What could be more wonderful than a calm and relaxed drive while listening to good music with your partner? Near Satsop, over a field marked with a “Hay for Sale” sign, a huge falcon hovered above spinning hay makers. Like the falcon, our Buick Century floated over 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 anniversary of the legendary “Singing Breakman”. Peg had bought the CD long before our trip through western Washington, but he had never had a chance to sit down 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 Ike’s Jimmie Rodgers record when we first got married. As a birthday present, Peg bought me a Jimmie Rodgers songbook from which I occasionally play songs on the piano.
The dedication of the CD is written by Bob Dylan and is surprisingly consistent: “His voice gives hope to the vanquished and humility to the powerful.” Rodgers interpreted music from different current scenarios and made them 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 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 playing on the radio, you would simply accept the beauty of the songs. Listening to them in this collection makes you say, “Wow.” The CD begins with an incredibly moving version of Dream with tears in your eyes for bonus. Additional absolute favorites of mine are: Alison Krause singing any old timeBob Dylan performing blue eyed jane, and Aaron Neville performing Why Should I Be Alone?. Other artists on the CD include: Iris Dement, Jerry Garcia (with the most pathetic yodeling ever…but a little 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 enveloped the tops of the evergreen trees along the highway. We pulled into The Nautilus Condos parking lot and instantly froze as we got out of the car. Peg supervised as he made three trips from the car to the third floor condo and then we went out to dinner.
We walk past the limited number of restaurants. Since we were there on a Tuesday night, there was even more limit on dining. Many of the places were closed. We finally decided on Chinese food at the Lucky Dragon.
We knew the food was going to be good – a local policeman was collecting a takeout order when we arrived. Inside the restaurant we broke a fundamental rule: we use a cell phone. We pulled out his phone and called Tacoma. My sister, Marsha, answered. Peg warned him about the weather and suggested that everyone bring coats and jackets. We asked her to bring a bathing suit for Peg, a jacket for me, and a bread knife.
The food at Lucky Dragon was good but nothing special. It was the standard Americanized Chinese menu. Living in Tacoma and visiting Seattle from time to time, we are spoiled by the wonderful selections of our urban Northwest Asians.
Back at The Nautilus we feel 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 removed the lampshade 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 child 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, his head nervously traced the tall grass. The boy whistled and stayed hidden. The puppy grew up searching and sniffing. Finally, the boy came out and called the dog and laughed.
As a child I played similar games. He would sometimes come home from school and wander down the alley. My dogs, Pal, a collie, and Cindy, a cocker spaniel, were patiently waiting for me by the front lawn fence. My Shetland pony, a pinto named KoKo, was standing in the small paddock under the carriage house and looking out over the front yard. I’d sneak into the garage and give a whoop starting the three of us.
This was our second time at The Nautilus. It is a comfortable place and it is not expensive. It’s really not much more than The Sands, a couple hundred yards up the road, which I would never recommend. My sisters stay there. The Sands has an exterior decoration of flotsam, ocean wrecks.
Outside, the Nautilus has a puppy poop area. Inside, the Nautilus has a coffee maker, microwave, full kitchen, fireplace, VCR, cable TV, and elegant folded towels. We first stayed when we couldn’t go up the Gray Gull. The Gray Gull is where we used to stay when we had kids at home. We have been back repeatedly over the years. Is very pretty. We will eventually go back there too.
As a kid I never stayed in an Ocean Shores motel. My family always went camping. Usually friends and family joined us. Those are good memories. On our drive to the coast, Peg and I talk about times gone by and our first anniversary. We celebrate by camping. We pitched our tent in the dunes and then headed 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 in 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 it as the best Kentucky Friend Chicken I’ve ever had and that memory is probably why I always order Original Recipe.
Wednesday morning I slept late. I got up at 6:30. I went out for breakfast and brought back half a chicken-fried-steak 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 take home. The orange slice was on top of the sandwich. Presentation is everything.
My sisters and other family members have been going to Ocean Shores for the 4th of July for several years. They kept telling Peg and me that we should go to the beach to see the fireworks. I always found this funny because our friends used to have a party on the 4th of July at their house overlooking Old Town. I usually left early and was in bed by the time 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. As far as I could see to the left there were fireworks displays and as far as I could see to the right there were fireworks displays. Ocean City, a couple of miles north of Ocean Shores, had a great pro showing, 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 vacation was during the week. He just laughed, “It didn’t make any difference. There was no room on the beach for anyone else.” Apparently, each family group bumped into the next along the beach.
The next morning, of course, there was debris from fireworks everywhere. Empty boxes lined the pathways to the beach. Obviously, the fireworks did not scare the wildlife. The next morning I saw a deer walking through a parking lot just two hundred feet from our condo. Deer where they abound.
When my son Patrick and I played golf on Friday morning. We saw several groups. One group contained two females and two fawns. Ocean Shores contains plenty of bushes, shrubs, and trees for deer to hide in and thrive on. Many of the supports are so thick that you can’t see more than a couple of inches. None of the deer we saw came to us looking for handouts. They were cautious and watched us and then took off and went about their own business. No deer were injured during our golf game. Every time he took the ball out, the deer ran into the street. 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 homes 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 truck and an RV and not a furnished cabin, but they are similar in that there is no phone or TV. For entertainment 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 Mariners game on cable TV. We have fun playing on Thursday and Friday nights.