Bundle Up & Come Play! Save the date. Make your plans now! MAR 1 GRAY WHALE WATCHING thru MAY 30 Boat excursions leave from the Westport Marina. Call ahead for reservations 1-800-268-1000.
MAR 15 WESTPORT CHARTERBOAT ASSOCIATION FISHING DERBY thru OCT 15 Compete for daily and weekly cash prizes in the Sportfishing Capital of the World
APRIL 1-2 55TH BEACHCOMBERS DRIFTWOOD SHOW Grayland Vendors, music, food, driftwood exhibits, competition & prizes. Glass float
round-up on Grayland beach. For more info: www.graylandcommunityhall.org
APRIL 16 TOKELAND & NORTH COVE ART STUDIO TOUR Tokeland Open studio tours Saturday 10 am - 4 pm, Sunday 12 pm - 4 pm. For more North Cove info: www.facebook.com, Search for: Tokeland North Cove Studio Art Tour Grayland APRIL 15-16 WORLD CLASS CRAB RACES, CRAB FEED, & CRAB DERBY Westport A unique family fun experience at the marina in Westport. Come EAT • RACE • ENJOY!
APRIL 22 COAST CLEAN-UP Local beaches The crew from Olympic Coast Cleanup will take on the South Beach area. MAY 5-7 22ND ANNUAL GRAYS HARBOR SHOREBIRD FESTIVAL Hoquiam Headquartered at Hoquiam High School. Sponsored by GH Audubon Society. MAY 6 35TH ANNUAL OYSTER FEED Ocosta All you can eat! Ocosta Recreation Hall 3 pm - 7 pm, approx. 5 miles east of Westport.
MAY 29 BLESSING OF THE FLEET Westport Please join us in remembering those lost at sea and bless the fleet for a safe and bountiful harvest. 1 pm at Fishermans Memorial.
WESTPORT & SOUTH BEACH
Visitor Information Center
For more information on these events & more!
cometowestport.com experiencewestport.com
2985 S. Montesano Ave • Westport • 800-345-6223
Stock up for your beach adventures! Box Lunches • WDFW License Agent Western Union • Liquor, Beer, Wine Natural & Organics • Fresh Produce & Meat Naat Deli & Bakery • Donuts • Lotto Propane Propa an Tanks Fishing & RV Supplies • Crab Bait
OPEN 6 AM - 9 PM EVERYDAY!
108 S Montesano Street • Westport, WA 360-268-7687 • yardbirdsmall.com
spring 2017
contents
FEATURES
30
TRANSLUCENT TREASURE UNDERFOOT
Finding agates in a variety of colors on Washington’s coast.
TOP Agate from the beach Photo by Greg Johnston ABOVE Ian Dorsch composes music in his home studio. Photo by Juli Bonell
36
Musician finds a niche composing for video games.
COVER Photo by Patricia Jollimore taken at Ocean Shores
4
IAN DORSCH
Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
42
WESTPORT AQUARIUM
The Myrcell family keeps this quaint and quirky spot running.
Our work is not about houses... ...it’s about people.
Multi-year winner!
Serving all of Grays Harbor County Residential - Commercial - Land
Windermere Real Estate
101 South Broadway • Aberdeen • 360-533-6464 837 Point Brown Ave NW • Ocean Shores • 360-289-3373 www.windermeregraysharbor.com
OCEAN D OL GRILL NED FASHIO 2 .1 g p
spring 2017
contents IN THIS ISSUE 12
FOOD
47
The Ocean Grill
16
OFF THE MAP
Bottle Beach
50
Selfies at Sharky’s
18
DRINK
56
STAY
EVENTS Our Favorites
Cranberry Road Winery rebuild
23
DESTINATION
WHO & WHY Mike Coverdale
58
LAST SHOT
Collins Inn and Seaside Cottages
23
28
TO DO Shorebird Festival and 10 reasons to go to the coast
TOP Cocktails made at The Ocean Grill ABOVE Rest and relaxation await at the Collins Inn and Seaside Cottages
6
Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
IN EVERY ISSUE 10 From the Editor 55 Advertisers Directory
The longest-lasting sedan in its class
Most Awarded Small SUV
Your Subaru Dealer for 33 Years
1-360-943-2120 2300 Carriage Loop SW • Olympia • Mon-Sat 8 to 7 ~ Sun 11 to 6 • www.HansonMotors.com
Beach Homes Aren’t Just For Summer Visit www.OwnOceanShores.com
360-532-4000 | editor@washingtoncoastmagazine.com
Publisher
Stan Woody
Editor
Doug Barker
Contributors Editorial
Donna Jones Broker 360-580-5354
donnajones55@live.com
Real Estate / Ocean Shores
Elma
Gateway to Grays Harbor Since 1888
Heat on the Street AUGUST 4 - 5, 2017
Join us for these great events in 2017! March 24-25 June 23-24 August 4-5 October 31 November 11 November 17-19 December December
• Grays Harbor Indoor Pro Rodeo • Elma’s City Wide Garage Sale Days • Heat on the Street Custom Car & Motorcycle Show • Elma’s Downtown Trick or Treat • Elma’s Veterans’ Day Celebration & Parade • Elma’s Holiday Bazaar Weekend • Elma’s Tree Lighting Ceremony (Date to be determined) • Pictures with Santa (Date to be determined)
Jan 20, 2018
• Winter Wine Festival
Elma Chamber of Commerce
For more information on these and other great events: www.elmachamber.org • (360) 482-3055 • 222 W. Main
8
Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
Angelo Bruscas David Haerle Dan Hammock Greg Johnston Scott Johnston Callie White Gregory E. Zschomler
Photography
Juli Bonell Mike Coverdale Aaron Levinsky Patricia Jollimore Greg Johnston Marcy Merrill
Editorial Assistant
Karen Barkstrom
Magazine Kristina Case, Simply Graphic Graphic Designer Ad Graphic Designers
Constance Ellis Emily Evans
Advertising Sales Manager
Jo Treadwell 360-537-3917 jtreadwell@soundpublishing.com
Production Manager
Martin Osburn
Circulation
Kris Cearley
Subscriptions
Addy Moreno
Distribution
Leslie Bebich
Contact information Advertising inquiries, subscriptions & change of address: 360-532-4000. Back issues $8 plus shipping and handling. Washington Coast Magazine is published by The Daily World, a division of Sound Publishing and may not be reproduced without express written permission, all rights reserved. No liability is assumed by Washington Coast Magazine, The Daily World or Sound Publishing regarding any content in this publication. A subscription to Washington Coast Magazine is $14 annually. Single copies are available at select locations throughout Grays >ÀL À > ` *>V wV V Õ Ì ið À `iÌ> Ã] Û Ã Ì www.washingtoncoastmagazine.com © 2016 by The Daily World 315 S. Michigan St. Aberdeen, WA 98520
Discover the coast for yourself
I
f I was you, I would book a room at the Collins Inn in Ocean Shores, then go agate hunting at nearby Damon Point. After a soak in the bubbling spa tub and a nap, I’d head into town to the Ocean Grill for some fresh, local seafood. But that’s just me. Do what you want, it’s your time at the beach. I’ve had the advantage of reading stories about those activities as we prepared this edition of the magazine. Read for yourself, but I think you’ll find my plan is sound. On page 30, Greg Johnston tells you everything you need to Doug Barker, Editor know about finding agates on the coast. There aren’t many writers around the region who can write with more authority about the natural world of the Washington Coast. In the piece, “Translucent Treasure Underfoot,” he tells you what to look for and where to look, and about the natural forces that created the stones. It’s an outstanding read. The photos that illustrate it were taken by him, testament to his skill as an agate hunter.
The Westport Aquarium
One of my favorite stories in this issue is about the Myrcell family in Westport. Marc and Kathryn Myrcell and their three children have breathed new life in the venerable old Westport Aquarium. They are serious about the science of sea life, but they don’t take themselves too seriously and there’s a quirky, homemade touch that gives the place real charm and personality. And I like that the critters living in their tanks come from the nets of local fishermen who turned them over to the Myrcells. Until school is out, the aquarium has somewhat limited hours (listed on page 43), but it’s worth timing your trip. We’re heading into the spring and summer seasons at the beach, and while people living west of the Cascades know they can’t let a little rain deter their activities or they’d never have any activities, the truth of the matter is, the ocean experience is just going to get better and better for next eight months or so. That’s plenty of time for you to find a few agates, but you’d better get started.
