Special Places

So my last entry was a little bitter sounding. At least, negative - as it should be. But I wanted to provide a little yin to that yang with a happy entry.

I am writing this about my special places. These places are sacred to me, private, and have sentimental value.

Happy Place #1. The first place we will talk about, is Saltar's Point, in Steilacoom, WA. It isn't easy to find. You have to go through the little downtown of Steilacoom to get to it. It's right on the water. You park and go over a walkway and take the stairs down over the railroad tracks. You're then walking on a beach, and there is a little covered picnic area, next to an old Marina. You look out across the water and see Anderson Island and McNeil Island (home to a correctional facility). 

If you go at night, the moon is out and it is beautiful. From a distance, you can see the Narrows Bridge. You close your eyes. You take in the salty air. It is quiet, and peaceful, save for the occasional foghorn from a passing boat. Suddenly, something interrupts your peace. It's the train! You race up the stairs and onto the fenced walkway, anticipating the hot burst of air from the train. You can hear the vibration humming along the tracks, closer and closer and then, Yes! The train comes around the corner and flies underneath you. Bam! You're hit with the hot air that nearly lifts you off your feet and you giggle with joy. Then you just stand, enjoying the train being 4 feet under you, imaging hopping down onto it. After the train leaves, so do you, and you pledge you will be back.

Sadly the marina burned down back a few years ago, and they took their sweet time re-opening it. I don't know if they have yet. So this might not be available to anyone.

 Happy place #2

The 2nd place is the beach at North Cove, down past Aberdeen, WA and past Grey's Harbor. The place I specifically liked to go, was a certain mile marker along the beach (I forgot which one it is now) But it was a beautiful beach, and one time I was delighted to attend a party called "Sea Swallow Me" at this location. They had a DJ booth set up on the beach with incense, fire twirlers, christmas lights illuminating a walkway, it was very nice. To me, this was the ultimate beach. It wasn't too rocky, lots of sand. And in the summer it was mild and so peaceful. 

There isn't a lot of photos that I could find of it, but I did find one of me from 2008 at the beach there:

Happy place #3. Imagine waking up at 4am, driving to Oak Harbor and hopping on  a ferry at 6 in the morning, before the sun had a chance to come up. Then when you arrive at your destination, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, you are there before any of the shops open, and it is freezing cold. So you walk to the other side of the island, which is only about a mile or two away. You get to this beautiful beach, and build a fort out of all the multitudes of driftwood they have there. You sit huddled in your fort for an hour until the restaurants and stores open, having perhaps a beer or two. When things start to open up on the other side of the island you walk back and enjoy visiting the gift shops and boutiques, perhaps stopping for a lavender lemonade. Then you easily cross to a different side of the island where you can view a lighthouse. Such a nice little town, a cute island, and a pretty relaxing day out.

 Those are my 3 happy and special places.