Long Beach, Washington

When you think of beach towns you might be picturing tiki bars, sand volleyball, and a bathwater temperature ocean, but the beaches of Washington are, well, a little different. They are a bit more rugged, much colder, with fewer foam parties and spring breakers. They are wonderful and charming, though, and definitely deserve a visit (of course, if you want to order a pina colada at one of the restaurants and pretend like you are on a topical beach, by all means). We headed to Long Beach, WA for a little getaway and had such a good time in this quaint little town. It’s small and easy to get around and can definitely be handled in a long weekend. Below is our guide highlighting our favorite spots.

Where to stay:

Adrift Hotel – We love this eco-friendly lodge that sits right on the beach and the boardwalk. They rent bicycles to guests for free, have a cute restaurant with live music most nights, a game room with shuffle board and ping pong, and loads of board games and DVDs for your use. Also, it's dog friendly!

What to do:

Visit the beach – Long Beach has an 8 mile boardwalk that lines the beach. It is perfect for walking or biking and there are a few geocaches hidden along the way. It’s peaceful and pretty. You can also drive your car straight on the beach, which is great because you can easily bring all your beach supplies with you (beer! frisbee!). Long Beach is actually the world’s longest beach, so you have miles and miles to explore.

Cape Disappointment State Park - There are a lot of trails of different lengths throughout this park. We chose the Cape Disappointment trail, which is easy and around 4 miles long. It takes you to the lighthouse at the mouth of the Columbia River and past Fort Canby that you can explore. It's set up to give you history about the fort, and the mouth of Columbia is crazy and insane!

Marsh’s Free Museum – This wacky shop is filled with all sorts of bizarre knick knacks, tourist gifts, antique coin operated machines, a two headed calf, and Jake the alligator man. If anything, it’s good for a laugh.

What to eat:

Cottage Bakery & Delicatessen - THE BEST DONUTS ON THE PLANET. They are so good that we may or may not have stopped here twice. They are handmade, fluffy and out of this world.

Captain Bob's Chowder - get the smoked salmon chowder because, duh.

Laurie's Homestead Breakfast House – We love this little diner. It feels like the perfect place for breakfast when visiting a beach town…huge portions, delicious food and a lot of character. Insider tip: borrow bikes from Adrift Hotel and ride the boardwalk all the way down to the restaurant!

The Gorge Amphitheatre

Calling all Deadheads, Grunge kids, Phish Phans, Swifties, Beliebers, Metalheads, and country lovers. Whatever genre of music gets you going, there is one thing all music lovers can agree on. Washington’s Gorge Amphitheater is THE place to catch a show in the PNW. Located in remote George, WA, (around 2.5 hours from Seattle) the amphitheater sits above the Columbia River at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains and offers a beautiful and sweeping backdrop to your concert. It draws big names because the venue holds over 27,000 fans at one time and offers a wide selection of food and drinks for all guests (including Beecher's!). Fun fact: The venue has won a ton of awards for being the best outdoor venue in America (take THAT Red Rocks).

Headed to the Gorge...let the good times roll

Now, a concert venue in the remote desert does come with some logistical problems. First off, you aren’t going to find many hotels close by. In fact, there is only one we know of, Cave B. This spot is pretty sweet because it’s a spa AND winery (why, yes, please), and it’s walking distance to the amphitheater. However, it books up fast especially for big name shows.

Your other option is to camp, which really is what a weekend at the Gorge is all about. Our favorite campground is Wild Horse, which provides shuttles to and from the show, a restaurant/grill so you don’t have to pack all your camping cooking equipment, and free coffee in the mornings (which if you are doing things right you're going to need). You can also camp on the Gorge property. The Gorge offers a tiered selection of camping (including glamping in yurts!), but if you want the main lot, just know it’s a little bit crazier and a little bit dustier than Wild Horse. There is a ton of other camp ground options around the gorge, but they tend to be a bit more primitive and will require someone to stay sober to drive you to and from the show. No drinking and driving. This is important.

John Mayer and Bob Weir crushing it at Dead and Co.

Your options for summer shows are running out as the season wraps up Labor Day weekend with a four night run by Dave Matthews. If Dave isn’t your thing, there are also a few festivals left as well.

Insider tip: Due to the location of the venue, it gets very hot during the day and very windy at night. Pack layers and don’t forget to check the weather! 