Stay connected!
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Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.WashingtonCoastMagazine.com Click it to read our past articles and learn about upcoming events.
We invite you to check us out >ViL ° /i ÕÃ >L ÕÌ Þ ÕÀ experiences at the coast and feel free to suggest stories about your favorite spots.
The Pacific Ocean is Our Backyard!
Hi-Tide
OCEAN BEACH RESORT The sands of the Pacific under your feet...
Take a stroll on the beach and enjoy the wonders of nature.
A perfect place to relax and get away from it all. What more can we say? Come visit us!
Located in Historic Moclips 25 minutes north of Ocean Shores. 1 & 2 Bedroom Ocean Front Condominiums.
Book Online Now at hitideresort.com
1-800 MOCLIPS 1 www.hitideresort.com
pring is SBlooming!
Gifts ts Cards ards Home Décor Pharmacy Baby Gifts Acessories Scarves
316 8th St. • Hoquiam • 532-3061 Mon-Fri: 9:30AM-6PM • Sat: 9:30AM-1PM
WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
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gg FOOD
STORY BY ANGELO BRUSCAS
Standing alone,but standing OUT Away from the downtown eateries in Ocean Shores, it’s all >L ÕÌ y>Û À] Û>À iÌÞ > ` happy customers at The Ocean Grill.
The Ocean Grill — in location alone — is somewhat removed from the more established downtown Ocean Shores corridor, where no fewer than eight eateries cater to hungry North Beach customers. Celebrating its first full year in operation at the base of the Quinault Sweet Grass Hotel on Ocean Shores Boulevard, one block toward the ocean from the main drag, the Ocean Shores Grill also stands on its own in the class of casual fine dining year-round. As far as quality and diversity of choice, there is no comparison anywhere in town. With a menu that includes steaks and prime rib, seafood and pasta,
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Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
PHOTOS B Y P ATRI CI A JO LLI M O RE
burgers, flatbreads and salads, the Ocean Grill replaced the former North Shore Grill as the newest venture from the family partnership that operated Bennett’s Restaurant (closed since 2015) in Grayland and then started and still operates the Bennett’s Fish Shacks in Westport and Ocean Shores. Executive chef and company executive Ron Lambert is the designer of the menu and the decor. “We did a major interior upgrade. We wanted to emulate the come-asyou-are experience and tradition,” Lambert said. That was the theme of the first Bennett’s in Grayland.
FOOD f f “These restaurants have to be a passion,” Lambert says of “figuring out how to survive” in a tourist-area restaurant environment where the key is to attract customers over the seven months of the year that aren’t part of the summer season. The Ocean Grill is meant to be a place one can take visitors, hold a special group gathering or observe special occasions. It’s also a great place to drop by for drinks and some appetizers. The bar is open for dining as well, and this spring and summer the restaurant will have an outdoor dining area once the weather improves. A lunch menu is available from June to September. As the Fish Shack has done for fish and chips and burgers, the Ocean Grill sets itself apart from other North Beach restaurants, based on the flair of the cooking, the quality of choices and the competence of its staff. Using a philosophy that seeks the best and most pure ingredients, such as fresh Quinault crab meat and salmon, Brady’s oysters or thick and tender Angus beef steaks, hand-trimmed of the fat; olive oil for sauteing, fresh berries, vegetables and greens, the main dishes all seem to suggest a certain signature creation. Lambert is passionate about his food and he wants to feed people quality with a special taste for local flavors. One specialty is called “Ocean Beauty,” and it is a true beauty to behold as well as devour. It comes with a bed of prawns supporting a slab of halibut, topped with Dungeness crab and bordered by asparagus. “It really is our creation,” Lambert said. Lambert believes in being carbon-neutral and ecologically friendly, so there are non-recyclable boxes if you want to take something home. “We’re incredibly sensitive about our carbon footprint,” he said. The real details are in the flavors. For starters, the most taste-popping sensation on the menu is the calamari, which comes with a bit of a jalapeno kick tempered by a sweet sauce that highlights the crisp, yet tender meat, complemented by fried scallions and garlic cloves. Crab or prawn cocktails are generous, and the artichoke dip comes hot, thick with cheese and nicely balanced with generous chunks of artichoke hearts. Another great appetizer to top off a micro-beer before dinner: a plate of risotto balls, filled with jalapeno and cheddar with roasted habanero aioli. These are cheese balls to make your eyes and taste buds sparkle. Salads include the signature Cranberry Coast Chicken Cashew Salad, an arugula beet salad or the Ocean Grill Caesar, which can be dressed up by adding chicken, salmon, prawns or Dungeness crab.
[ EAT ]
THE FOOD LEFT PAGE: The Filet Oscar features local Dungeness crab and Hollandaise sauce. ABOVE: Brad Davis mixes a lemon drop. RIGHT: Risotto balls are filled with jalapenos and cheddar and served with roasted habanero oil.
THE OCEAN GRILL • 845 Ocean Shores Blvd. NW in Ocean Shores • 360-289-0530
Menu • Hours • Reviews www.facebook.com/ oceangrilloceanshores/ WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
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gg FOOD
[
steak love
]
JUDGING FROM COMPLIMENTS ON THE RESTAURANT’S FACEBOOK PAGE,THE OCEAN GRILL MAY SERVE AS THE $'56 56'#- *175' 10 6*' *#4$14 | Steaks are popular on the menu, particularly since Ocean Shores does not have a true steak house after the Collins Inn stopped featuring that as a weekend specialty a few years back. In some opinions, the Ocean Grill may serve as the best steak house on the Harbor, judging from compliments on the restaurant’s Facebook page. “We have three steaks to choose from — a classic rib eye — trimmed lean — a New York and a filet mignon. We cut and trim the steaks in-house and we buy the highest quality certified Angus beef that’s possible. Then we charbroil them to perfection,” Lambert says. “Filet Oscar” is a special treat — topped with local Dungeness crab and Hollandaise sauce. Crab also adorns the Ocean Grill Chicken, along with avocado and mozzarella. For seafood, the Cioppino comes cooked to order with crab, clams, shrimp, scallops, cod and mussels combined with a rich and sumptuous tomato broth. A friend who ordered the dish was given a second loaf of bread just to soak up the remaining sauce. Salmon is charbroiled and finished with a citrus touch. Always popular choices are the crab cakes and fish and chips in tempura beer batter.
THE DRINKS A Mud Mountain beer goes along well with several of the steaks or Bacon Cheese Burger.
For a more casual dinner, there are seven pasta dishes, including mac and cheese that can be topped with chicken or Dungeness crab, and six burgers or sandwiches. A couple of favorites are the Applewood Bacon Cheese Burger and the Crab Melt. You can also order one of the top Fish Shack menu items, the Ocean Grill Trio: a small Cranberry Coast salad (chicken, cranberries, cashews and romaine), a cup of the signature Bennett’s chowder and a half of the crab and cheddar melt sandwich. Prices range from a $14 to $46 for the Filet Oscar, with the Prime Rib specials at $28 (12 oz) and $32 (16 oz). Lambert’s general manager, Danica Thomas, has been with the
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Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
‘we do’ weddings g
ABOVE: The interior received a major makeover to make the restaurant a come-as-you-are experience that is still nice enough for special celebrations.
If you like dining with us, then you’ll love the way we cater to your wedding or special event!
business since starting at the Fish Shack in Westport. She can often be seen at either restaurant in Ocean Shores. Partners include his mother, Vonda Bennett, sister Randi Bennett, and longtime friend and business partner, Greg Tumidanski. In addition to his work with the Ocean Grill, Lambert is Operations Manager of Bennett’s Coastal Restaurants, with a new Fish Shack scheduled to open in Port Angeles.
360-276-4884
catering@mill109.com 5 W Myrtle Ln. | Seabrook, WA A
Northwest Carriage Museum
He likens his staff to an extended family. “The key is to attract and retain people year-round,” Lambert says of the ability to keep good workers and attract returning customers. “I’m complemented by a group that really understands how to run this. It’s the best staff in all of Grays Harbor.”
