A nice long drive

Posted: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 by Travis Cody in
34

So last Saturday we bit the gasoline price bullet, filled up the tank, packed some snacks, and took off for the coast. We put around 500 miles on the Liberty. We did get about 23mpg, which is great. But I had to fill up the tank twice, once at $4.35 per and then again in the afternoon at $4.39 per.

I suspect that when I fill it up again later this week that I'll be paying over $4.50 per. **sigh** I also suspect that our next trip just may be by train.

Anyway, we travelled south on I-5 to Olympia where we cut west on Hwy 8 toward Aberdeen and Hoquiam. We didn't have much traffic at all, which made things enjoyable. I put the cruise control on 65 and we turned up the tuneage.

As we got to the coast, we picked up Hwy 109 out to Ocean Shores.

Here's a bit of what we saw.

We parked in the lot at the entrance to the beach, and then walked up a little side trail to get a better look at all the kites.


Although there was quite a bit of gray and overcast throughout the day, there was also plenty of bright blue sky.


Now they aren't kidding either! We drove some of the escape route...it's a two lane road and if you start from this sign, you're in some trouble because there is no high ground nearby. If the horn goes off when you're standing here, drop your stuff and grab your loved ones...and run inland as fast as you can. You might get lucky.

Although, the last time a tsunami hit the coast of Washington was in 1964 after the Great Alaska earthquake.


This is a beach where you can drive out onto the sand and park.


It wasn't really quiet, but we did still get the sound of these waves. They didn't exactly crash onto the beach, nor does it look like this is a surfing beach.




Neither Pam nor I are much for horseback riding, although we do both love horses. I can think of several blogging pals who would love to ride one of these horses along the shoreline.


It was chilly and quite windy at the beach, so we ate our sammiches and then climbed back into the Liberty for some driving along beautiful roads that looked like this.








We finished the trip driving the 101 loop around Olympic National Forest. This is skirting around the edge of the forest in the south Puget Sound. And those are bug stains on the windshield.






It was a long trip...500 miles and about 10 hours. But we had a great day.

34 comments:

  1. Janna says:

    Hey, neat!
    I remember reading about that Washington tsunami in one of my oceanography books.

    What?
    I'm a nerd. We nerds LOVE oceanography stuff.

  1. Thanks for taking us along for the drive. It was a picture perfect day at the beach. Good for you!

  1. Anndi says:

    Great pics! Looks like we both ended up by the water on Saturday.

    I highly recommend the train, unles you're trying to talk to someone on a cell phone (argh), it's lovely and relaxing. Only thing is, you can't stop and take a longer look when you spot something. But it's a great way to get from point A to point B and either chat or catch up on some reading.

  1. Marsha says:

    I LOVE road trips! They always refresh the soul and you get to see some really cool stuff and beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing!

  1. Beautiful Travis. Sad the cost of a trip like that is so overwhelming.

    Nancy and I are still talking about a road trip down the Blues Highway...Not 500 miles like your, and unfortunately no beaches...

    SO glad you and the lovely Pam got to spend so much quality time together.

  1. Schmoop says:

    Wow....Great shots Trav. Loved the kites. Cheers!!

  1. Jeni says:

    WOW! Trav, I love when folks post all kinds of scenery pictures of where they've been visiting or where they live, etc. Your pics were really great -beautiful country you toured over the weekend, just beautiful!
    Peace.

  1. Anonymous says:

    You got some great shots! Looks like a great drive. :)

  1. Ivanhoe says:

    I think my next trip will be by train as well! The gas prices are just unbelievable.
    Looks like you had a great time, mountains and beaches, my favorites.

  1. Wow. That was a trip down memory lane. Breath taking views. Looks like a great time! The kites were so pretty!

  1. Kidlet and I routinely hop in the car and hit the beach. Just for the drive and the tunes and a bowl of clam chowder. But I hear you on the train. We are taking Amtrak to Seattle.

  1. That's gorgeous countryside. I could go for a leizurely ride along the beach, or cruise through the mountains. Glad you guys got out.

  1. Danielle says:

    It's been so long since I've seen the ocean.

    Thanks for taking me with you through these pictures.

    I love long drives but with the price of gas it has to be a special treat.

    In light and love

    Danielle

  1. Sandee says:

    Awesome Travis. I was raised in Tillamook, Oregon so your neck of the woods looks about the same. What a fun trip. Have a great day. :)

  1. Sigh.

    How lovely. Sometimes I really miss those views. Thanks for taking us along.

  1. Anonymous says:

    Oh wow, that sounds like the most wonderful, perfect day. I love taking long drives and just going where the road takes you...

    There's something free about that.

