Sydney of Oysterville

Although out of the scope of our South Sound Neighborhood and since I’ve never demurred from sharing neighbors in our larger electronic world, I’m sharing a smooth coastal gem I found on the beach on the Washington coast. Most readers know of my love for and the large portion of time I spend at the Long Beach Peninsula. I lived there fulltime for only three years, but my family’s love of the place goes back generations and my own childhood summers were spent there.

During the time my children and I lived on the Long Beach Peninsula I was fortunate enough to meet and work in the same school as Sydney Stevens. At the time Sydney taught a first, second, third split class at Ocean Park Elementary School, but it was obvious that Sydney was more than a wonderful teacher who organized things like “Mother Goose Week” whereby the rhymes we all grew up with, but were falling out of children’s common knowledge, were taught and culminated in everyone dressing up as their favorite character and parading around the little school—she was passionate about the Peninsula.

Sydney’s family went back generations on the Peninsula and she was passionate about preserving and teaching the children about the rich history that was all around them. Although she’d lived elsewhere during her adult years eventually the soft salty breezes and even the wild storms called Sydney home. A teacher by trade and a historian by heart she combined the two and published little children’s books about the history and culture of the area.

Once Sydney retired from teaching she got serious about writing. I wrote a blog about her collection of letters from an aunt who grew up in Oysterville, Sydney’s family home, in a much simpler time a couple of years ago. What I didn’t know was that she also began writing a blog. So I am here today to introduce you to Sydney Steven’s. Check out her blog at http://sydneyofoysterville.com/

PS The little church you see in the background of the picture of Sydney is where Dave and I married 20 years ago.

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.

Keeping Cool on the Coast

Monday my daughter Amy and I escaped the heat in Gig Harbor and came to the Long Beach Peninsula. I nearly left at 10 PM Sunday and it wasn’t nearly as hot there as it has been yesterday and today. Although it has been beautiful each day here and we watched beautiful sunsets last night and the night before, cool ocean breezes have kept the house very comfortable, even upstairs in our old Victorian with the low ceilings and no AC.

This afternoon as Portland and Seattle were experiencing record temperatures the fog began to roll in here, quickly dropping the temperature from a high of 70 today down to a current 58. The fog is so thick I cannot see the Ilwaco headlands from our front porch.

This evening my husband had to drive home for work tomorrow and said that he hit a wall of heat in Olympia that was “bat @#$% crazy.” I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to be sitting in my cool kitchen, looking out the door at the darkening fog. I’m not going back to Gig Harbor until things get better!

The Hood is Large

Sometimes I forget how large our Neighborhood is. Today I heard from Michael Glynn, Patti Page’s manager, regarding my post about looking for a companion for a special someone. Ms. Page has rerecorded “How Much is that Doggie in the Window?” for the Humane Society. Here’s the link. Ms. Page is working to reduce the cruelty of puppy mills and encourage people to adopt from the Humane Society.

On that note, I'd like to make a shout out for the no-kill shelter in Long Beach, WA. In an economically distressed area, these men and women work tirelessly to find homes for abandoned animals on the Long Beach Peninsula. Take a peek at their animals pictures.

42nd Street, a Seaview Treasure

A Review from My Porch

One of the nicest treats anyone can give themselves while visiting the Long Beach Peninsula is dinner at the 42nd Street Café in Seaview. Whether it’s Sunday morning breakfast, a leisurely lunch or a special dinner, 42nd Street never fails to deliver a divine repast.

Last night my husband and I celebrated our 18th anniversary. Dave had asked me where I wanted to go to dinner. We considered several new restaurants on the Peninsula, but not wanting to risk a special occasion to chance in the end we decided to stick with a place we would be assured of elegant food and a warm welcome.

42nd Street Café has been in business in Seaview, WA for twenty years and offers the best of Northwest cuisine along with some traditional American offerings such as a half chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy which was right up our daughter’s alley. Dave had jambalaya with shrimp and chicken while I had the sesame encrusted sturgeon with Thai dipping sauce, steamed vegetables and rice. Their chocolate rum truffle cheese cake was the perfect anniversary dessert. In February my girlfriend and I celebrated our birthdays at 42nd Street and our dessert came with a roman candle in it!

