famous tallship is a movie star among ships, most memorably playing a role in Pirates of the Caribbean. We weren’t the only ones looking for this venerable monarch of the seas. A couple of woman from Olympia had been told it docks here, but look as we might, the mouth of the Chehalis River only held small derelict vessels rotting near shore.

As we walked disappointedly back to the Wal-Mart parking lot, an employee told us, “Well, it was here not too long ago…” Later I learned that the Lady Washington has an extremely busy touring schedule and is rarely in Aberdeen.

Aberdeen, steeped in its logging past and present, is a quirky, unpretentious town with decidedly rough edges. Our Lady Washington non-experience was a fitting end to our day of exploration, after which we withdrew to Godfather’s Pizza to indulge in Bob’s fav. I’d been more impressed by a uniquely muraled Laundromat (I had to wonder, did Kurt ever do his laundry here?) than the Compass Rose and practically nonexistent historic seaport. Pulling out of Aberdeen in the dark, I found myself wishing we had a Nirvana tape…

Come…
…as a friend…
…as a known memory…

Our satellite dish was failing and we were in a bind. Luckily still under warranty, a replacement dish for us was being trucked to Vancouver, Washington, from Utah. The Vancouver Motosat dealer was going to drive it up to us soon as it arrived. But…Read More

Our satellite dish was failing and we were in a bind. Luckily still under warranty, a replacement dish for us was being trucked to Vancouver, Washington, from Utah. The Vancouver Motosat dealer was going to drive it up to us soon as it arrived. But we’d only reserved 11 nights at Ocean Mist and time had run out, nor were there any openings with the weekend approaching. Going farther north following our travel plans would take us farther away from Vancouver. Where could we stay? A fellow camper suggested the nearby Indian casino at Quinault Beach.

We’d stopped by to take a look at the casino earlier in the week on our way to Ocean Shores. We’d seen some RVs parked on the main lot, but had missed the designated RV section, tucked away around a bend on a large graveled parking area overlooking the ocean. Not too shabby, and the price can’t be beat. Like at many Indian casinos, overnighting is free. The assumption is that campers will either gamble, dine, or both, in the casino. In our case, we did both.

On this Thursday afternoon, the camping area wasn’t crowded, with only four or five other RVs. The park rules were clearly posted on a sign at the entrance, and the first one was to register at the front desk. We pulled into the front row with our big windows facing dunes and ocean, hopped out, and made our way to the resort lobby, where we quickly and easily registered, receiving a paper to post in our RV window. The décor indoors is warm and inviting, with a large stone fireplace and comfy couches and chairs just beyond the lobby.

Once we’d settled in, I went for a walk on the beach. A wooden boardwalk provides easy access from the resort, spanning the heavily grassed dunes. The long, wide beach expanse was full of seabirds this afternoon. In the distance, a large equestrian group appeared out of the mist. Taking pictures of them from afar, a drama unfolded; though the horses were walking at a leisurely pace, one of them suddenly spooked and reared slightly, throwing the young woman rider. Not hurt, she was encouraged to remount and let the horse know she wasn’t upset (though she might well have been embarrassed).

4-star resort: Quinault Beach Resort and Casino opened in 2000, built on Quinault Indian Nation trust land. The 16,000-square-foot Las Vegas-style casino is open 24/7, with slots, table games, keno, and poker rooms. There’s also a game arcade for the kiddies. Many of the 159 resort rooms offer sweeping ocean views, and most have fireplaces and 10-foot ceilings. Guests may use the indoor pool, Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and exercise room. A full-service spa offers massages, body wraps, and other treatments. Beyond that, there’s a gift shop, live entertainment, and conference and meeting facilities.

Good food: We ate at the Sidewalk Bistro twice and Ocean Lounge once. The sandwiches (ranging from $4 to $6) and soup ($3 for soup of the day) we enjoyed at the bistro were tasty and satisfying. The nachos deluxe platter at Ocean Lounge was huge, plenty for the two of us, and half-priced during happy hour, at only $4. Emily’s, a fine dining establishment with ocean views, seemed a bit too pricey for us glancing over the menu. But later we found out about their home-style lunch and dinner buffets on Wednesdays, both at $8 regular and $5 for over 50’s. Unfortunately, we were leaving Tuesday morning. Wasabi, a sushi bar, is a new and highly acclaimed fine dining restaurant at the resort.