THE FOOD L-R: Beach Berry Blast is a great ending to any meal at Ocean Grill, “Ocean Beauty” is a specialty at Ocean Grill and is a bed of prawns with halibut and Dungeness crab on top, with asparagus. Homemade meatballs and spaghetti are a favorite with kids and adults.
restored Over 40 Magnificently horse-drawn carriages circa 1880-1910
Fun, interactive exhibits for all ages! Group and school tours available Open Daily 10 - 4 PM 314 Alder St. (at Hwy 101 & St.Rt.6) • Raymond, WA (360) 942-4150 nwcarriagemuseum.org WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
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gg OFF THE MAP
SHARKY’S You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Selfie
No visit to Ocean Shores is complete without a selfie at Sharky’s, the gift shop where every week is Shark Week. Pass through the jaws and you’ll find a collection of shark kitsch unequaled on the Washington Coast, including “shark-themed clothing” promised on the website, which also brags: “It’s Safe to Shop Here.” Maybe it is, but woe betide those who pass up their selfie opportunity on the way out,
VISIT 16
Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
695 Ocean Shores Blvd. NW Web: Sharkysos.com @SharkysOS
gg DRINK
A fiery ,iLÕ Ì vÀ > wÀi Ì >Ì V ÃÕ i` Ì i i Ì Ài À> LiÀÀÞ , >` 7 iÀÞ Ûi LiÀ v Óä£x] À à > ` >À i / vv> Þ «i i` ` ÀÃ Ì iÜ «« ÀÌÕ Ì ið
O
n your next visit to Westport, consider taking “the long way,” going past the broad curve onto Montesano Street toward the marina, staying instead on Highway 105 another half-mile to where it turns left and heads toward Grayland. On the right you will see a big, new building and inside you will find an uplifting story about a quirky-charming place whose name and signature products literally drip with local flavor. You’re at the new Cranberry Road Winery and Bog Water Brewing Company.
S TO RY BY S CO TT D. JO HN S TO N P HO TO S BY M ARCY M E RRI LL
Owners Chris and Marie Tiffany are smart, small business operators who are living the life by the sea, and may well represent an archetype of the era. A lot of their successfully simple approach involves thinking with their hearts as much as their heads, and making their lives and livelihood part of a caring, compassionate community.
“I am overwhelmed with support we are receiving. We
WILL rebuild.” -Owner Chris Tiffany’s Facebook post after their business burned to the ground
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Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
DRINK f f
EW!
That’s how they built the cranberry wine business they nurtured from a garage-based hobby to a $2 million combination of winery, brewery, restaurant and dreams made real. And that’s why, when the whole thing burned to the ground two days before Thanksgiving in 2015, Chris’ stunned Facebook post ended with, “I am overwhelmed with support we are receiving. We WILL rebuild.” The tale of the Tiffanys’ literal trial by fire evokes another heroic image, that of the phoenix rising from the ashes. In late July last year, the new Cranberry Road Winery and Bog Water Brewing Company officially opened. In the center of the 75-seat restaurant, part of the building is a unique, bar-height set of table and chairs. Hand-
made from local driftwood, they are the slightly-singed survivors of the blaze. The restaurant is open and airy, with a handfinished native redwood bar and a granite slab counter framing a wood-fired stone oven and 24 taps of beer and wine. The tables are huge slabs of Douglas fir from nearby Tokeland, hand finished by Marie. A unique wood sculpture chandelier by Tokeland artist Jeffro Uitto (Washington Coast Magazine, Fall 2016) hangs amid natural wood beams. Local art adorns the walls. Pre-blaze, Cranberry Road had found its market, and a renovation and expansion of the old, barn-like original building was being
N The new renovation has: storage space for wine and beer, a new ballroom for events, tasting area and covered patio for summer live music and family movies.
LEFT: Pizza from the wood-fired oven makes a great complement to the many beers and wines. ABOVE: The new interior shines.
WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
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gg DRINK
planned. Rebuilding after the fire meant an opportunity. In addition to the restaurant and production and storage space for wine and beer, the new building has a separate ballroom that can accommodate up to 120 people. The restaurant also includes a dedicated tasting area and opens onto a covered patio that seats 50. Chris and Marie figure they’ll need it come summer when they resume free live music and family movies on the weekends.
supplied by their nearby friend. Sold by the glass and the bottle at the restaurant, they will soon be available in select stores. They retail for $25-$30. Blackberry and blueberry varieties will be available by summer. The grape wines, however, are less than a year into various slow aging schedules. “Seven to 10 years from now, we’ll be in full swing,” Chris cracked.
The Tiffanys got started in 2007 when they tried crafting home-made wine using cranberries grown by a friend in Tokeland. It was pretty good and with a few refinements, friends starting asking for more and urged them to try selling it. By 2010, they were selling 200 cases yearly out of the garage at their Bonney Lake home. In 2012, they completed a move to the Westport area and had the winery up and running, less than a half-mile from the Pacific Ocean.
With Bog Water Brewing Co., Chris dons his brewmaster’s cap and currently produces varieties including brown ale, oak stout (aged in whisky barrels), blond, and black and regular IPAs. By summer he expects to have 12 taps going for Bog Water brews and six “guest taps” to offer other local microbrews. They sell by the pint and also do growlers. Patrons can also enjoy tasting flights of both beer and wine selections.
The signature fruit wines they sell, cranberry, cranberry-cinnamon and sparkling cranberry, are in full production, with berries still
20
ABOVE: The winery has expanded its menu to include steaks. RIGHT PAGE TOP: A timber salvaged from the fire now serves as a mantel. BOTTOM: The chef prepares another delicious dish.
Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
Everything on the restaurant menu is housemade, including eight wood-fired artisan pizza choices, all with rich, creamy whole milk mozzarella, and yes, one has cranberries
DRINK f f
Cranberry Road Winery
THINGS TO KNOW WHEN YOU GO GETTING THERE/INFO Distances: From the Chehalis River Bridge in Aberdeen via State Route 105, 18.5 miles west/southwest. From the Westport Marina, 3.5 miles south. From the Pacific Ocean: less than one-half mile east via Schafer Island Beach Approach. Location: 2858 S. Forrest Street, Westport, at the intersection of State Route 105 and Forrest Street Phone: (360) 268-7082 Hours: Noon to 8 p.m., later in summer Prices: Appetizers $3-$8, Pizzas $13 -$18, entrees $24-$42 DON’T MISS! Prime Rib: $23-$26, Friday and Saturday after 4 p.m. Music & Movies: free on Saturday nights Memorial Day to Labor Day.
RGE CHA T I
(well, craisins). The rest of the menu is an eclectic mix of starters, salads (such as Cran-Apple), a handful of steak, chicken and seafood selections, prime rib on Friday and Saturday nights, and a few dessert choices, including their exclusive Cranberry Panna Cotta. Following the fire, the Tiffanys received an outpouring of support, including a Gofundme web page that brought donations from $5 to $500 (they used the money to help their laid-off employees during the rebuilding period).
After they reopened, they began giving back by hosting a free Thanksgiving dinner for 60 and sponsoring five needy families at Christmas.
Electrifying: Three Tesla electric vehicle charging stations, free with meal purchase.
Chris and Marie plan to focus their restaurant marketing efforts in the Seattle area and along I-5, in hopes of bringing visitors not just to their business but to the South Beach area in general. Chris explained that he believes the saying, “a rising tide floats all boats,” and wants to help the community succeed as his business continues in its new life.
WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
21
YOURR TAST YOU STEE
of the
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22
Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
800-621-9625 • www.visitgraysharbor.com Visit us online at facebook.com/GraysHarborTourism
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STAY f f
The Collins Inn and Seaside Cottages offer romantic getaways, family celebrations and time with friends.
LUXURY at the END OF THE ROAD
ABOVE: The Collins Inn is just a short walk from the ocean.
PHOTOS BY PATRICIA JOLLIMORE STORY BY SCOTT D . JOHNSTO N
Almost at the extreme end of the seven-mile sandbar that is Ocean Shores is an eclectic inn that’s all about making memories. The Collins Inn and Seaside Cottages offer a variety of inviting, KPFWNIGPV URCEGU YKVJ CP CTVKUVKE CTTC[ QH HCUEKPCVKPI HCEGU | For owners Jim and Rose Collins, it’s the dream they made real, nurtured through two decades of planning and seven years’ worth of working with their hands, heads and hearts. For their devoted clientele (75 percent of their business is repeat), it’s romantic weekend getaways, family celebrations, and the best of times with friends, all enveloped in the sights, sounds and scents of the beautiful beach at Damon Point and the big blue Pacific Ocean.
WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
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gg STAY “A purpose-built, boutique bed and breakfast,” is the formal way Jim Collins describes the two-story, 4,200 square foot structure that, to him and Rose is simply, “The Inn.” The Inn’s suite and five themed rooms are for couples only. Each features a different luxury bath and/or shower, heated floors, and unique fireplaces, furnishings and décor. The themes were selected by the Collins’ daughters, Michelle and hotel manager Jamie. The Inn experience includes a gourmet breakfast and Rose says about three-fourths of the guests elect to have it served in their rooms. Usually prepared by Rose, breakfast can also provide an excuse to enjoy the dining and piano lounge areas of the Inn. A nine-foot-long Birdseye Maple burl table and a similar, but even bigger, bar top flank a 500-gallon saltwater “Indonesian Reef” aquarium that houses some 200 living species of fish, coral, polyps and plants. Nearby, keyboard benches, custom-crafted by Jim, wrap around an ivory baby grand piano. A massive river rock fireplace warms the room. The far side of the Inn’s common area features a showcase-style open chef’s kitchen full of gleaming copper. Down the hall is the room that Rose has found “always rents first,” the Collins Inn Suite. At over 700 square feet, the suite is a luxury apartment with a full kitchen, a living and dining area with a stone fireplace and private balcony, a bedroom with a marble tub for two, an office workspace, a treadmill and an outdoor private patio complete with a gas grill and heater. Also on the main floor is “The Wine Room,” which is ADA compliant and boasts a huge walk-in (or roll-in) shower, a tile fireplace and a built-in river rock headboard for the king bed.
TOP LEFT: The beach is just steps away. LEFT: A grand piano in the inn’s common area. RIGHT PAGE, top: A beach-themed room has a light and airy feel. Bottom, Jim and Rose Collins in their kitchen.
By the NUMBERS 1 Ƃ /- Ƃ "1/ /
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Square feet in The Inn
Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
Years Jim and Rose Collins spent building the Inn
Gallons of salt water in the “Indonesian Reef” aquarium
Percentage of guests who are repeat visitors
THE INN features five themed rooms with luxury baths, heated floors, unique fireplaces and antique furnishings.
Years the Inn and Cottages have been in DWUKPGUU|
Total square footage of the four Seaside Cottages combined
Number of Combined length in feet guests that have of the Birdseye Maple burl been evicted in table and bar top in the 11 years common area of the Inn
Number of Inn guests out of 10 who choose to have their gourmet breakfasts served in-room
WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
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gg STAY
The staircase to the remaining guest rooms is an enormous example of the craftsmanship Jim put into the Collins Inn. It is made up of thousands of pieces of tile that he hand-cut and installed. The stairs represent a fraction of the custom tile work that Jim did in every room of the Inn and all of the cottages. Upstairs are four more themed rooms. “The Turret Room” offers 180 degrees of ocean viewing and a private balcony. Other features include a “scratched walnut” floor, a dynamic in-wall fireplace, a two-person air jetted tub and a contemporary marble and stone spatype shower. “The Sonora Room” offers a Southwestern theme and literally, tons of tile, especially the intricate red marble mosaics that frame the fireplace and other tile designs for the spa shower and two-person Jacuzzi tub. “The Spiaggia (Italian for sandy beach) Room” boasts European marble throughout, along with a panoramic view from the private balcony. Marble and stone accents highlight “The Pacific Room,” which presents a view of part
of Ocean Shores’ 23 miles of fresh water shoreline. The four detached cottages offer guests accommodations that are similar yet distinct from a stay at the Inn. Kid and pet friendly, the cottages are a spacious 920 square feet each, with a full kitchen, living room with river rock fireplace, dining area, private bedroom, upstairs sleeping for four more and a full bathroom, including a washer and dryer. Sweethearts since the seventh grade, Jim and Rose owned a truck rental business in Seattle. They moved to Ocean Shores in 1999, spent seven years building the Inn, opened it in 2006 and added the cottages over the next year. The Great Recession that hit in 2008 presented challenges for their luxury bed and breakfast. But Jim and Rose have successfully developed a niche market for folks seeking to treat themselves to memorable experiences that wait to be discovered in and around the intriguing and indulgent environs of the Collins Inn and Seaside Cottages in Ocean Shores.
CLOCKWISE: Old world charm mixes with modern comforts, china stored and ready for a home-cooked meal, the river rock bar built by Jim Collins and a sun-filled room in the main inn.
THE STAIRCASE, made by Jim, is made of thousands off pieces i off hand-cut h tile. Custom tile work done by Jim is in every room and cabin. 26
Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
Furniture & Décor
to enhance your home and lifestyle
From the latest furniture trends to the perfect accent piece, everything you need to make your home beautiful and comfortable.
Stay at the Inn VITAL STATISTICS When: Open 365 days. Reservations: strongly recommended, especially for summer and off-season holiday weekends. Inn rates: (all year, couples only) Collins Inn Suite: $265. Themed rooms: $245. Cottage rates: (child and pet friendly) Rates vary from $175 for winter weekdays to $295 for summer weekends. Check-in: 3-6 p.m. (after hours check in can be arranged with the innkeeper).
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201 E. Wishkah St. Downtown Aberdeen 532-6280 Mon.-Fri. 10:00-5:30 Sat. 10:00-3:00 WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
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gg TO-DO
The Shorebird Festival to appreciate the incredible show put on by hundreds of thousands of shorebirds every spring in Hoquiam. The birds stop on Grays Harbor to fuel up on their migration north to Arctic breeding grounds.
Their favorite feeding spot is the mudflats at Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge on the west edge of Hoquiam. A boardwalk goes out through the wetlands to viewing locations, where depending on the tide, you may see massive clouds of birds moving as one, swooping and diving in undulating blobs to avoid peregrine falcons and other predators.
For details go to www.shorebirdfestival.com/
The Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival, sponsored by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the City of Hoquiam, the Grays Harbor chapter of the Audubon Society and other groups, is May 5-7 this year. It’s timed to be near the height of the migration.
PHO TO BY AARO N LAVI N S KY
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Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
treasure TRANSLUCENT
Underfoot mong the mysteries of the Washington Coast are the curious, multi-colored gems born in the bedrock bones of Earth that over millions of years end up scattered along the rocky shore, usually hidden among other stones but sometimes sitting alone, glowing it the sun. Hunting for beach agates is a passion for many who love the ocean shore, and these semi-precious stones of reddishbrown, honey-gold, pearl-white and even black can be found on beaches all along the Washington Coast, virtually from Cape Flattery south to the Columbia River.
ST O R Y AN D P H OT OS B Y GR EG JOH NS T ON
Agate hunting is a treasure hunt indeed; you scour the gravel beds searching for stones of often stunning translucence. Finding a particularly beautiful one is pure joy. But you’re not going to get rich through agate hunting. Agate is also found in the mountains, in greater amounts, and you can buy a small bucketful for not much money. (story continued on page 33)
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AGATE is a hard, microcrystalline type of chalcedony in the quartz group of stones, primarily made of densely packed crystals of silica. Considered a semi-precious gemstone, they’re almost always translucent — light shines through clearly — and brilliantly colored.
more time the agate material is washed and tumbled down rivers to the seashore, where it is often smoothed by waves and sand. However, clam and snail shell >}>Ìià > ` >}>Ì âi` «iÌÀ wi` wood are also found along the coast.
They form in voids, or empty spaces, usually pockets in basaltic >Û> y ÜÃ] >Ã ÌÀ>««i` Ã V> À V liquids that over time precipitate, or crystallize, into stone. Oddly enough, sometimes agate forms in the empty spaces of buried clam or snail shells, even porous wood, becoming fossil artifacts of the host material.
Often agates are banded, with concentric lines representing different phases of crystallization. Those that aren’t likely were originally parts of larger, banded agates that over time broke up and eroded into the smaller } Ü } }i à Üi w ` Ì i beach.
Agates found along the Washington Coast typically are vÀ > V i Ì >Û> y ÜÃ] Ì i softer host rock eroding away over millions of years. Over
ABOVE: Carnelian agates in various shapes and colors. RIGHT: a collection of different agates from Washington’s coast. RIGHT PAGE: beach combing for hidden treasures
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Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
That’s part of the fun of agate hunting — examining the stone and wondering exactly how it arrived at the spot where it was found, and how it took on its beautiful current persona.
