In Your Neighborhood: Washington State International Kite Festival

Friday, August 14, 2009

Washington State International Kite Festival

Next week is the Washington State International Kite Festival in Long Beach, Washington. If you are forgoing an exotic summer vacation you might want to consider the Long Beach Peninsula as an alternative and the kite festival is a wonderful time to be there. Already canopies and booths are beginning to go into place on the Bolstad approach to the beach. The weeklong festival will close the approach to all but foot traffic making it a great place to stroll, enjoy the colorful kites in the sky and the booths offering food, crafts and dust-catchers.

Even the drive to the coast is refreshing. Those leaving Tacoma will probably want to take I-5 from Olympia, but if you live across the Narrows the route through Shelton is only 15 minutes longer than zooming down I-5 and so much more relaxing. From Shelton there are a number of roads that will get you to Montesano and thence to the coast. All have charms and I try to go a different way each time I make the trip. Since I make the trip frequently it is fun for me to see which houses have been painted, which are for sale, which may be gone altogether. Many little farms have eggs and vegetables for sale and everywhere is the beautiful green our state is known for—even in these dry times, although some of the grass along the highways has gotten brown.

2 comments:

tkezele said...: Went down to Ilwaco this weekend for the home inspection on our soon to be new coast get away. Check out the editorial in this weeks Chinook Observer from the seller about painting. We dry camped in the field next to the community college. Closing is on 9-3.; August 16, 2009 at 2:12 PM
Lorraine Hart said...: Wheeeeee! Looks like colourful wonderful fun!; August 18, 2009 at 5:02 PM

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Stephanie Frieze
…has always liked to write. Her experience includes three years at the University Washington School of Communications studying journalism. She had a stint at the Chinook Observer in Long Beach. Raised in Bellevue, she’s lived in Gig Harbor for nearly 18 years. She and her husband have a home in Ilwaco, where they spend as much time as possible. This mother of four loves books, spending time with family and the color purple. Contact her at dbandstefery@comcast.net.

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