What could be more wonderful than a quiet and relaxed trip while listening to good music with your partner? Near Satsop, above a field marked with a “Hay for Sale” sign, a huge hawk hovered over the hay binders in circles. Like the hawk, our Buick Century floated the miles from Tacoma to Ocean Shores.
The music that played continuously was Jimmie Rodgers Songs A Tribute. The CD was released in 1997 on the 100th birthday of the legendary “Singing Breakman”. Peg had bought the CD long before our trip to western Washington, but I had never had a chance to sit back and listen. I am delighted to have had the opportunity.
Peg’s dad loved the “Father of Country Music” and we used to listen to the Jimmie Rodgers record of Ike when we got married. As a birthday present, Peg bought me a Jimmie Rodgers songbook in which I occasionally play songs on the piano.
The CD dedication is written by Bob Dylan and is surprisingly consistent, “His voice gives hope to the defeated and humility to the powerful.” Rodgers performed music from different current stages and made it his own. County Music is too limiting for people like Rodgers. Dylan even credits Jerry Lee Lewis with a statement: “Jerry Lee Lewis once said that there are only four stylists: Jimmie, Al Jolson, Hank Williams and himself.”
The joy of listening to music is realizing and respecting the diversity and wide range of performers. If you listened to the songs played on the radio, you accept the beauty of the songs. Hearing them in this collection makes you say “Wow.” The CD begins with an incredibly moving version of Dreaming of tears in my eyes by Bonus. Among my additional absolute favorites are: Alison Krause singing Any old time, Bob Dylan acting Blue eyed janeand Aaron Neville singing why he should be alone. Other artists on the CD are: Iris Dement, Jerry Garcia (with the most boring singing of all time … but a bit catchy), Van Morrison, Dwight Yoakam, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
After playing the entire repertoire several times, we approached Ocean Shores. We could tell that we were getting closer to the ocean. The sky turned gray and mist shrouded the evergreens along the road. We entered the parking lot of The Nautilus condos and instantly froze when we got out of the car. Peg supervised as I made three trips from the car to the third floor condo and then we headed out to dinner.
We passed the limited number of restaurants. Since we were there Tuesday night, there was an even higher limit for dinner. Many of the places were closed. We finally decided on Chinese food at Lucky Dragon.
We knew the food was going to be good – a local policeman was picking up a takeout order when we arrived. Inside the restaurant we broke a fundamental rule: we use a cell phone. We took out his phone and called Tacoma. My sister, Marsha, replied. Peg warned him of the weather and suggested that everyone bring coats and jackets. We asked her to bring Peg a bathing suit, a jacket for me, and a bread knife.
The food at the Lucky Dragon was good, but nothing special. It was the standard Americanized Chinese menu. Living in Tacoma and visiting Seattle from time to time spoils us for the wonderful selections of our urban Northwest Asians.
Back at The Nautilus we felt right at home. Like many of the places we stay, the lighting is inadequate for reading. We like to read. Vacation means eating, sleeping, and reading. We remove the shade from the table lamp to give a little more light. We should have called home for higher wattage bulbs.
Our third floor corner room gave us an excellent view of the dunes. I saw a boy play animal head games. He hid behind a mound with a large dog on a leash. A smaller dog ran across the dunes. He would stop. Ears pricked up, her head swept nervously through the tall grass. The boy whistled and kept hidden. The little dog ran looking and sniffing. Finally, the boy came out, called the dog, and laughed.
As a child I played similar games. Sometimes I would come home from school and go around the alley. My dogs, Pal, a collie, and Cindy, a cocker spaniel, waited patiently for me by the fence in the front yard. My Shetland pony, a pinto named KoKo, stood in the little pen under the garage and looked out over the front yard. I would sneak into the garage and let out a scream, scaring all three of them.
This was our second time at The Nautilus. It is a comfortable and inexpensive place. It’s not really much more than The Sands, a couple hundred yards up the road, which I would never recommend. My sisters stay there. The Sands has exterior décor of floating debris, shipwrecks, and ocean shipwrecks.
Outside the Nautilus has a puppy poop area. The interior of the Nautilus has a coffee maker, microwave, full kitchen, fireplace, VCR, cable TV, and stylish folded towels. We stayed for the first time when we couldn’t get into the Gray Seagull. The Gray Seagull is where we used to stay when we had children at home. We have returned repeatedly over the years. Is very pretty. Eventually we will go back there too.
As a kid, I never stayed in an Ocean Shores motel. My family always camped. We were usually joined by friends and family. They are good memories. On our trip to the coast, Peg and I talked about times past and our first anniversary. We celebrate by camping. We sat in our tent in the dunes and then went to Hoquiam to see a movie. After the movie we stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken (it’s still there), ordered a bucket, and took our chicken to the beach. On the beach in Ocean City we sat on our dark green and white two-door hardtop, 1955 Chrysler New Yorker and ate our “Original Recipe” chicken (the only version they had then). I still remember him as the best friend Kentucky chicken I’ve ever had and that memory is probably why I always ask for the Original Recipe.
Wednesday morning I slept late. I got up at 6:30. I went out for breakfast and brought a half fried chicken sandwich on toast for Peg. I even brought an orange slice with a twist to decorate. When he got up at ten I gave him the box to go. The orange slice was on top of the sandwich. Presentation is everything.
My sisters and another relative have been going to Ocean Shores on July 4th for several years. Peg and I have been told that we should go to the beach to see the fireworks. This always seemed funny to me because our friends used to attend a 4th of July party at their house overlooking the old town. Usually I was out early and in bed when the fireworks started.
This year we decided to try the Fourth at Ocean Shores. We stayed in our room and watched from our terrace. It was incredible. We had a 180 degree view of the fireworks. From what I could see on the left, there were fireworks displays and from what I could see, on the right, they were fireworks displays. Ocean City, a couple of miles north of Ocean Shores, had a big professional screen, but from our point of view, it didn’t make any difference.
Our son Patrick, our daughter-in-law Wendy, and our youngest granddaughter, Bailee, went to the beach and set off their own fireworks. I asked Patrick if there were fewer people on the beach this time because the holidays were in the middle of the week. He just laughed, “It made no difference. There was no place on the beach for anyone else.” Apparently each family group collided with the next all the way down the beach.
The next morning, of course, there was debris from fireworks everywhere. Empty cardboard boxes lined the paths to the beach. Obviously, the fireworks did not scare the wildlife. I saw a deer walking through a parking lot just two hundred feet up the road from our condo the next morning. Deer where they abound.
When my son Patrick and I played golf on Friday morning. We saw several groupings. One group contained two females and two fawns. Ocean Shores contains many shrubs, bushes, and trees for deer to hide and thrive. Many of the brackets are so thick that you can’t see more than a couple of inches. None of the deer we saw came to beg us. They were cautious and watched us and then took and went about their own business. No deer were injured during our golf game. Every time he hit the ball, the deer ran into the fairway. They knew they would be safe there. They were.
On Friday we moved in with Patrick and Wendy. We could have stayed with them for the entire stay, but we like our privacy and so do they. Many people in the urban centers of the Puget Sound area maintain summer houses or cabins around Ocean Shores. Wendy’s sister and brother-in-law have a three-bedroom cabin near the beach. The vacation home reminded me of our camping days when our children were younger. We had a van and a caravan and not a furnished cabin, but they are similar in that there is no telephone or television. To entertain ourselves we play games. Thursday night my sister Marsha came with us. My sister Dee Dee and her daughters stayed at the motel and got caught up in a Mariner game on cable TV. We have fun playing Thursday and Friday nights.
