Missives from the 6th Floor

It so happens that our good friends Dave and Marcia (hi guys!) know the inn keepers of a lovely little B&B in (and on) Long Beach, and while they don't normally do single night guests, they told us to give them a call Friday morning and if they had availability, they'd make an exception for special friends of the Bromley's.

We decided to leave in advance of having a definite place to stay, and called them about half way through the three hour drive to Long Beach. Turns out they did have a room, and we confirmed that we'd be there in the mid-afternoon.

The drive, in the convertible of course, was splendid - winding roads, week day mid day traffic (i.e. none), and pleasant temperatures 'till around 1:30, when the mercury started to rise quickly.

By the time we pulled in at the Inn it was nearing 100, a bit on the humid side, and pretty damn uncomfortable. Not to be dissuaded, however, we re-applied sunscreen, grabbed the kite, and hit the beach. We had a blast - I haven't flown a kite since I don't remember when. We met a lovely puppy named Ali (and her owner), and stayed on the beach 'till we were both hot and thirsty.

Back at the inn we pulled some loungers into a bit of shade, and read 'till it was time to leave for dinner. On the advice on the inn keeper we had reservations at the Port Bistro on the water in Ilwaco. As luck would have it, two tall ships - the Lady Washington and one other the name of which escapes me at the moment - were in port, and we saw their masts and rigging as we approached the restaurant.

Dinner was superb - albeit still hot and uncomfortable. I had a seared Ahi dish with crab polenta and sauteed young spinach garnished with popcorn (it was awesome), and Dawnise had the chef's interpretation of chicken and dumplings, which was really good. We moved to the bar for desert and wine, being the only patrons left by that point, and chatted with the staff and owner/chef who was happy to escape the heat of the kitchen. The desert was a pink peppercorn pound cake with honey whipped cream and a wild berry sorbet. Oh, My, God, Becky*. Awesome.

After dinner we walked along the water to the aforementioned tall ships and reveled in the increasingly cool evening. Back at the inn we spent twilight indoors to avoid the mosquitoes (they ignore Dawnise and devour me) and around 10 walked back down to the beach.

The last time Dawnise was in Long Beach, in the winter, it was dark enough to clearly see the Milky Way, but this time the lunar cycle didn't cooperate. Even when we walked back to the Inn, around 11pm, it was still nearly bright enough to walk without a flashlight.

We both showered off once back in the room, and fell asleep far faster than I had anticipated, given the lingering heat in our upstairs accommodations.

This morning we were awoken at 5:30 by some sort of woodpecker that decided to use the metal gutter to tap-out it's mating call - fortunately it gave off and we managed to go back to sleep 'till around 7:30. The morning was cool and misty, and we wandered down to the beach in advance of breakfast for a walk.

Breakfast was another incredible meal - baked pears marinated in spiced rum with dried cherries and macadamia nuts, a berry bread pudding, and citrus pancakes as light as a feather - all made by the proprietors.

After eating far too much, we bid farewell to our hosts and started back for home so Dawnise could get back in time for the roller derby match she and a friend are currently attending.

I'm sitting in the house, which is warm and a bit stuffy, waiting for the outside temperature to drop a bit so I can open it up and air it out.

Tomorrow it looks like we're meeting some friends for breakfast in the morning, and Dawnise is heading to a get-together in the afternoon. In the evening we've got Tina Dico tickets. This 'll be the second time I've tried to see her in Seattle. The first time we were still living on the island, and despite doors at 9, she wasn't going on 'till after 11, which would have screwed us for the trip home. No ferry to screw up the plans this time. I'm quite looking forward to it.