A spur of the moment kind of day

Yesterday our plans were to go to church, relax during the afternoon, go to dinner for our anniversary in the evening.  Then I had a "lightbulb" moment.  Instead we grabbed the dog, the camera, and a few other items and headed west... to the coast.  Yep, we got to go to the coast for our anniversary.

Mt. Rainier was in its glory as we headed over the mountains.

Our next stop was in Westport, WA, at the Grey's Harbor Lighthouse.

"

C.W. Leick, who designed Grays Harbor Lighthouse, considered it his masterpiece. Standing 107 feet tall, it is the tallest lighthouse in Washington, and the third tallest on the West Coast. The base of the lighthouse rests on a 12-foot-thick foundation of sandstone. The lighthouse walls, which are four feet thick at the base, are made of brick with a coating of cement on the exterior. 135 metal stairs bolted to the wall lead to the lantern room. 

Originally windows lit the interior of the tower, but to cut down on maintenance they were cemented over when electricity was added to the station. 

In 1898, the lighthouse stood just 400 feet from high tide. Massive amounts of accretion, due in large part to the jetty system at the entrance to Grays Harbor, have since built up, and the lighthouse currently stands approximately 3000 feet from high tide."

           (info borrowed from: http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=117, photos are mine)

As much as I would have LOVED to go up to the top, my legs could not have done it, at least not in any reasonable amount of time, so I enjoyed the view from below and imagined what I would have been able to see from up on top.

Our next stop ... the harbor area with all the fishing boats and wharf-side shops and eateries.

I love looking at all the boats and their vast amounts of rigging for their fishing nets. It was a good fishing day by the looks of those who went out on charters.... carrying their catches home with them. Looked like a good day for salmon!

Maybe they need seagull nests now instead of crows nests! LOL

Of course we had to have our anniversary dinner there.  I had fish and chips and DH chose the Seafood Chowder bowl.  Both delicious choices.

A bit more walking along the wharf, then it was back into the car and east, over the mountains, to home... 12.5 hours later.  It was a glorious day.

P.S. I amost forgot!  As we headed over the mountains and I was looking around I came upon the most funny site I've seen in a long time.  In one of the rock niches along the road one lone pine tree was growing out of the rock.  Someone has decorated the tree with ornaments, which was fun enough, but wait... there's more!  In front of the tree they put a yard pink flamingo! Oh was it a site.  Wish there had been room to stop and take a picture -- guess you just have to use your imagination.