Exploring Long Beach Peninsula

No matter what your idea of the best winter vacation is, you’re bound to find it somewhere along the Long Beach Peninsula.

Hiking, clamming, birding, museum hopping, shopping, relaxing, storm watching and the best eating around can all be found in Long Beach, Ilwaco, Seaview, Ocean Park or Oysterville.

The top two winter activities on the peninsula seem to be the Windless Kite Festival and watching the trumpeter swans that spend two months in the winter there.

To most people, Long Beach is best known for kites and kite flying – the annual summer Kite Festival, the World Kite Museum and kite stores. But did you know that there’s also a Windless Kite Festival that will take place Jan. 12 through 15?

Because you don’t actually need wind to fly a kite, this indoor event was created so kite flying could be done year-round. To stay aloft, indoor kites are specially made, some of ripstop polyester or other lightweight materials.

At the Windless Kite Festival, as many as 25 competitors choreograph their routines to music. Some resemble a graceful dance, while others are, well, quite odd; last year one man won the Hot Trick Shoot Out category by flying his kite with the lines around his ears. But for the most part the competition is elegant, colorful and absolutely astounding.

The festival is suitable for all ages. No admission is charged, but the event hosts ask for a donation.

If you want to take a stab at indoor kite flying yourself, or shop for an outdoor kite while there’s browsing room in the stores, kite shops line Pacific Avenue, the main street of Long Beach and neighboring Seaview. Just seeing the cheerfulness of the vivid colors on a gray Washington day makes a kite store visit uplifting.

You won’t want to miss the World Kite Museum, either. Since the museum moved to a building 10 times the size of its previous one, volunteers have been able to unpack and display some of the larger kites.

In keeping with current events, the museum has a display of Afghani kite culture and an explanation of kite fighting – in which participants try to cut each others’ kite strings – as portrayed in the best-selling book “The Kite Runner.” The display even includes a kite line that has ground glass glued to it.

Kites from all around the world fly from the ceiling, rafters and walls, many of them intricate works of art. The museum boasts the largest collection of Japanese kites outside of Japan.

Videos explaining the many uses for kites are spread throughout the museum. Kites have been used to deliver mail, to advertise, as shooting targets, as signals, for waterskiing and to pull barges across the ocean.

Storm watching

Speaking of the ocean, storm watching can be a great indoor sport.

Waves crashing against the beach, whitecaps racing to the shore, grasses bowing over at a 90-degree angle and rain pounding on the windows are way more fun to watch from a heated room while sipping steaming-hot cocoa.

High and violent surf churns the peninsula during the winter months. Favorite viewing spots for the more adventurous are the North Head Lighthouse or the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.

The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment State Park, on a cliff above the Columbia River, commemorates the overland journey of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from 1804-06.

Besides the great view afforded by the building’s panoramic windows, the center also boasts large murals, artifacts, journals, historic maps and several interactive exhibits. A few exhibits of special note include the half-scale model of the explorers’ canoe, period clothing, a flintlock rifle, and a scale rifle on a swivel so kids can aim it.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Lewis and Clark’s 8,000-mile journey, books are available to purchase at the gift shop.

The North Head Lighthouse, established in 1898, sits 190 feet above sea level and is near the interpretive center. The existing light, a marine rotating beacon, can be seen from 17 miles out at sea.

North Head is known as the windiest lighthouse on the West Coast, so don’t forget your windbreaker; 120 mph winds have been recorded here.

Before the lighthouses (there’s also a Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, but the interior is closed to the public) were built in this area, notched trees, white cloth strips tied to branches and bonfires were all used as guideposts so ships could navigate across the Columbia Bar.

Jack’s Country Store

You probably won’t be starting any bonfires, but you can buy “strike anywhere” kitchen matches at Jack’s Country Store in Ocean Park.

In case you forgot anything, you’ll probably find it at Jack’s. The store covers an entire city block, and its ads claim: “Contrary to what people say, we do not have everything, but we do have tons of stuff.”

Founded in 1885 as Morehead & Co., Jack’s is believed to be the oldest retail business in Washington state. It has survived several relocations and three fires during its 121 years of operation.

Besides the 200,000 items inside the store – which include all the groceries, meat and seafood you might want or need – there’s also a catalog and Web site for online ordering of even more.

“Visitors, many of whom see the store as quaint, are astonished by the selection,” says Tom Downer, company president.

Kitchen tools, RV parts, sporting goods, hardware, lamps, state flags, hand-crank popcorn makers, kitchen matches and crosscut saws are just some of the offerings. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, just ask. But Downer warns to be careful if you plan on saying, “I bet you don’t have…” because friendly wagers like that are often accepted and seldom lost.

While visiting the peninsula, Downer encourages you to try your hand at clam digging, which he calls the most family-centric activity he can think of. Regardless of age or physical condition, anyone can do it; experience doesn’t matter and it’s pure enjoyment chasing after those wriggling sea creatures.

Digging for razor clams is scheduled to again be open this winter on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 and 2. Beginners will need a clam gun or clam shovel – available, of course, at Jack’s Country Store.

Good clamming is found on every part of the beach along the peninsula, but the most plentiful clams are on the stretch from the Oysterville approach north to Leadbetter Point. Be sure to check with the Department of Fish and Wildlife (360-586-6129) to see if you need a license and what the specific regulations are where you plan to dig clams.

A clam hole in the sand can be as small as a quarter or as large as a doughnut. The hole results from a razor clam pulling in its siphon tube, and means you should dig there; be very careful, because the shells are sharp and can easily cut fingers.

When you’ve reached your limit of 15 clams per person – and no fair throwing back the small ones – place them in a bucket with salt water for the trip home or back to your lodging. Refrigerate your catch and, when you’re ready, add to your favorite recipe.

Trumpeter swans

Some wildlife, on the other hand, is just for watching.

No one knows why trumpeter swans have chosen to winter for two months on the Long Beach Peninsula, but they do so every December and January.

The only place you can observe the swans, known for their trumpet-like call, is on Black Lake. These birds frequent other, smaller lakes in the area, but there is no public access to them.

The Trumpeter Swan Society of Washington asks that you observe them from a distance for their safety and well-being. Use binoculars to observe and photograph the birds without disturbing them.

When parking your vehicle, make sure you’re well off the road and in a safe place to stop that does not endanger anyone else.

Marsh’s Free Museum

For souvenir aficionados, Marsh’s Free Museum has it all: big and small shells; copper cars, lighthouses and planes; shirts; sweatshirts; caps; baby clothes; animal marionettes; saltwater taffy; and hermit crabs, plus plenty of machines to drop 5 cents, 10 cents or a quarter into. There’s a gum machine filled with rocks, a palm reader, an old-time baseball game and a pirate who tells your fortune.

Best known for its display of Jake, the Alligator Man – who even has a fan club – this museum is a sideshow of monstrous proportions. The one-eyed lamb, the two-headed pig and the shrunken head just touch on the multitude of freaky displays.

Every customer receives a free seashell affixed to a small card. These shells are actually from Mexico and the Philippines, not the local beaches, because those are usually broken into small pieces. Marsh’s gives away about 130,000 shells a year.