Monday, October 31, 2011

Anniversary Ruby (and Other Rocks)

My, how time flies. I can hardly believe that the husbeast and I have been married for 29 years. It's true, life comes at you fast. It's equally true that it's possible to be married for a long time and still be every bit as in love as when you first uttered those 2 little words, "I do". I do, and I still am. I couldn't imagine not having my spouse by my side. And the best part is, it keeps getting better. It doesn't hurt that my other half is a romantic devil. For our 29th Anniversary he whisked me away to our favorite spot on Earth, Moclips. What's a Moclips, you ask? It's an unassuming little spot on the Pacific Coast, a little north of Ocean Shores and just south west of another favorite place, Lake Quinalt. Whenever we need to get away and recharge our souls, this is where we head. And this is the reason I can never move away from this area. I am invisibly tied to the ocean and the rain forests. We invariably stay at the Ocean Crest Resort. Their restaurant burned down last year, but I understand it will be rebuilt. They also had a very nice gift shop which I hope will also make a comeback. We have stayed in many of their rooms over the years. This time we stayed in room 208 which is very near the office. Two things struck me about this room. First, it has the bumpiest floor EVER. Not just in one or 2 places, but all over. It would be interesting to rip the carpet back to see what is underneath. But I will mainly remember it for this lovely art print.


I absolutely adore it. The artist is M.M. Roe (Maggie Row) a native artist who has recently passed away. I am sad to find she is no longer with us, as I had hoped to acquire a print for my collection. The point of this little vacation was to do as little as possible. And that is what we did. We arrived in Moclips Saturday afternoon. We relaxed until dinner time then made the drive to the Quinalt Casino for dinner at Emily's. We stuffed ourselves with anniversary lobsters, then returned to the hotel and fell asleep by 8:30pm. Yes, that's how old folks party. Sunday morning we drove to Kalaloch Lodge for breakfast. The husbeast was quite disappointed to find that they no longer serve their signature French toast. It was amazing. It had a kind of crunchy coating which we discovered was from ground up corn flakes. Alas, it is offered no more. Luckily they still have some delicious offerings on the menu. Here is the view from the cliff near the parking lot.


After breakfast we made the short drive to Ruby Beach. This is the view from the top of the hill, near the parking area.


And about halfway down the trail to the beach.


We love to visit this beach. Not only is it quite lovely but it is where the ashes of my dear mother-in-law are scattered. The beach is famous for its many sea stacks, as well as beach logs and driftwood. But I love it for something else. Rocks. Lots and lots of surf worn rocks.


While the husbeast was busy pretending he was a mountain goat....


...I was unleashing my inner rock hound and filling my pockets with any stones I thought might be lovely once polished. Now all I need is a rock tumbler.


After tromping around on the beach it was time to drive to Lake Quinalt Lodge for lunch.




Once we arrived we weren't quite ready to eat so we decided to have a beer and cigar inside the gazebo.


View of lake from gazebo.


And what I was enjoying.


After splitting a delicious Rueben sandwich and sweet potato fries we made the trek back to Moclips for a nap and then returned to the Quinalt Casino for dinner. Having not learned our lesson the night before, we once again ate too much and went to sleep early. All in all a wonderful relaxing vacation.

5 comments:

NewlyAwakened said...

Congrats! What a wonderful husband you have and he has a wonderful wife! We went to Moclips several times when I was a teen as my mother and step-dad took out a room with a kitchenette and they'd load up all us kids and we'd spend Thanksgiving there. Very fond memories of that. Last time we went was about 10 years ago for clamming! Another fun thing to do at the Ocean. I am coming up on my 14th year of happy marriage and I am really happy to read about other happy and in love old marrieds. Sometimes I feel like we are a rare breed these days in this modern culture.

crazihippichic said...

14 years? Ah....newlyweds. LOL
Yes, long term marriages are a rarity these days. I never thought I'd live to be this old, let alone be married so long. What a pleasant surprise. On the drive to Moclips we stopped (as we always do) for a latte in Elma. The barista asked if we were doing anything special that weekend? We told her we were celebrating our 29th anniversary. The first words out of her mouth were, "And you still like each other????" Yes. In fact we love each other dearly.

NewlyAwakened said...

We stayed on the top floor in either of the 2 units to the right in the pictures on the link at this hotel. It was at moonstone beach and I'd love to go there sometime just Hubby and I (sans kiddos). Alas, both of them love the beach and we would worry endlessly without them! LOL Google Moonstone beach hotel and it is like the first or second site that comes up with reviews.

mamabeaks said...

I just want to say hello and Happy Anniversary! I am a fellow blogger and came across this post while searching for MM Roe art. I used to live in WA and have collected quite alot of Maggie's art and jewelry, she was a wonderful lady and I miss her..... (if you ever have time, you can scroll back a bit on my blog and see some of Maggie's things) It was so wonderful to see your photos, these were all the places that my husband and I would love to visit. I miss WA very much! so thank you for stirring some wonderful memories!

crazihippichic said...

Hello mamabeaks,
I'd love to come check out your blog and look at more of Maggie's artwork. I'm sure it will cause me to be green with envy. I'm happy that my photos could bring back pleasant memories for you.