Cannon Beach

Dear Liza,

On Saturday, we all drove to the ocean again. It is further from us than it was in Salinas, but I love it so much, it is worth the trip. Although I don’t really need a ‘reason’ to go see the ocean, our excuse this time was the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest.

Cannon Beach is a tiny coastal town of about 1,800 people. During summer, this number can triple, and during a big event like the contest, it can just explode. We got there early and still parked blocks from downtown. Hundreds more cars even parked on the beach! It’s allowed, but carefully watched so cars don’t get flooded or stuck.

The castles were mostly being built by large groups, using the compaction technique you have seen at Carmel’s contest. Large wooden or plastic forms are filled with wet sand, then the forms are taken down and the damp sand carved with trowels. It leads to so beautifully detailed, large sculptures.

While folks were carving, I wandered down the beach to Haystack Rock, a tall rock just a hundred feet off the beach. It has steep sides and has been declared a bird sanctuary to protect the hundreds of birds that next there. At the base, since it was a record low tide, were tide pools filled with anemones and edged with mussels and goose neck barnacles.

I wandered and chatted with folks while Auntie Bridgett and Grandpa Nelson sat on the beach. After a while, damp and cold, Auntie Bridgett headed for Insomnia Coffee and Grandpa Nelson and I toured the still unfinished castles.

But we were wearing out, too…the wind, chill and loose sand made for a hard slog back. We rested and then visited some shops. Art, of course, and salt water taffy, were on the list. Very nice, tasty, and fun.