QIN=Quinault Indian Nation: A four-page information sheet about QIN picked up at the casino relates the history of the Quinault and Queets people. Quinault Reservation boundaries were set by treaty in 1855 and expanded in 1873. Large-scale excessive logging devastated much of their land through clear-cutting beginning in 1922. Not until the 1970s and ‘80s did the Quinaults begin to regain control of their reservation timberlands. The reservation contains 208,150 acres on the southwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula. Mostly forested and rainy, with rivers and lakes, 23 miles of the reservation border the Pacific Ocean. Unlike many other large Indian casino-resort complexes, Quinault Beach did not evolve from earlier, more modest casinos or bingo parlors. Instead, QIN financed it by issuing $30+ million in bonds.
Address: 78 State Route 115, Ocean Shores
Phone: 888/461-2214; 360/289-9466
Website: http://www.quinaultbeachresort.com

The Ocean Shores peninsula is thin at the top, the tiny community of Oyhut and North Beach High School are on the neck, and the “city center” of Ocean Shores is on the ocean side down the wide boulevard, shortly beyond the elaborate city gates…Read More

The Ocean Shores peninsula is thin at the top, the tiny community of Oyhut and North Beach High School are on the neck, and the “city center” of Ocean Shores is on the ocean side down the wide boulevard, shortly beyond the elaborate city gates and welcome sign. The peninsula fattens out continuing south; it wasn’t always so. Since jetties were built around the entrance of Gray’s Harbor in the early 1900s, Ocean Shores has been growing, due to a process called accretion, the opposite of erosion. Simply stated, jetties changed the flow of ocean currents so that sand and sediment piled up on the beaches greatly increasing landmass. In fact, a large portion of Ocean Shores is built on land that did not exist prior to 1900. More about that later.

Beach and North Jetty: On the ocean side of the 6-mile-long peninsula, you’ll find the big resorts in addition to beach homes and cottages, with lots of new construction taking place. The stretch of sandy beach is public, with five vehicle accesses. When you get to the end of the beach at the tip of the peninsula, it starts to get interesting. Point Brown, at the southwest tip, is site of the outer portion of Grays Harbor’s North Jetty. This is a favorite gathering place for birds, and seabirds were thick along the jetty, in flight over it and on the rocks.

Ocean Shores Boulevard follows the jetty, but then curves around to skirt Oyhut Wildlife Recreation Area, roadless, but with trails winding through sand dunes and saltwater marshes. On the development side of the road, you’ll notice that the streets have been fully plotted and paved, and homes are some distance apart, but new building is definitely happening. During the 1990s, Ocean Shores grew by 66%.

Damon Point State Park: While driving, keep hanging right and you’ll eventually get to Marine View Drive. This will take you to Damon Point State Park, which used to be known as Protection Island, because before massive accretion, it actually was an island. The 1-mile road to Damon Point is currently closed to vehicles due to erosion, but it can be walked. This same erosion has uncovered what’s left of the shipwreck Catala. Stay off the main dune between March and September; it’s a nesting area for the snowy plover. Shoreline remains open for humans all year long, and sometimes whales and seals can be seen, not to mention a great variety of birds at all times. Views are of Grays Harbor bar and estuary. There is a $5 fee for parking in the state park lot.

Marina: A hop, skip, and a jump up from the state parking lot, take Discovery Avenue to the Marina. Here you’ll find campground, Silver King Condominium Motel, and a dilapidated but still functioning marina. This is where you can catch the ferry to Westport, with five runs a day all summer long. North of the marina, Ocean Shores Interpretive Center is worth at least a couple of hours for an educational and enjoyable visit. Hug the bayside coast north and you’ll end up at Bill’s Spit, off the Peninsula Court cul-de-sac. The short trail leads to a great area for birding and harbor seals.

Inner Ocean Shores contains 23 miles of freshwater waterways. Another afternoon, we took a walk on the Weatherwax Nature Trail along Duck Lake. Well, Duck Lake wasn’t all that visible most of the time due to the thick stands of old growth hemlock, spruce, and cedar, overgrown at lower levels with mosses and ferns. The trail can be accessed just east of the Elks Club parking lot. Deer, raccoon, and birds hangout here. Grand Canal and Lake Minard are the two other larger freshwater waterways in this very watery peninsula. Many homes’ backyards are on the edge of lake or canal. Walkable Ocean Shores Golf Course ($30 a round) is located at the north end of the peninsula, inland.

Speaking of which, famous crooner and golfer Pat Boone is apparently one of Ocean Shores’ founding fathers. Before jetties, accretion, and Pat, though, Chehalis, Chinook, Quinault, and other Indian peoples made good use of this peninsula, with permanent and temporary camps for food gathering, meeting, and enjoyment. But then, in the 1860s, Matthew McGee settled on the Point, having some misadventures and getting shot. Beginning in 1878, the entire peninsula was sold to A. O. Damon. The peninsula became a family-owned (Damon-Minard) cattle ranch through several generations.

Enter Ocean Shores Development Corporation. The year: 1960. The players: Hollywood, California. The cost: $1,000,000 (paid to Ralph Minard). The concept: planned unit development, mostly for retirees and resorts. Price of lots: $595. By 1967, Pat Boone was one of the investors, instigating celebrity golf tournaments to promote development. Airstrip, marina, malls, and motels sprang up. And apparently continue to spring up, though not perhaps as rapidly as envisioned by Pat and Hollywood four decades past.

