Pink Saturday - Pink pajamas

Pink Saturday - Beverly, at the blog "How Sweet the Sound" hosts Pink Saturday. Let the color pink inspire you!

Back a couple years ago when I had a milestone birthday - not saying which one - the guys in my family did something tricky.

My husband called me at work and invited me to lunch. He said he'd pick me up in the company parking lot.

When I arrived downstairs, he was in the car, and our son was with him. I was whisked away to LAX, where we boarded a plane and flew off to an undisclosed location.

Actually, I'm happy to disclose it. We ended up here:

The Sou'wester Resort is located in the town of Seaview, Washington State. It's on Long Beach Peninsula, which is a narrow barrier island in the lower left-hand corner of Washington State, at the mouth of the Columbia River. It's a cool, foggy, damp place at times, but in the summer it's kissed with sunlight, wind, and a mild climate. The wild treacherous currents at the mouth of the Columbia River and the crashing waves of the northern Pacific Ocean contrast with the richness of the seafood harvested from Willapa Bay, the cranberry farms and organic vegetable gardens - and make it a wonderful place to experience the natural environment and the bounty of local-grown food.

[The Man I Love] and I have been going to Long Beach Peninsula for vacations since we were married. We honeymooned here, and we visited here many times while we lived in Seattle. So for my guys to spirit me away here for my birthday was a sweet treat.

The Sou'wester Resort consists of a main lodge house with furnished rooms, a handful of small cabins, and an assortment of venerable travel trailers dating from the 1940s and 1950s. The deluxe aluminum Spartan travel trailer in the photo above was our rustic hideaway for my birthday.


The wide Pacific Ocean beach is just beyond the dunes, down the road from the Sou'wester. One of the attractions of Long Beach Peninsula is the summer Kite Festival.


Another attraction is the fact that you can drive your car right on the hard-packed sand of the wide beach - with the hopes that you won't get stuck in wet sand, or run afoul of giant tree trunks tossed in the violent, frigid Pacific surf.

Turns out [The Man I Love] had colluded with my boss to let me take a few days off. Hmm.... sneaky of him!

We flew into Sea-Tac airport, then rented a car and drove through the dark, stormy forests of Southwest Washington. When we arrived it was dark, and we were cold.

Our trailer had been lovingly prepared for us. Birthday greetings festooned the narrow, compact space. A glass of champagne was offered, some tasty snacks, and then my family brought out gifts for me to open.

Like a pair of pink flannel pajamas. Patterned with pictures of dogs taking baths. With treats. And bubble bath.


Books, too - good girly novels plus some great hard-boiled paperback detective stories.

Long Beach Peninsula looks rustic and rural, but it's actually home to two of the Pacific Northwest's great restaurants, The Shelburne Restaurant at an Inn in Seaview, and The Ark Restaurant in Nahcotta - over on the west side of the island overlooking Willapa Bay. My guys had made reservations at both!

Aren't they clever?


We snuggled in the cozy bunk beds. We bundled up for long walks on the beach. We ate oysters on the half-shell in tiny ocean-front shacks. We had a marvelous time.

I have to thank my two guys for organizing this. They are the best. And I love my pink pajamas. I still wear them today. I'm wearing them now, this weekend, while you're reading this.