On my journey today I stopped in Long Beach, WA, Cannon Beach, and Tillamook, OR.
Long Beach, WA was the first stop of the trip. I have had some amazing times in this small beach town with my dad and my brother. My father, Russ Leno (http://masterpumpkinsculptor.com/) is a professional sculptor and carver and this beach has seen his greatness several times. I remember driving down with my dad and brother for the annual sand castling competition and kite festival. My brother and I were on bucket duty meaning we had to fill roughly 100 - 5 gallon buckets full of water before the event started. So my dad and his team could construct towering castles and dragons, some pigs going crazy, and several other amazing sculptors over the years. It was hard work to haul those buckets but well worth the memories!
Some of the best times ever was helping my dad and his team achieve a world record for the World's Longest Sand Sculptor. Long Beach is 27 miles long and we were going to use the whole thing to achieve that record. I remember this massive castle in the center of the beach with 2 equally massive dragons wrapped around the castle with their tails stretching far into the distance down the beach. We would run with sticks drawing designs quickly on each inch of the tail. The entire length need to be carved to be considered for the record and it had to be completed before the tide washed it away. We had so much fun achieving that World Record.
The second stop on my adventure was Cannon Beach, OR. Home of The Goonies which is one of my favorite movies! The sound of the ocean is so soothing, the waves crashing into each other started to wash away the stress that I've been feeling.
While walking down the beach I saw a father and his young son running towards the waves to play in the cold, refreshing salt water. It brought up memories of when my parents were married and all four of us would go out to the ocean. We would walk out as far as we could and try to jump over the biggest waves possible. As a young kid maybe 6-7 y.o. the waves looked to be 20-feet tall. It was so invigorating, scary, and rewarding all at once when you jumped a wave. This time I just looked at the waves and enjoyed the serenity of the beach.
Does Haystack Rock from this angle look like a really fat rock man lying on his back? I thought so.
I love CHEESE! So I had to stop at Tillamook Cheese factory and see how it happens. Look at those giant blocks of cheese. I need crackers and a magnum of wine for one of those blocks. Got to enjoy a Marionberry Pie Shake in the cafe. Damn good!
I'll be heading out to Cape Lookout State Park to camp for the night just after a couple $2.75 beers and Monday Night Football. I love vacation!
No comments:
Post a Comment