  1. Akelamalu says:

    What a lovely day you had! It was worth the cost in petrol. :)

  1. DrillerAA says:

    The kites are wonderful. Man they've come a long way from the little diamond shaped one's I flew as a kid. You had something special if you had a box kite. These things are beautiful, and make for some great photo ops as well.

  1. Travis, sure does look like a wonderful day for you guys! But I bet that water's cold just like our water here on the Northeast coast, Brrrr! Those kites were wonderful! We live closer to the coast - actually you'd say we live on the coast. Queens, Long Island.

  1. We have evacuation route signs as you get close to the beach on the south shore (Atlantic Ocean.) If people on the beach evacuate inland they will be in our backyard... :)

  1. lovely trip trav! i loved the photos!

    smiles, bee
    xoxoxxoxooxxoxo

  1. Janna: I've watched several documentaries about the Alaska quake and tsunami. I'm not a nerd, but I do consider myself a history geek!

    Mimi: It was wonderful. And y'all were so quiet in the car too!

    Ann: I think this next trip is about the point A to point B thingy, and enjoying what we see when we get to point B.

    Marsha: I used to be a road trip junkie, but it's getting tough to afford the habit these days.

    V: It very much sucks that we can't just pick up and go on a Saturday anymore.

    Matt: The kites were cool!

    Jeni: I'm surprised every time at how well this little Nikon Coolpix L3 does.

    CWM: It was most excellent.

    Ivanhoe: I love that we have pine and cedar forests out here, and that you don't have to go to the higher elevations to enjoy them.

    Leigh: It was well worth the expense.

  1. Starr: I think our next outing will be Amtrak to Leavenworth WA for an overnight.

    Charles: Me too. We needed the change of scenery.

    Danielle: That's how we tried to look at it...as a special treat. Especially when the counter turned past $60!

    Sandee: I've been to Tillamook!

    Songbird: It was just too cold for toes in the sand though.

    Lois: The only thing better would have been...wait...there really wasn't anything that could have made it better!

    Akelamalu: I think I'll agree with you on that.

    Drilleraa: I remember my first box kite...we lost it in a tree. Dangit!

    Teach: No bet! It was only 57 or so down there that day. And yikes for being so close to the evac!

    Bee: Glad you enjoyed!

  1. Shelby says:

    I absolutely loved the photos and almost felt like I was there.. thanks for sharing!!

  1. Anonymous says:

    I took a road trip in NY state (from Ontario) last week end and it was really nice. We drove a lot, probably same as you, but roads were empty (gas price???) and well... the USA is a great place for road trips.

    Gas wasn't that bad though, averaging 3.90/ gallon. Cheaper than in Canada...

  1. Linda says:

    That looks like it was a wonderful trip and more than worth the price of the petrol to take it. I just love road trips, especially when you're not really going anywhere and aren't on a schedule at all.

    Gorgeous pictures! This post makes me want to "ease on down the road" a little bit myself now!

  1. Wow, looks like a wonderful trip. That is some very beautiful scenery. Glad you had such a good time.

  1. j says:

    That sounds like a wonderful day for you and Pam. I envy you on the whole 'one day' thing.

    We are at the beach right now and I am ready to go home! It is hot, there are far too many Bikinis around here, and I need to be packing. But that's just between you and me.

    The kids are having a good time though!

    Be blessed.

    Jen

  1. TopChamp says:

    WHOA! You know that's the entire length of England pretty much. Lovely pics though.

  1. Shelby: I wasn't sure about the ones we took from the vehicle while driving, but they were really good!

    Zhu: We had minimal traffic too. And I would love to buy gas at under $4 right about now.

    Linda: Road trips are our friends I say!

    John: Thanks. I want to get out and see more of it too, but east through the pass next time.

    Jennifer: I won't tell anyone. LOL!

    TC: You mean we could drive from one coast to the other in the same time we did our drive? Wow.

  1. Lisa Ryan says:

    making memories... that's what life is all about. Sounds like you had a wonderful day.

  1. Glad you had a great time. The kites are lovely!
    Personally I find beaches that allow people to park their cars on them a horrific abomination. Not only the noise pollution of so many idiots trying to blast different music, but the physical pollution of oil & other automotive fluids leaching into the sand (& therefore, the ocean.) In a perfect world, everyone maintains their cars properly. Unfortunately it's NOT a perfect world. <:(

  1. Kimmie says:

    Thank You for sharing this wonderful outing with us. The kites were magnificent! All those pretty colors in the sky at once. I enjoyed this post very much.
    Kimmie

  1. Julie says:

    Did blogger eat my comment? I looked at these days ago. The sky is a different blue then over here. Very beautiful honey and I'm so glad that you got out with Pam.

    ...now why am i thinking of that song by the Proclaimers?

    Tee hee hee!