But that’s not the point. For most of us, it’s just fun to look for agates while you’re out walking along the magic shore of that vastness known as the Pacific Ocean, watching the eagles, the surf, the seals, feeling the sea breeze in your hair. When you find an agate, it makes the experience even more special. “They’re kind of like the gems we have here,” says Shawn Stanley of Ocean Shores, perhaps the most avid agate hunter on the Washington Coast. “They’ll just glow like orbs. Every time you find one you get that jolt of joy, a burst of endorphins, and then you find more and it gets better and better.” Beach agates are not abundant, representing a tiny fraction of all the other stones you see on the beach, and you’ve got to really focus to find them. A lot of people get discouraged and quit looking. Don’t give up! Here are some tips for motivation. The first thing to figure out is how to tell the difference between an agate and just another pretty stone. They key is that agates are translucent. That is, light shines through them clearly. They’re not transparent like glass, light won’t pass completely through, you can’t see clear images through an agate. A lot of agate hunters will hold the stone up to the sun when they find one to gauge its translucence. If the stone blocks the sun, it’s not an agate. If it glows, you’ve probably got a keeper! Agate is a very hard, micro-crystalline stone made mostly of silica, a form of chalcedony in the quartz group, and on the Washington Coast most are amber or reddish-brown. Sometimes they’ll be polished by years of being washed back and forth in sand by the sea — when the light hits them just right they can seem to glow. Other times they’ll be rough on the surface, more raw, and sometimes covered with a patchy white “frosting.” Beginning agate hunters often confuse plain quartz beach stones as agates, since these sometimes seem to allow some light through. They’re not though, and long-timers will often refer to these as “sugar agates.”
“Every time you find one you get that jolt of joy, a burst of endorphins, and then you find more and it gets better and better.” - SHA W N S T A N L E Y
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A qu quic ick guuide too the mos ot comm m on agatess fo foun undd on the Wa Wash shinngt gton o Coast s.
WHITE AGATE — At bottom left is a white agate, another less common type, and often these sport a gorgeous pearl-like luster. Perhaps they’re left more clear due to the absence of other minerals when the silicarich liquid precipitates into stone as the agate is formed. A variation on the white agate are those of any basic color with a white frosting over all or some of their faces; these are common here.
ENHYDRO AGATE p "VV>Ã > Þ À V Õ `Ã Ü w ` > >}>Ìi with a bubble of water trapped inside. These are uncommon and hard to identify. Some agate hunters will shine a bright light on all their stones when they get home to spot enhydros. (Not shown here). SHELL-CAST AGATE — As we’ve mentioned, agates are formed over time in voids, usually in other rocks such as basalt, but sometimes in the spaces of clam or snail shells - thus a type of fossil. Some beaches on the central Oregon Coast are known
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Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
BLACK AGATE — The stone at the top of the photo is a black agate, simply a type of agate with a dark sheen yet still translucent — light will shine through it. They’re not rare, but Õ V p w ` } one is a real treat.
CARNELIAN — Most rockhound hunters refer to any reddishbrown, orange or amber colored agate as carnelian, and they’re common on the Washington Coast. Those with a clear translucence and brilliant hue, either wave- or tumbler-polished, are especially beautiful. The four at bottom right here are raw carnelian agates.
v À à > à i v Ãà ð " Ì i 7>à }Ì >ÃÌ Üi w ` Ì i occasionally — a real treat, another opportunity to marvel at the complexities of nature. (Not shown). Ìi\ / i ÌÜ ÃÌ ià >Ì Vi ÌiÀ ivÌ >Ài «iÌÀ wi` Ü `] > V v ÃÃ Ì i 7>à }Ì >ÃÌ] v Õ ` Ì i Ã> i « >ViÃ Ü iÀi >}>Ìi Õ Ì } à } ` > ` Û> Õi` LÞ ÃÌ À V Õ `à ÕÃÌ >à highly.
If you can see some beach agates before you look it will help you identify them. The Coastal Interpretive Center at Ocean Shores (www.interpretivecenter. org; 1033 Catala Ave SE) has a fine collection of raw beach agates you can look through, and it’s a fun, informative stop anyway. The key to finding them is to first find gravel piles on the beach. Don’t focus on sandy stretches of the beach, just keep walking until you find piles of gravel. Then slow down and scour the gravel looking for that glow. You’re not going to find them in every gravel pile, so I like to keep moving, scanning side to side. When the sun is out and especially low on the horizon, you can use it to light up the agates — you’ll find walking in one direction gives you the best illumination. One of the cool things about agate hunting is that you learn about the sea, and how, combined with the tides, currents, winds, rocks and sand, it changes the shore almost every day. That has an impact on agate hunting success. Gravel beds you find exposed one day are sometimes covered by sand the next, buried by the effect of the high tide, waves and wind. The tides are also beneficial to agate hunting. The high tide twice a day rises along the shore and tumbles the beach gravels, dredging up new agates to be found. The best agate hunting is on the last few hours of an outgoing tide. The tide has just been up to shuffle the gravel piles and expose new agates, but going down to expose more beach and more gravel to search. That’s also the safest time to be on the beach. Remember, you’re wandering the edge between the continent and the largest ocean on the planet, it’s not always a benign environment. You need to pay attention to the surf; listen and watch it, especially watch for sneaker waves. They can ruin your day quick. Don’t play on drift logs at the edge of the surf. All it takes is a single big wave to roll that thing and potentially crush you.Â
south of Cape Alava, and have since found them virtually throughout the 70-some miles of the park’s beach strip — from Shi Shi Beach south to Kalaloch. By the way, park regulations allow visitors to collect small amounts of stone and shells for personal use. The outer area of Grays Harbor produces agates — Damon Point on the end of the Ocean Shore peninsula is a well-known spot, as well as Half Moon Bay at Westport. It’s worth looking anywhere you find gravel beds on the Twin Harbors beaches. I’ve found them — actually my wife did — in the stretch from the south jetty to the Westport Light. We’ve found them on the shores of Willapa Bay. Once you’ve found beach agates, what do you do with them? Many agate hunters will polish those well suited for it in tumbling or vibratory rock polishers. Some agates are so beautiful as nature left them, you leave them as is. Some people make jewelry, such as pendants for necklaces, or make earrings of the smaller ones, after polishing. A few people keep favorite agates they’ve found in their pockets — maybe they’re smooth and feel good in the hand — sort of as worry stones. But most of us just fill up tall clear jars or vases with them for display, occasionally taking out favorites to reminisce about fun times on the beach, or to marvel at how nature could create such a thing of beauty.Â
about the author Ă€i} ÂœÂ…Â˜ĂƒĂŒÂœÂ˜ ÂˆĂƒ >˜ >Ă•ĂŒÂ…ÂœĂ€ ĂœÂ…ÂœĂƒi LœœŽ Âş7>ĂƒÂ…ÂˆÂ˜}ĂŒÂœÂ˜Â˝Ăƒ *>VˆwV Coast: A Guide to Hiking, Camping, Fishing & Other Adventures,â€? was published by Mountaineers Books and featured in the Summer 2015 issue of Washington Coast Magazine.
Exercise caution on incoming tides, to make sure you don’t get trapped beyond headlands or points that are inundated on the high. WHERE TO LOOK? Virtually anywhere along the outer coast of Washington where there are gravel piles. I found my first agate while backpacking along the wilderness beaches of Olympic National Park
ABOVE: Cross section of a white agate. RIGHT: a collection of different agates P H O T O B Y SP E N C E R UI T T O
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A composer ǬRHW ER EYHMIRGI SJ KEQIVW JSV LMW SXLIV [SVHP] P] GSQTSWMMXMSRW
music
At home with his
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S TO RY BY CA L L IE W HIT E P H OT OS BY JUL I BON E L LÂ
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S
- "7 "6 , /, - "7 Ƃ 7 / "1/ <<Ƃ, ] Ƃ Ƃ Ƃ ,Ƃ - -" / / ,"1 / * - "7] Ƃ / Ƃ ,"1 ] Ƃ /] --" Ƃ / -/, - /, Ƃ- /7" 6" - - Ƃ ", " " 9 Ƃ Ƃ Ƃ, 1/ 1 * Ƃ Ƃ Ƃ 1Ƃ ° This is the cinematic opening of “Prey For The Gods,” an upcoming video game that Ian Dorsch thinks may be the break he’s been dreaming of for his composing skills. Dorsch, who lives next to the Wishkah River in the house he grew up in just outside Aberdeen, has been composing music on his keyboards and guitars for a long time. His parents encouraged his love of music early and even drafted him and his two sisters into the Dorsch Family Band, a rootsy rock and folk band with original songs about area history that played regional venues back in the late ’80s and early ’90s. “We had a song about Robert Gray, one about the ‘Graveyard
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of the Pacific,’” or the Columbia River Bar, Dorsch recalled. With influences like Paul Simon and James Taylor, “it was pretty warm and fuzzy stuff.” His parents encouraged his love of music, and his father let him “putter around” in his studio, setting the foundation for his composing. With his synthesizer, Dorsch emulated the kind of electronic music coming out of the New Age scene – Vangelis and Ray Lynch, especially. Vangelis was the composer for “Blade Runner,” and Dorsch became enamored with movie scores, branching out to John Williams.
