Strolling down Bolstad - Almost December

I started out at almost noon, up Bolstad just a couple of blocks from the Arcadia. It's gorgeous out, as you can see - November 30 never looked so pretty.

This buoy is huge - and has a warning about the dangers of swimming - you will see this warning all over town. Really, Long beach is not a good swimming beach, but you can usually wade out pretty far, and we do surf here. It's also not as cold as one would think - due to the Columbia flowing out and North. But be careful - it is the ocean, after all.   

There are several of these neat little mosaics around town - I think there are about five or ten of them on the Bolstad approach. There are real black bears in the area. Mind your picnic baskets!

Bolstad runs through the Discovery Trail - there are several monuments and statues just yards off the street. It's funny how the seagrass rises up around you once you're on the trail - despite being paved, it's still a very peaceful and nifty place to explore. It's also a great bike path.

The dunes - a recent (last hundred years) addition to the Long Beach Peninsula. Accretion has added about 400 yards since the hotel was built - the grasses and (not pictured) young pine forests are teeming with tiny life. 

Thanksgiving Eve at the Coast

Last night we had gusts of close to 80 mph - as recorded at Cape Disappointment. Our mid-week guests reportedly loved it - "very dramatic!" Storm watching is a frequent winter past-time out this way.

There was a casualty - one strawberry plant kaput (here pictured on the low roof, where we put the blue pot to keep the &*%% deer away. That's the Crow's Nest room in the background).

The sky tonight - calm and beautiful. 

Evening views - mid November

We went out for a walk this evening (about four minutes to the beach - *with* a kid in tow, so you know it's close!) - the weather's starting to turn to the crisper side.

The World's Longest Beach arch at Bolstad Blvd - approximately three blocks away. 

As we're headed down to the ocean - looking a bit North - beautiful fluffy clouds. I do believe Bob Ross would have referred to them as "happy clouds". 

Edge of the dunes - the ocean itself - sunset - going into winter.