Class on the Coast

This weekend I took my first class in two years. It was with Michele Goldstein (pictured above) at M and D Designs in Chinook Washington. I had a blast. First off, I love her work. Such fun bright colors and shapes. Below are some pictures of the beads I made. These are tiny, 1/2 in or less. This is just a snapshot; I'll try to get better pictures soon.

Secondly, I love the ocean. I love the smells, the sights and the sound. I have not been to the Washington cost in probably about 7-8 years, if not more. One thing that is self evident, the beach in January is REALLY COLD. Also, the beach in January in Washington State is GREY. The sky, the water and the sand were all the same color. How I wish that the sky were blue and sunny for good picture taking opportunities.

This picture shows the mouth the Columbia River where it meets the Pacific Ocean. It is incredible. The mountains in the distance are in Oregon and the beach at the bottom of the picture is Washington. This is one of the most dangerous places for ships.

This is a picture taken about 7.30-8 am. The sun had just come up, but the light was really bad. Here you can see the grey water, clouds and sand. This is on Long Beach, one of the longest sand beaches in the world (28 miles). What is weird about this beach, there was no driftwood, no shells, and no seaweed. It was just bare. Could be because they allow people to drive on the beach in off peak seasons. Note the itty-bitty lighthouse on the left of the picture above.

This is the North Head Lighthouse. Don't know why this picture turned out looking blue, but the sky was still grey. It is a pretty old lighthouse, but it has seen better days. If you go to Illwaco this lighthouse was a really each hike (.25 miles) of gentle downhill path. The more impressive lighthouse is the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse (mainly because of the view). I did not get to that one this trip, but have been in the past. That hike is about .75 miles up a very steep hill. The view of the mouth of the Columbia is breathtaking and wonderful. If you were able to hike up this hill, I would highly encourage it!


This last picture is of the Columbia River and the Astoria-Megler Bridge. It is very hard to picture the width of this river from any of the shots I took. It is enormous. The bridge is 21,474 ft long (about 4 miles). That long thing on the L. hand side of the shot is a full sized tree trunk (at least that is my guess). For a better shot, I found this link on Wikipedia; it gives you a better idea of the immense size of the river at this point. Roll on Columbia Roll on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USACE_Astoria-Megler_Bridge.jpg