The Dorsches are intentional about introducing their students to complicated and contemporary music.
LEFT PAGE: Ian in his home studio just outside Aberdeen, a variety of guitars RIGHT CLOCKWISE: Ian teaching opera performance at Grays Harbor College. LEFT: Ian and Joy listen to their students rehearse for an opera recital.
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Although his parents encouraged the love, they told him he’d need to do something besides music to pay the bills. And Dorsch listened. Instead of looking for music programs in colleges, he went to the University of Alaska in Fairbanks to study engineering.
especially the older stuff.
Although he was a National Merit Scholar finalist, Dorsch said he hadn’t really understood how to write his own ticket and UAF offered a free ride. “I was so unambitious,” and it was a very attractive offer, Dorsch said.
But they wanted a family. And they ran the numbers. And Dorsch decided his parents were right. Music was not going to pay off.
But Dorsch, immersed in math and science during the darkest and coldest period of one of the darkest and coldest places in the world, found that life without sunshine and music was miserable. He couldn’t stand living without both. So he packed up and transferred to Western Washington University in Bellingham to study music. A couple of unexpected things ABOVE: Ian listens to his students. RIGHT PAGE: Scenes from Ian’s lastest project, a video game called “Prey for the Gods.” He is creating original music for it.
“There are a lot of talented people here, but if they want to get to that next level, they have to see what is involved in a professional production. It takes a tremendous amount of work.” -IAN DORSCH
happened there. First, he went thinking he’d be a rock star, but instead fell in love with choral music. Then, he met and fell in love with Joy, his future wife and a fellow singer. A horse rider, she introduced him to country music, which he now says he can appreciate,
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After graduation, the couple continued their careers in music, Dorsch as a director of liturgical music in a church in Bellingham. They sang in a choral group that performed locally. Their lives were good.
About that time, Dorsch got an opportunity to work at the Vaughan Co., just outside Montesano, testing pumps and programming testing software. He still had his engineering chops, and in 2004, his family moved back to the Harbor. “We’re country people, and we wanted to raise our kids where they could be around nature,” Dorsch said. And what better place than his parents’ old house, right on the banks of the Wishkah River? Being separated from their musical community was hard, though. “When you live somewhere like here, you have to make your own opportunities,” Dorsch said. The Dorsches had been part of a vibrant chamber music scene, and Ian had been music director for the then-new Skagit Opera (now Pacific Northwest Opera). On the Harbor, finding opportunities was harder. But just as the internet has revolutionized the selling of music, it has changed the way music is produced. And it was the internet that Dorsch turned to for a musical outlet, taking part in online forums that led him to much of his current work, especially the Game Audio Network Guild. Dorsch became friends with Russ Pitts, a Boston-based writer and former Tech TV producer who had started a podcast for Gamers With Jobs. Pitts ended up hiring him to compose and coordinate music for it, and continued to hire Dorsch for music work through job changes. Dorsch is currently scoring two feature length documentaries for Pitts’ production company, Flying Saucer Media. Through Gamers With Jobs, Dorsch met Julian Dasgupta, a Berlin-based game developer who connected him to Airborn Studios. Dorsch did some work for them for the game “Pino’s Journey,” which led to other opportunities. Dorsch has worked for Microsoft, but many of his projects were for small and independent companies. Usually he wasn’t the sole composer but one of several in collaboration. And he was able
“Prey For The Gods,” a game that takes place on a frozen island, raised over $500,000 on Kickstarter. Dorsch is in charge of all the music, taking his passion for choral music to its soundtrack.
to do this all from his home studio (in his old bedroom) through the internet. Dorsch uses software that has thousands of samples of real instruments playing at every different tone – softly, loudly, waveringly, and so on – for maximum verisimilitude. (But he likes to mix in tracks of him playing one of his many guitars, as live instruments have a grounding authenticity in their sound.) The work was often unpaid, and it was also often unpublished, but it connected him to many people who were working on their own “passion projects” and gave him credibility, a resume, and work on more and bigger titles. And then came “Prey For The Gods,” a game that takes place on a frozen island, with the gameplay changing based on the choices the player makes. The title raised over $500,000 on Kickstarter for No Matter Studios, far more than its $300,000 goal. That is a lot of anticipation. “This could be my big break game,” Dorsch said. Instead of collaborating, he’s in charge of all the music. Instead of working wholly remotely, he will probably end up working
with real musicians. “That’s really next-level stuff.”
Aaron Copland chorus – which (minus Pirates) are some pretty heavy pieces.
For the trailers, Dorsch worked with his friends in Bellingham to create the chant-like singing. Indeed, it is Dorsch’s facility with and passion for choral music that he thinks distinguishes him from the pack. Most singing in games is used as texture – lots of “oohs and ahs” that blast during fight scenes or warble lightly in transition scenes. But Dorsch wants to integrate it into “Prey” for the duration of the game, underneath all kinds of play.
The Dorsches are intentional about introducing their students to complicated and contemporary music. Very few of their students have been to an actual opera, and even the ones who perform locally in musicals often haven’t been to see them live in a bigger city.
That’s why the trailer features actual words. OK, they’re in an unfamiliar (but real) language. Dorsch demurs to name the source, saying only that someone on the internet will out it eventually), but they have intrinsic meaning to the themes of the game. Not all of Dorsch’s musical work is online, though. He and Joy have started a class for opera performance at Grays Harbor College. This year their students did a recital featuring scenes from Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance,” Minotti’s “The Old Maid and the Thief,” Carlisle Floyd’s “Suzanna,” and an
“There are a lot of talented people here, but if they want to get to that next level, they have to see what is involved in a professional production. It takes a tremendous amount of work,” Dorsch said. And that preparation includes a broader knowledge of musical works and field trips to productions in Seattle – he gets discounted tickets he gives to his students. “In the Harbor, you often have to make your own opportunities,” Dorsch said. So he’s making them, in his studio for farflung imaginary lands, and with people right here.
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Part family science project and part roadside attraction, this is a stop worth making in Westport
an aquarium ST OR Y B Y GR EGOR Y Z S C H OML ER PH OT OS B Y MA R C Y MER R I L L
W
Westport is a charmer among the small seaport towns of the Washington Coast. Its commercial and recreational fishing marina and jetty-flanked beach, as well as the thriving marine habitat, the small town vibe and its touristy whimsy make it a jovial place to visit. And the quaint and quirky Westport Aquarium, nestled between Granny Hazel’s Candy and Gifts and Merino’s Seafood Market just off the harbor-side “boardwalk,” complements that charm. Built in 1955, it is one of only a handful of privately owned and funded aquariums still in operation on the West Coast. The teal-painted building is unassuming and certainly doesn’t cry SeaWorld. It’s not that kind of public, big box museum. It’s small, local and rustic — a mom-n-pop shop whose hospitable owners, Marc and Kathryn Myrcell, pride themselves in its homegrown history and simplicity. “I had the joy of marrying Kathryn, who is as much of a dreamer as I am,” said Marc Myrcell. “I could say, ‘let’s build a submarine this weekend,’ and she’d go along with it.” You won’t find a submarine here (yet), but you will find living displays of fish from the local Pacific waters, a touch tank, hands-on interpretive exhibits, a duck pen and much more. Plus, there are always free projects at the gift shop craft table for all ages to enjoy, as well as a variety of artifacts to see (even without admission).
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IF YOU GO
Westport Aquarium 321 E. Harbor Ave., Westport 360.268.7070 westportaquarium.weebly.com/
Outside the quaint and quirky Westport Aquarium, Marc and Kathryn Myrcell with two of their three children, Veronica and Vincent. Their son Santiago was not available for the photo.