Expensive electricity; problems with water and sewage, resulting in the most sky-high-priced Laundromat we’ve encountered yet (washloads begin at $2.25); and that annoying erosion problem make Ocean Shores less than paradise, at least for long-term residents. If anywhere has me convinced that it’s probably best not to build a home near the beach, it’s here. That’s not because this is the only place with such a problem, but this is where my awareness of such problems got beyond the TV broadcast stage (homes falling into the ocean on dramatic newscasts).

As far as I can tell, it’s a problem of equilibrium. Sand, silt, and sediment that used to be deposited on the beaches in generous amounts is no longer being deposited as quickly, if at all. Erosion was already occurring on accreted lands in the mid-90s at a frightening pace, mostly because it was threatening newly built structures. The strong el Niño winter of ’97-98 saw some very scary events taking place, with receding beaches and structures being washed away into the ocean. All that damming upriver really puts a dent into sand supply; dredged out precious land is dumped elsewhere, upriver, more short-term cost-effective than returning it to where it might have naturally flowed. Ocean Shores responded quickly.

Seawalls and geotubes: In 1996, an emergency 800-foot-long seawall was erected near North Jetty. In 1999, with the state’s help, geotubes were embedded along the southwestern peninsula. Geotubes are massive fiber sausage-shaped bags filled with water to hold back the ocean. After all that work, subsequent winters were milder and accretion began again, covering the unsightly tubes. But there’s no telling when conditions will change and erosion will progress. So, duh. Unless you’re Dutch and have a full grasp of the principals, engineering, and technology of taking land from sea and holding on to it, it seems to me like it's wisest not to build on recently accreted lands, since what’s given can just as easily be taken back, right? Or be like us. Go there in your RV, car, and tent, or stay at a motel or resort to enjoy the sea, sand, birds, and dunes.

You know when your boss keeps piling work on you and you co-workers are grating on your very last nerve? The best thing I've found to do when life gets like that is to go fly a kite. Literally. The Ocean Shores area is one of…Read More

You know when your boss keeps piling work on you and you co-workers are grating on your very last nerve? The best thing I've found to do when life gets like that is to go fly a kite. Literally. The Ocean Shores area is one of the best places on the Washington coast to do it. (Don't worry; if you don't have one, there are plenty of kite shops around town.) The weekend that I went was particularly perfect because it was the end of summer when the weather was still nice, but all of the tourists had left. I started at the beaches off the main street through the town of Ocean Shores. This was a particularly touristy part of town with big hotels and fast food chain restaurants. I had gone on this trip to get away from everything (especially the stresses of work) and decided that even the few people there were too many. So I headed north, along a curvy, extremely scenic two-lane road. The small roads to the beaches are well marked with signs. When I found the first one I took it and drove out onto the sand. The day was perfect: The wind wasn't too strong or too cold; the sky was the most beautiful shade of cloudless blue; and the ocean waves roared and tumbled as far as my eyes could see. I took the kite out and let her go. The kite I have is very basic and easy to fly. Because the wind was strong enough, I didn't need to run to get the kite up; I just held it above me and let the wind catch it. I must have stood there for at least an hour watching the colorfully striped triangle with tails soar higher and higher above me as I released more and more string. And, as I relased the kite higher, I felt more of my stress and tension that had built up melt away. I call it Kite Therapy. It's cheaper than regular therapy and, I'm guessing, a lot more fun.Close

Our week at the Windjammer Condominiums in Ocean Shores, WA, in July 1996 was really great. The unit we got was a lovely 1 BR, beautifully decorated throughout. The owners of the resort are very friendly with their guests. There are four flags flying at…Read More

Our week at the Windjammer Condominiums in Ocean Shores, WA, in July 1996 was really great. The unit we got was a lovely 1 BR, beautifully decorated throughout.

The owners of the resort are very friendly with their guests. There are four flags flying at the entrance to the resort - one of them is an RCI flag! One of the three owners (which are two brothers and a sister) has been a national sales director for RCI.

There is an hour-long session for guests on Monday morning, put on by one of the owners, that is really tops!! You are informed of everything there is to see and do in the entire area. It is very thorough.

We enjoyed walking the Quinalt Rain Forest very much, it's only about a half hour from the resort. We also visited the Quinalt Lodge, which is very unique and is situated on the shores of Quinalt Lake. What a beautiful setting!

The Windjammer has a really enjoyable outdoor swimming pool - nice on a hot July day! We cooked on our patio outside our villa, which had a gas grill and table and chairs. This was to the rear of our villa, and private.

There were several good eating places in Ocean Shores. Our visit was over six years ago, and my memory is not up-to-par to describe - but we know we enjoyed!

We did go to the beaches, and to the Ocean Shores Community Club, a few miles from the resort and near the water on the other side of the peninsula. There are a host of activities there to participate in, including indoor swimming.

The drive to and from Port Angeles in northern WA is spectacular with scenery, the trees, the lakes, etc. We were sure glad we did that, too. Victoria, BC, was included in this "trip within a trip"!