Go fly a kite. Seriously. You’ll be among lots of friends at the Washington State International Kite Festival
Aug. 20 through 26. And then explore, relax and play along the Pacific shore.
Everything you need to know to turn it into a vacation trip is available on the Web.
The festival (www.kite festival.com) draws spectators and fliers from all over to the town of Long Beach on Washington’s southwest coast to watch all kinds of kites: stunt, graceful, fighting, complex and whimsical. The family can learn how to construct and fly kites. And you might want to take extra batteries and memory chips for your camera; look through “Photos” for a preview of how varied and colorful these kites can be. If you have a broadband Internet connection, venture over to YouTube (www.youtube.com) and type the name of the festival into the search field for several spectacular videos of past festivals. The festival Web page also has links for the World Kite Museum.
It all takes place on Long Beach Peninsula (www.fun beach.com), less than three hours northwest of Portland, Ore., or less than four hours southwest of Seattle. When you’re not watching (or flying) kites, you can go on a fishing charter, hike miles of beach, watch migrating birds, ride horses along the shore or just chill out. Look for the link to Cape Disappointment State Park, a scenic chunk of coast that the Lewis and Clark expedition reached in 1805. There are several Web cams to show you what you’re missing.
Under “Attractions,” the “inquisitive mind” link leads to information about the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and the Cranberry Museum, and “adventurous spirit” links to boat charter services, golf courses and horse outfitters.
If you can’t be there for the kite shindig, try Jazz and Oysters in Oysterville or the Wild Mushroom Celebration. Click on “Our Towns” in the upper left corner for an interactive map and links to communities on the peninsula and surrounding area, and try “Lodging” for motels, campgrounds, rental homes and bed and breakfast inns like the relaxed China Beach Retreat or the Shelburne Inn, established in 1896.
Visit Washington state tourism’s Web site’s Long Beach page (www.tinyurl.com/2vna5j) for more information, a great shot of the Long Beach boardwalk (click on the tiny camera in the upper right corner for a link to the photographer) and a list of links to information about nearby attractions.
Circle back to the mainland and take Route 101 up through the Willapa Harbor region (www.visit.willapabay.org), full of more places to fish, hunt, take out a canoe or kayak, dig clams and hike. Click on “Seafood” to see where you can find the local specialties, including the mollusks they say give them the right to call Willapa Bay the oyster capital of the world. North of Willapa Harbor, visit some of the communities around Grays Harbor (www. graysharbortourism.com) with a variety of everything from galleries to resorts.
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