Ilwaco, Washington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting there. Across the Columbia River from Oregon on the Astoria-Megler bridge to the Long Beach Peninsula.

The Port of Ilwaco marina. One fun summer for the parents: my brother with appendicitis in the Ilwaco hospital followed by a stay for me, age five, with whooping cough. Walk the waterfront, Time Enough Book Store, art, head out fishing over the Columbia bar to the blue Pacific Ocean. Shrimp. Sturgeon. Tuna. Salmon. Dungeness crab.

Buy a fresh Dungeness from OleBob’s (that’s Ole & Bob, not good ol’ Bob) or more local seafood from Jessie’s Fish Market.

Then through the woods on Hwy. 101 loop road  to North Head Lighthouse & Cape Disappointment State Park.

EAT? Jeff McMahon’s Pelicano. Excellent fresh, local seafood with views of the harbor. Wonderful wines + cocktails.

Or Serious Pizza. Seriously!  At Cape Disappointment. Chi (and husband Jim not shown) Kreitzberg. Long lines in summer – worth it.

STAY? China Beach Retreat + Audubon House eclectic luxury on a secluded estuary of the Columbia.

Or The Lighthouse Keeper’s Residences (or yurts) at Cape Disappointment.

Or the Inn at Harbor Village – lovely B&B in a historic chapel (Innkeeper’s photo).