The wind farm on your way to the Gorge

Fans

Emerald Downs + Horse Racing 101

Pull out the big hats, pour yourself a mint julep, and let’s head to the racetrack! Seattle is lucky enough to have Emerald Downs just a short thirty minute drive from the city in Auburn, WA. It’s a thrilling way to spend a weekend afternoon and affordable (only $7 for entry, $9.50 if you want a reserved seat) as long as you don’t get too crazy with those bets.

Now, we know there is an art form to horse racing. Some say it’s important to visit the horses in the Paddocks before the race to size up the animals. Others use the handy “Parker’s Picks” program, which gives you expert advice on which animal is a good choice. Us? Well, we use the very strategic, mostly successful tactic of picking our horse based on his or her name. A Storm In Paris? Sounds like a winner to us. Maggie’s Special? Totally a sure bet. We once won $230 on a $5 bet by choosing a horse named Life is a Joy. It works. Trust us. (Actually, don’t trust us this isn't very good advice).

If you want to place a bet, you’ll need to let the teller know a few things:

1.       Name the race # you are betting on.

2.       The amount of bet you want to place ($2 is the minimum).

3.       The type of bet you are placing.

4.       The number of the horse (don’t give the horse’s name).

It should sound something like this:

“I would like to bet on race #4, $2 to win on horse #3.”

Now, there are a few different kinds of bets. You can bet your horse will win the race (“win”), come in 2nd place (“place”), or come in 3rd place (“show”). If you want to bet your horse will make it in the top three then you say you want “across the board.” This will cost you a minimum of $6, though, as it is $2 minimum per bet.

If you want to get a little more exotic, you can also bet an Exacta (correctly guessing the first and second place), a Trifecta (correctly guessing the first, second, and third place), and the Supertrifecta (correctly guessing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place). We like to put money on these exotic bets mostly because they are fun to say, but for beginners, we recommend the fairly straightforward bets. Of course, do what you want. We won’t judge. Just don’t mortgage your house or spend your child’s college fun. Standards, people!

Insider tip: Every so often Emerald Downs will host wiener dog races in between the horse races, and this is a spectacle NOT TO MISS. It’s hilarious and chaotic and very, very cute. Emerald Downs also releases Groupon deals quite frequently if you are into making the day even cheaper. Keep an eye out!

Hidden Gems Northwest: Bastyr University + Saint Edward Park

Welcome to Bastyr

Campus details

Recently the sun has been shining more and our deprived Seattle brains have been genuinely freaking out to be outside soaking up that Vitamin D. Which leads us to exploring new things. Which lead us to Bastyr University! You may not know about this small university northeast of Seattle, but you should! It is nestled up against Lake Washington and because it is a university that educates on holistic medicine their campus is refreshing and in touch with the nature that surrounds it. 

Our recommendation is to go visit on an empty stomach, you can visit the school cafeteria (trays and all!) and get lunch. The cafeteria includes a large salad bar, hot items, baked items and packaged snacks (they also update items daily and you can see that here). The great thing about the food is that it’s all healthy and all of the dishes list out every ingredient that goes into it. Some of the food ingredients are harvested from the campus’ organic vegetable and herb garden and what isn't grown there is shown to you on a board in the cafeteria that depicts the location of the farms where all the other ingredients come from! 

A bulletin board in the cafeteria tells you what farms supplied your food.

After you are nice and full head out to the grounds. They have an incredible herb garden with over 350 herbs. This is where they grow a lot of the herbs they use to make medicines on campus. 

Bee Balm is used to treat colds, headaches, and nausea.

Along with the herb garden they also have a relaxing courtyard near the dining common where you can sit and have thoughtful thoughts about things. If you are running low on deep, life questions that day there is also a turtle pond for you to enjoy with over 20 turtles.. and who doesn't love turtles??

Bastyr's turtle pond

After you finish up on campus you can walk into Saint Edward Park, which borders the campus. This 316-acre park has a ton of walking trails (most under 1 mile in length) that lead you down to Lake Washington. What really sets this park apart from others in the area is the old Catholic Seminary that sits on the grounds. This stunning old building is surrounded by picnic tables and can also be rented out for events! Be sure to bring your Discover Pass if you want to visit the park (or you can purchase a day pass for $10 in the parking lot).

Welcome to Saint Edward Park!

The Catholic Seminary, which sits on the park grounds.

Seminary details.

Picnic tables line the grounds.

Saint Edward park walking trails.