As I’ve stated previously, the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington state has become a favorite destination of Emee and myself: beautiful but fairly quiet, as Portlanders end up hitting the Northwest Oregon coast instead, and a bit too far away for the Seattleites. We tend to hit up the peninsula a few times a year when we want a taste of the Pacific Ocean. We had been out there twice in 2020, once around my birthday in August and then again in October. A trip out that way was due, so we loaded the van and headed west.
We spent the first two nights (Wednesday April 21st and Thursday April 22nd) at a hotel overlooking the ocean in the town of Long Beach. The Discovery Trail passed right out our back door, and that was our Thursday adventure. We loaded up three speeds in the van (me: Robin Hood path racer, Emee: Raleigh Sports) so we could tool along and adventure. (The hotel provides free beach cruisers, but after one experience with them, we opt to bring our own bikes.) We rode south along the path to the end of the beach, not before stopping for a brew up! I brought the Trangia 27 stormcooker setup (perfect for breezy beaches) and we each had a cup of coffee. We then rode (and pushed) the bikes up the trail to Beards Hollow viewpoint, then bombed down the back streets to Seaview where we had a lovely dinner in the garden of the Shelburne Inn.
On Friday April 23rd we headed north up the peninsula to the sleepy village of Ocean Park, where we’d spend the next couple nights in a cottage. While up that way we cruised up to Ledbetter Point, the northernmost area of the peninsula which is preserved as wildlife refuge/state park. And we also took a short stroll through the lovely postage-stamp sized village of Oysterville, which feels like a New England seafaring town dropped onto the West Coast. Most of Saturday was spent chilling in the cottage, which was fine as this was the damp day. (The other days saw mild and dry weather with a mix of sun and clouds.) We headed back on Sunday, making a brief stop in Astoria.
The five days went by fast. There’s just so much to do out this way, and while we did a bit, we didn’t fully explore Cape Disappointment State Park this trip, just a quick fly-by at Beard’s Hollow on the north end. And I’d like to do a bit more in the Willapa Bay National Wildlife Refuge. But since this area is relatively close, we’ll be out here again!
Photos: I took along the Olympus 35RD rangefinder and loaded it with Kodak Portra 400. Fancy, yes, but I was feeling fancy and Blue Moon had a sale. The Olympus XA2 was loaded with Kodak TriX, and I brought along the A11 flash to test it. Pictures of the adventure can be found in the dynamic flickr album below, or click here.
Urban Adventure League 
Reblogged this on Society Of Three Speeds and commented:
Emee and I brought three speeds to the beach!
WOW, that photo of your bike looking out into the ocean is AWESOME!! I totally admire that you both have the 3 speeds! Right now our bikes live in our living room in a 1 bed. apartment with the utility trailer so sadly there’s no room for more bikes but who knows maybe in the future! You do have the EYE for a photographer, I really enjoy the B/W photos, have a excellent day! 🙂