Tonight there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and we drove down onto the beach and watched the sun disappear right into the Pacific Ocean.    Sunsets on the beach are different every time … all beautiful.     It was a reverent moment when just as the sun slipped beneath the waves to the west, the tip of the moon peaked over the trees in the east.    I watched it balloon into full bloom and just have to say:   Nature and all of it’s beauty and power leaves me in awe.   

Mossy covered trees covered in dust from the well used gravel road.   Kind of eerie, huh?

This looks like the perfect spot for a scary movie.   I for one would hate to be alone in this forest in the dark.  

I loved this lazy river.   I imagine there are plenty of times it is not lazy.

Just one of the interesting places in Ocean Shores.

Three little fawns grazing right along side of the road peaceful as can be.   This is in the middle of a residential area … I’d love to live there!    I wish I could have got a picture of the three raccoons that we had to stop the car for so they could cross the street.    I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough.

So many beautiful flowers … and so many pollens floating in the air!

I don’t know … there isn’t a lot of explaining to do about these pictures … they are just places and things that I’ve loved to see.   I love it here.  

        Today was warmer than yesterday and not raining, so there were a lot of beachcombers out and about.   None of them seemed to worry a bit about what any of the others were up to.  At the ocean’s shores it is almost like everyone has their own private little vacation pod, even though we are in plain sight of each other and go so far as to pass the time of day.

      Some of us thought it was rather chilly today in spite of the peek-a-boo sun that for the most part stayed behind the ominous gray clouds gliding silently above us.  

        The soaring kites, even the highest of them, weren’t a threat to the dancing clouds. 

       We were sitting inside our car with windows down but sweaters on.     Most of the casual walkers were in levi’s and sweatshirts with hoodies pulled up over their heads.        Other people had their hands jammed tightly in the pockets of their  jackets with caps pulled snugly down on their heads as they huddled together laughing and talking.    Some, believe it or not, wore jackets and caps and were out wading where the waves were hitting thigh high on their Levi’s.  

         A few of the real die hards were out in the ocean in their swimming suits just north of the one lone, wannabe surfer.      I saw two brand new babies swaddled tightly and held protectively in their father’s arms while darling toddlers were throwing sand and and trying to get away from their parents.    The only way they will ever know they’ve been to the Pacific Ocean is from the photo albums.   

        There were trucks, bicycles, horses, cars of all sizes, and even motor homes parked on the sandy shores.    Up and down the beach were trails of smoke as people attempted to burn the semi dry wood purchased from the venders along the highway.    

        I have a some troubling questions:   (1) How can so many people feel they are having private outings in such a public place?   (2) How can so many people be so differently affected by the temperature?    (3) If dog owners have to pick up their dog’s poop how come horse owners don’t have to clean up after their horses?

Disclaimer … I don’t know any of these dogs or people or horses and out of respect for large bottoms everywhere I did not post the picture of the back sides of the really large people in low riders who were bending over by the water!   (Lynn you really need to get a grip!)

This trail leads to the ocean from our RV park at Copalis Beach.   There was a road that went clear down but a storm washed it out.  Note I have cropped half of my body from the picture … the reason is obvious!   Half of it is quite enough!    Just over the bridge you get into deep sand until you get down near the waves where it is nice and smooth.

Well, it seems Lynn just likes to take pictures of my behind, what can I say?   In spite of the fact that I chew him out when he does this, I like this picture because of the reflections on the sand.   Notice how pretty and white Fresca is on the top and on the bottom.

This fish came flopping onto shore and we tried to throw it back but the seagulls got it before it could swim away.  

Sometimes it is sad to watch nature in action  …

This wasn’t supposed to happen …  She got tired of us being distracted by the fish.   Add this to the deeper, dry sand on the way home and you have one big ball of mud.   

Still, it was a beautiful walk and we are so grateful for our chance to live by the ocean each year.   We love it.

                                       The Wolves Inside You
An elder Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life.

He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me.. it is a terrible fight and it is
between two wolves.

One wolf represents fear, anger, …envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false
pride, superiority, and ego.
The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity,
humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth,
compassion, and faith."
"This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other
person, too", he added.
The Grandchildren thought about it for a minute and then one child
asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied… "The one you feed."

As we drove towards Grayland today I was thinking the Kite Festival was going to be impossible because of the fog/mist that has come in from the ocean the past few days.   I expected to see a meager showing of kites.    Boy was I wrong!   What an awesome day for a Kite Festival!     Notice how the kites seem to fade into the fog?   If you walk in that direction you run just open up the view to a whole bunch more.   It’s spectacular!          

The kites were bright and beautiful, floating eerily in the mist.   The pictures don’t do it justice because you can’t see very far at once.   You have to move down the beach to get the full effect.   The cars were stretched out a couple of miles on the wet sand and driving on it is a cool experience all of its own.   The huge kites have to be staked out and tied to heavy trucks.   They are much bigger than they look in these pictures.    My guess is that some of the flat looking ones below are at least 30 foot kites. There are some pretty intent kite fliers who have invested thousands of dollars into their hobby and travel all over to attend the festivals.     Their kites are awesome and leave you spell bound as they hover quietly over you.      

                                                 My favorite was the kite dancing and we were lucky enough to get our car right in front of where they performed.    It takes a lot of control to get those kites to skip and flutter and flip like they do to lively music over the loud speakers.      The kite below is sitting patiently waiting for its cue.  I think this particular type of kite is controlled by 4 strings held by one person who steps back and forth pushing and pulling and twisting their hands and arms to the music.   These can cost from $200 to $500.                                    I’m sooo glad we went!    There is still one more day of the festival so maybe after church tomorrow we’ll have to go by it again.

Ryan, remember the coke in the face story?    Well, this is me sitting on the ground yesterday after I hit a pot hole and twisted my ankle.  I had a mug full of diet coke and the lid flew off and all the diet coke went into my own face just before I did a full body slam face first into the stickers.   For your information, after the lid came off my mug I made a hole in one with one of the girls.   You will note my first thought was to have Dad take a picture of it all for my blog.    Well, not quite “all”.   He offered to take a “mug shot” of my spectacular bruise today but I think not.        The rest of my body isn’t quite used to doing a triple gainer into the stickers either and today I am moving so slow I decided to take a sick day and lounge in my pj’s.     And then, according to the Allsop way of looking at misfortune … I began to chuckle.

I’ve been looking at this picture trying to come up with the best words to describe how these kids make me feel; incredibly, incredibly loved.   And, of course, I love them too!

The Nordquists enjoy one last bit of fun on the Go Karts before heading home for the 4th of July celebration at Warren’s.  The pictures are self explanatory.   Luca barely qualified to go alone and I love how she is stretching her legs to reach the pedals.   She did a pretty good job; only one crash (which according to her “was not my fault”.)    Kim took Anna while Kai waited with Grandpa, then took Kai while Anna waited with Grandpa.   She is reported to being “a little shaky” by the time it was over.   Everyone agreed it was a “blast!”     When I was little the Go Karts were for big kids only … we had to ride on the ones controlled by machines.   But oh how I loved the Bumper Cars!

Technorati Tags: Westport Washington Beach