A Long weekend at Long Beach

Long Beach, at the southern tip of WA state, was in fine form this weekend, with sunny skies and wind for kites, woods for camping and a charming main street for strolling.

The water being gaspingly cold, the kids ran right into the swirling surf while B. got the kites put together and I took a run along the incredibly long stretch of clean, hard-packed sand. There’s little else that gives me a feeling of being so burstingly alive–my teeth were salty-sandy from smiling so much as I ran along the shore.

Besides flying our delta wing and box kites, we visited the World Kite Museum where we learned some cool stuff and the kids made their own kites.

We made a brief detour through Astoria, OR this morning before heading back. The Columbia River is so huge at this point!

On Sundays, Astoria has a great street fair/farmer’s market to rival Pike’s Place, with four or more blocks blocked off as a pedestrian zone. I’d like to see B.I.’s farmer’s market grow a little, and this one would be a great one to pattern after.

It’s nice to be home again, with piles of smoky laundry but lots of good memories.