42nd Street Café is a little Seaview treasure. During the holiday season they feature dinner with harp music. You can listen to Christmas carols while you dine on food that warms your heart as well as your tummy. Seating is limited so dinner reservations are recommended, especially if you’re visiting during one of the Peninsula’s many festivals. The service is excellent so if you are forced to wait for a table, the wait may not be long. Many are the times that we’ve taken grandma there for breakfast on Sunday and had only a wait of a few minutes before a table could be prepared.

If you plan a trip to the Long Beach Peninsula for the Kite Festival, the Rod Run or just winter storm watching, be sure to set aside at least one meal for the 42nd Street Café. Check out their menus. You won’t be sorry.

Little Cat Feet

Or the View Through the Fog


THE fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
~Carl Sandburg

The fog has not moved on lately here on the coast. While temperatures have hovered around 90 in Seattle and 100 in Portland, the Long Beach Peninsula has sat in the fog for days with only a snatch of sun between waves of fog. Tourists escaping the heat of those cities have hit the local thrift stores and conversations have been overheard to include such things as “Why didn’t you pack something warm?!”

The fog horns at North Head and Cape Disappointment welcome the numerous ships entering the mouth of the Columbia River, also known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. Ships have gone aground as recently as 1996. One not listed on the roll call of ships lost happened forty years ago and was saved. A tuna boat captain became confused in the fog and did not realize he’d missed the entrance to Ilwaco’s harbor until he heard the breakers around his boat. Too late to maneuver out of the breakers without possibly capsizing the vessel he put the engine on full throttle and drove it onto the beach at Peacock’s Spit, also known as Benson Beach. Thereafter began the salvage process which extended over three days while the boat was drug onto huge logs and then pulled by bulldozers across the beach and down a gravel road to the boat-launch located at Ft. Canby where it was successfully floated and saved. The process provided a carnival atmosphere for tourists and locals alike.

Tomorrow begins the Kite Festival. The temperatures inland are to moderate, but include thunderstorms and the possibility of showers which is in the forecast for the coast as well. It does not bode well for kite fliers as well as those having house repairs.

Waiting for the UPS Man & Kite Festival

Waiting on My Porch

It’s a foggy morning here on my porch at the coast. The temperatures in the Portland area are to be in the 100s this week which always means fog for the Long Beach Peninsula at least in the morning and sometimes all day. Monday it burned off by afternoon and was quite nice with a sunset that was almost good except that the sun disappeared behind the next day’s fog off on the horizon. I have told my friends and relations who will be subject to the heat in Portland this week that they can escape here if they like.

This certainly has been a funny summer here. All summer, even on the days that are sunny, the accompanying wind has had the edge of autumn in it which usually doesn’t begin to whisper to us until the end of August. The blackberries are nowhere near ripe and my tomato plant, while looking hale and hearty, has only a few flowers on it and no hint that they will become fruit before the end of summer.

I am confined to the porch today waiting for the UPS man. We ordered a mattress from Costco for my daughter who stays in the little cottage on our property and it must be signed for so I am forced to wait on the porch which is no great punishment.

Downtown Long Beach is getting ready for the onslaught of tourists for Kite Festival which begins next Monday. Many of them will begin arriving tomorrow to have some time to settle in before the beginning of the weeklong festival. During Kite Festival it is better to ride one’s bike to Long Beach than attempt to take the car in that direction. I will have to be sure to organize my pantry in such a way that there is no need for trips to Sid’s Grocery next week. Better to head over to Astoria to Safeway or Fred Meyer than brave the congestion of highway 103 and the parking lot at Sid’s, even with the price of gas which is much cheaper over there anyway.

Last year the crowds seemed less than years past and one might expect the same this year because of the cost of gas, but I believe that there has been more people here on just a normal weekend precisely because they do not want to spend money to go farther afield. Trips to Hawaii and Mexico may have gone by the boards in favor of vacationing closer to home. It will be interesting to see how the economy affects the Kite Festival and the End of the World Rod Run. Tourism is the lifeblood of the Long Beach Peninsula and although the locals are not fond of the noise and congestion that accompanies the arrival of the tourists, without them the little towns that dot this finger of land would suffer greatly.