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Lots of folks stop by on sunny, summer days, but it’s also a great place to get out of the Pacific Northwest rain the rest of the year. Children, especially, will find it an entertaining adventure and one can easily while away an hour or so looking at all the fish tanks, making giant bubbles, feeding the ducks, constructing a craft, browsing the gift shop and learning scads of interesting factoids from the proprietors. The Myrcells are passionate about marine life and manage the business on top of their other careers. He’s a surveyor; she’s a teacher. They, along with their children Veronica (16), Santiago (12) and Vincent (8) make the venture a family affair. They bought the place in 2009 and opened the aquarium that year. All the Myrcell children do their part, whether it’s sweeping up, feeding the aquatic life, cleaning the tanks, or giving tours. Daughter Veronica was just 9 when Marc and Kathryn bought the place and she grew up learning the ropes. Seven years of stewardship have shaped her interests. At 16, she’s already taking community college classes and plans to pursue a degree in marine biology and become a marine mammal pathologist. She’s partly homeschooled but attends classes at Olympia Regional Learning Academy and
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South Puget Sound Community College. She plans to transfer to a four-year university after earning her AA next year. Like the rest of the family, she volunteers with the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network and loves to rearticulate marine mammal bones for the aquarium’s displays.
FACTOIDS
LEFT PAGE: Kathryn shows a visitor the skull of a river otter. Below, a carved figure from southeast Asia, perhaps a depiction of a river goddess, the Myrcells believe, greets visitors as they enter the aquarium. ABOVE: Under the skeleton of a Steller sea lion, Marc and Veronica work on arranging the bones in one of the animal’s flippers.
Westport Aquarium has living displays of fish from the lo local Pacific waters, a touch tank, hands-on interpretive exhibits, a duck pen and a homegrown history. WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
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CLOCKWISE: A preserved skate (an animal that resembles a ray); the skull of a river otter with a sea urchin that has been placed in its mouth; Kathryn and Veronica tend the tanks (the seawater is pumped directly from the marina so if it’s stormy and the water is stirred up, it can look cloudy in the tanks, but on days when the silt settles down, it’s clear.); the bones in the fin of a Steller sea lion the Myrcells are rearticulating.
“We’re trying to raise awareness,” said Kathryn Myrcell, noting that the aquarium is happy to provide training if enough people call with an interest. -About The Marine Stranding Network
THE MARINE STRANDING NETWORK
To report a dead, injured or stranded marine mammal, call: 1-866-767-6114 For law enforcement, harassments, and other violations, call: 1-800-853-1964
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f f DESTINATION
Bottle Beach
STORY BY D AN HAMMOCK PHOTOS BY MARCY MERRILL
WHAT TO SEE
Beaches and lots of birds
ABOVE: Bottle Beach has some spectacular views of Grays Harbor, and on clear days, of the Olympic Mountains.
There’s access to 6,000 feet of shoreline and the mud and tidal y>ÌÃ Ì >Ì >ÌÌÀ>VÌ thousands of shorebirds a year as they migrate from Central and South America to their breeding grounds in the Arctic every year.
You’ve probably driven past one of the best views on Grays Harbor If you’ve ever taken Highway 105 to Westport you’ve no doubt noticed the beautiful bay where the road bends sharply southward and views of the water open up at the area known as Ocosta. You may have wondered if you could access the expansive sandy beach there. The fact is, you probably whizzed right past the public access point that puts you right on the shores of South Bay.
VQuick fact: More than 130 species of birds have been observed at Bottle Beach.
Bottle Beach State Park has an access point and parking lot right off the north side of the highway a mere 15 miles west of Aberdeen and about 10 minutes from Westport. From the parking area of the 75-acre day-use park, visitors can take the Bottle Beach Interpretive Trail, which leads west to the beach where South Bay meets Grays Harbor. There’s access to 6,000 feet of shoreline and the mud and tidal flats that attract thousands of shorebirds a year as they migrate from Central and South America to their breeding grounds in the Arctic every year.
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Spring is a great time to see them as they migrate north. According to Washington State Parks and Recreation, Grays Harbor is considered the single most important shorebird feeding area on the Pacific Coast, attracting more than a million birds each spring. Up to 20 percent of these migrating birds use the area just off Bottle Beach, which has been designated an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society. Along with the shorebirds, many species of waterfowl live or pass through the park throughout the year, and birds of prey like peregrine falcons are attracted to the area by its abundant prey. In total, more than 130 species of birds have been observed at Bottle Beach. And on clear days, there are spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains. In the late 19th Century, around the time of statehood, there was a town there, called Ocosta By the Sea. The Northern Pacific Railroad made it the line’s Pacific Ocean terminus and investors flooded the town with cash hoping to get in on the ground floor. There were three hotels and churches, and a lumber company and brewing company. The buzz over the proposed port died quickly due to factors as diverse as railroad realignment and sediment buildup that made it difficult for large ships to navigate to the port. Traces of the town are still visible in some places today.
Spring is a great time to visit and you might even see spectacular views of the Olympic mountains on a clear day. Why is it called Bottle Beach? It could be because of the brewing company that existed there in the brief Ocosta by the Sea boom, although rumor has it the name has a more banal origin: Years ago somebody
Page 49: LEFT PAGE: If you find a bottle on bottle beach, consider yourself lucky, but it’s worth the trip anyway. You’re welcome to bring your dog, as long as it’s on a leash. ABOVE: You never know what you’ll find at the beach.
found an interesting looking bottle on the beach. From then on, when people went to that beach, they said they were going to Bottle Beach.
accessible. A boardwalk passes over wetland areas and along the way there are three wildlife viewing platforms or blinds, and ample access to the beach.
The Bottle Beach Interpretive Trail is a little less than three-quarters of a mile long and is American Disability Act
Like all other state parks, a Discover Pass is required for vehicle entry into the park.
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gg EVENTS
our favorite
EVENTS MARCH
Country Closet
3-12 ‘Anything Goes’ The Bishop Center for the Performing Arts in Aberdeen presents the age-old tale of boy-meets-girl. No musical puts it on stage better than “Anything Goes.” Cole Porter’s magical scores top this story about madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London. Billy Crocker is a stowaway in love with heiress Hope Harcourt, who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Nightclub singer Reno Sweeney and Public Enemy No. 13 Moonface Martin aid Billy in his quest to win Hope. The musical introduced such songs as “Anything Goes,” “You’re the Top,” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.” 4-5 Beachcombers Fun Fair, Ocean Shores In Ocean Shores, the annual event features exhibits, seminars, information booths and vendors, plus a kid’s science fair Saturday morning and beach walks Sunday morning.
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Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
11 Spring Fundraiser at the World Kite Museum Preview the latest exhibits and enjoy an evening of frivolity at the World Kite Museum in Long Beach. This casual evening will be filled with family fun while raising funds for needed work on the roof.
Washington Trappers Association Winter Rendezvous At the Grays Harbor Fairgrounds in Elma, the Winter Rendezvous includes trapping demonstrations, as well as discussions by professional trappers and vendors selling fur and trapping supplies. 16 GHC Winter Music Department Concert This quarterly concert, at the Bishop Center for the Performing Arts in Aberdeen, features the College Jazz Band and Jazz Choir, both directed by Dr. William Dyer. 17-19 Razor Clam Festival All things razor clam — including a Clam Chowder Cook-off — are featured at the 10th annual festival in Ocean Shores. 18 Coastal Harvest By the Sea Annual benefit dinner and auction at Quinault Beach Resort and Casino in Ocean Shores. Daffodil Days at Seabrook Parade, picnic, vintage car display & more. Contact: Jaclyn (360) 589-0831. 24-26 Grays Harbor Mounted Posse Pro Indoor Rodeo The annual Indoor Pro Rodeo will be held at the county fairgrounds in Elma on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Watch cowboys and cowgirls compete in events like barrel racing and team roping. Vendors + food booths available.
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Harbor Place 313 West Wishkah Street Aberdeen Washington 98520
360 532-6140 WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
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gg EVENTS Call 360-532-1900 300 Myrtle St. Hoquiam, WA
Quality Pet Care Serving the Twin Harbors since 1980
APRIL 1-2 Annual Driftwood Show & Glass Float Hunt In Grayland — Vendors, music, food, driftwood exhibits, competition and prizes. Glass Float Round Up on Grayland Beach. For more information, visit www.grayland communityhall.org 15 Tokeland & North Cove Art Studio Tour Open studio tours with an auction event Saturday night benefiting the Ocosta School District art program. Sponsored by the North Cove-Tokeland Chamber of Commerce. 15-16 World Class Crab Races & Crab Feed In Westport, a unique family fun experience at the marina in Westport.
