Sweet Summer Roadtrips #2

Hoping to keep the last days of summer from slipping from my grasp, I packed up 'Sprouts', towels, jackets and snacks and we headed to the beach. Not that I was chasing sunshine and tan lines... For the uninformed, Washington beaches are raw and beautiful, not known for their tropical breezes or warm, white sand.
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But, sunshine was not needed for this adventure! Even with mist, fog and a freshly storm-washed beach, we had an absolutely wonderful time! Washington's beaches are a favorite destination, but they can often be blissfully deserted as they were today. Just us and the seagulls.
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Neither the water nor wind was as cold as we had expected, and within minutes the girls were soaked waist-high; chasing waves, jumping small swells and racing sandpipers.
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My youngest spent quite a while searching for shells and intensely discussing the lack of them with Shaun.
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Recent storms had pretty much cleaned the beach. Probably not a bad thing, her "treasures" always smell up the car on the drive home...
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Of course, after a long afternoon expending a great deal of energy in the wind and water, small tummies got to thinking about the 2-hour-drive home and the meager stash of snacks we'd already polished off. And Mom started pondering the improbability of finding vegan options at the few beach-themed fish-n-chip tourist traps.
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So we attempted to clean off sand, wrapped ourselves in towels and headed to 'town'.
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Luckily, the first NON sea-life-based eating establishment we discovered was Dugan's Pizza and they happily created an incredible cheese-free pizza overflowing with every imaginable veggie; artichokes, spinach, green and kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes and more - with a delicious sauce and crust that were vegan as well! We didn't even have to settle for the standard vegan salad (though seeing the salads our fellow diners ordered, I would have been equally impressed.)

Relaxed and exhausted, we said good-bye to the beach and headed home, full of pizza and a few more wonderful memories....
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Beach "Vacation"

So... where have I been and why haven't I blogged?

Well, it so happens that my Middle Sprout, and my middle sister, and yours truely took a random little vacation to the beach. At no charge!

Grandma (my Mom) thought we needed a break and set us up for a few days at the Shilo Inn at Ocean Shores.
No, no... no need to be jealous. Not your stereotypical warm sand and blue water "beach" vacation... Oh no - this was an adventure to one of Washington's cold, wet, windy beaches... Yes, I know some of you live in equally wild, storm-prone locations. Just clarifying for anyone who was thinking of palm trees and white sand...














I'm not complaining. It was rather nice actually. Peaceful. Restful. DEFINITELY "off season". And cold! Quiet, no one was around, we basically had the town, and beach, to ourselves... The hotel was wonderful, we brought snacky things (knowing there weren't any veggie options to speak of) and we honestly spent a lot of time sleeping, Jacuzzi-ing and watching pay-per-view.

HOWEVER: We also spent a LOT of time on the beach! Sometimes in the middle of the night or during storm conditions. My sis is a die-hard "walk-and-wade-on-the-beach" fanatic and we had to drop everything and troop off to the waves whenever the fancy struck her!
See the sign? I told my sister that going wading - at MIDNIGHT - wasn't a good idea. Of course they were much more adventurous than I am, so we went anyway... we could have been caught by a shark. Or tidal wave...




















30 MPH winds and rain blowing straight sideways! Were we crazy? Yes. Was it fun? Actually a lot yes!
This is my crazy sister and Miss Middle Sprout. Gosh, they look ridiculously cheerful! ...and wet....














See below... Proof that we didn't get washed away in those "dangerous rip tides" and so forth. My sister said I was a wimp. I am. The spots are rain on the camera lens. It was insane wet and cold! And did I mention midnight? I could barely see anything! And we had to walk miles and miles or a few blocks in the pitch dark to actually GET to the waves... in the dark.

















We didn't stand around on the beach the entire weekend of course. We drove around and did some tacky tourist shopping in the few stores that were actually open.

Oh, and I LOVED this sign!! Good to know they watch out for ALL the wildlife!




















Lest I forget to mention it... The high point of the weekend, (at least for my Sprout), was DRIVING ON THE BEACH!! Yes, My crazy sister let my 14 year-old sprout DRIVE! In the wind, and rain and typhoons and ...(OK, I admit, it was fun too, and my sister isn't all that crazy - maybe just a little!) And doesn't Ms. Sprout look like SHE'S happy?











And highlight number two... a veggie sandwich at Subway. (I know, such a high point!) We never go there, but it's my daughter's all-time favorite restaurant food (could be worse I guess...) so I indulged her - and honestly, places serving something OTHER than dead-clam-chowder were pretty much non-existent.















A final wet, windy day picture. We had serious trouble holding the camera still or even standing up straight, yet we kept going back to the beach. OK, we're ALL a bit crazy...












And since this is a food blog after all... a pic of the awesome spicy-sweet potato fries at the one and only place (besides Subway) that served anything vegetarian. So yummy! Definitely the FOOD highlight for me.