Dr. David Westby and Dr. Dan Brown If pets could drive, it’s where they’d go!
raintreevetcenter.com Cabins Oceanfront Units Jacuzzis Fireplaces Kitchenettes
Great seaside lodging at an affordable price
21-23 Photo & Fine Arts Show Juried works of photographers & artists featured at the Ocean Shores Convention Center. For more information, contact: Associated Arts of Ocean Shores (360) 289-0734 27 Family comedy show Trent Arterberry brings his globetrotting, world-class comedy to the Bishop Center for the Performing Arts in Aberdeen. Showtime is 7 p.m. This show combines mime, storytelling, puppetry and participation to create a series of kid-friendly stories and characters. 29-30 Long Beach Razor Clam Festival The Long Beach Razor Clam Festival returns. The event that helped put the Long Beach Peninsula on the map in the 1940s features free razor clam digging lessons, contests, music, an annual chowder cook-off and a giant clam fry. 30 Rock and Gem Show Find your gem at the 49th annual Earth’s Treasures Rock & Gem show, at the Fairgrounds in Elma. Saturday hours are from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MAY 5-7 Shorebird Festival Three days celebrating the annual migration of shorebirds at Hoquiam’s Bowerman Basin. Includes a fun fair, field trips, lectures and lots of viewing.
1593 State Route 105, Grayland walshmotel.com 52
360-267-2191
Spring 2017 | WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE
6 34th Annual Ocosta Recreation Oyster Feed All you can eat — steamed, stewed and fried oysters, spaghetti, salads, rolls and juice. Beer and wine available. At the Ocosta Recreation Hall. Savor Seabrook Seafood and Wine Festival Seabrook celebrates its 6th annual Seafood and Wine Festival at the Seabrook Town Hall, benefiting the Seabrook Community Foundation. Seafood tasting from the best local restaurants, including The Lake Quinault Lodge, The Ocean Crest, Mill 109 & Rediviva. 6-7 Loyalty Day Celebration and Parade & Blessing of the Fleet This year’s Loyalty Day Celebration and Parade enters its 67th year. Ilwaco’s Loyalty Day Parade is May 6, while a parade through downtown Long Beach is May 7. May 6 also marks the annual Blessing of the Fleet at the Port of Ilwaco. The events are free to attend. 13 Shoppin’ at the Shore Entrepreneurs gather together under the Ocean Shores Convention Center roof to create a retail extravaganza. 19 Three Grands Featuring award-winning pianist Mac Potts, Nick Baker & Brent Gjerve and outstanding jazz vocalist, Darcy Schmitt, 7 p.m., at the Bishop Center for the Performing Arts in Aberdeen. 20-21 Home and Garden Show At the Grays Harbor Fairgrounds in Elma. Wondering how to gussy up the yard? The annual Home and Garden Show has tips to take homeowners through everything they need to know to take their sheds, shrubs, flowers and other decorative and building needs to the next level. Admission is free. WASHINGTON COAST MAGAZINE | Spring 2017
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gg EVENTS 26-29 World’s Longest Garage Sale The World’s Longest Garage Sale offers four days of bargain-hunting fun. Garage sales dot the Long Beach Peninsula streets from Ilwaco to Oysterville, so treasure-seekers have miles and miles to explore. 29 Blessing of the Fleet Traditionally held the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. A ceremony at the Fishermen’s Monument on Neddie Rose Drive in Westport for the annual Blessing Of The Fleet. VFW Memorial Day Service Join local military organizations and military fraternities as they honor those lost in battle at a brief ceremony held at Veterans Memorial Park at the Street of Flags — 1800 S. Montesano St., just south of the Westport city limits. The ceremony starts at 11 a.m.
JUNE 3 Ocean Shores Wearable Art Show Artists of all media types create functional and not-sofunctional pieces of spectacular fashion at the Ocean Shores Convention Center. 3-4 Festival of Colors Family kite-flying event for novice to professional kite flyers. On the beach at the Chance a la Mer approach in Ocean Shores. 10 Flag Day Parade The annual Ocean Shores parade features more than 75 entries and a grand marshall. One of the only Flag Day parades in Western Washington. 16-18 Beach Volleyball Tournament Pro & amateur volleyball competition plus a fun run at Seabrook.
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Aberdeen Revitalization
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City of Aberdeen
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Country Closet
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Kalich & Sons
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McHugh’s
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Mill 109
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Northwest Carriage Museum
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Raintree Veterinary
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Selmer’s
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Shop ‘n Kart
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Timberland Bank
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Walsh Beach Motel
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Wiitamaki Jewelry Store
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Willapa Harbor Chamber of Commerce
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Windermere Real Estate
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GRAYS HARBOR THROUGH A RESIDENT’S CAMERA LENS
ABOVE: Photos by Mike Coverdale RIGHT PAGE: Mike Coverdale holds a king salmon caught on the Humptulips River. He was using his dad’s rod, reel and lure for the first time after his father had passed away. Photo by Kevin Kord
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WHY I LOVE IT HERE: by Mike Coverdale
I
was raised in Westport during a time that arguably was our community’s “peak” as far as salmon fishing-related tourism. Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, for a few months each year, our sleepy little community on the coast of Washington came alive with the buzz of thousands of visitors in pursuit of the mighty king salmon. I grew up fishing the rivers and lakes, beachcombing for agates and glass balls with my Dad and working in a number of tourism or fishing related businesses. It was a fantastic time to be a kid in Westport! After graduation, I spent the next 15 years flying helicopters around the country. When I moved home in the early ’90s, it was primarily to be able to raise my kids close to my family, and selling real estate allowed me to do that. I began taking work-related pictures and fell in love with this area again through the lens of a camera. No matter the season, there is always something uniquely beautiful to focus on, whether it is the pounding surf at Half Moon Bay, the sun on the snowy white Olympic mountains or a flock of sanderlings gathered along the tide line. Sunsets and sunrises are particularly beautiful and the setting of the marina, beach, dunes, lighthouse or forest bathed in that amazing light is inspiring! On Grays Harbor we have boats of all shapes and sizes from skiffs to trawlers and from luxury yachts to container ships. Whether tied to a dock or crossing the bar, these vessels are amazing to view, photograph and appreciate. Besides boats there are birds. The terrain varies from beach and dune on the coast
to field and forest at the foot of the Olympics. The variety of bird life on Grays Harbor is impressive and on just about any day, one can appreciate the show, whether in your back yard, on the beach or from an Olympic trail. Surfing has been another source of fantastic photo shoots. Westport is the most popular surfing spot in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, which means on a given day there are a number of wetsuit-clad souls enjoying our waves. A unique aspect for those of us on the ground is that the three main surfing locations are easily viewable from shore! A true spectator sport.
No matter the season there is always something uniquely beautiful to focus on, whether it is the pounding surf at Half Moon Bay, the sun on the snowy white Olympic mountains or a flock of sanderlings gathered along the tide line.
Along with photography, I enjoy fishing. Here on Grays Harbor we have easy access to some of the premier salmon and steelhead rivers in the Pacific Northwest, not to mention the open ocean fishery. Crab, razor clams, steamer clams, perch, cod and trout are all on the “to do” list. There are days in September I can literally walk across the street from my office at the marina on my lunch break and catch a salmon right off of the dock! Being able to catch or buy fresh seafood is another amazing aspect of living on Grays Harbor that is often taken for granted. The pace on the coast is more relaxed. We don’t have to deal with bumper-tobumper traffic very often, especially in a one stoplight town like Westport! Not having to spend a significant portion of each day in gridlock is a huge plus for me. Being surrounded by natural resources and natural beauty is easy to take for granted but all you need is a few minutes in I-5 traffic to put living on the coast back into perspective. I appreciate the simple pleasures of small town living and for that, Grays Harbor is simply ideal.
ABOUT
Mike Coverdale lives in Westport, where he is the owner of Windermere Westport, a real estate brokerage.
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gg LAST SHOT
AAR ON LA VIN SKY
Ships by day
Fishing boats in the Westport Marina. Photo by Mike Coverdale, who is featured on page 56.
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