Chibithulu Photo Log Westport 2006
Location Key
Chibithulu traveled all over the Westport/Grayland/Tokeland area. He made stops in restaurants, shops and local landmarks. The following keys show the information about each pictured stop.
This is the home of Breimh, Purrzah and Digi. This is "headquarters" for Chibithulu. The room pictured is Breimh and Purrzah's. The quilt on the bed was a gift from Breimh's mother. The plushies Chibithulu faces are Purrzah's Build-a-Bear-Workshop Sassy Kitty, named Purrzah. The smaller picture is a badger plush, a gift from Purrzah's Ironclaw gaming group.
Purrzah's 1988 Volkswagon Jetta sedan. Bought from her friend, Untall, the car has served her fairly well for a year and a half. There were doubts the car would be reliable for the trip, but she proved otherwise. The driver and passenger seats are covered with gray fuzzy seat covers, which have seen better days, as can be seen in picture #3. In picture #4 Chibithulu's "guard" is a red Kougra plush, bought on E-Bay from McDonald's Neopets collection.
The Chateau Westport is a wonderful hotel in the city of Westport (or Westport), Washington. Purrzah and Breimh first visited the Chateau in 2001, when Purrzah had won a two night stay from the radio station she listened to at work, KIXI. At that time they had to borrow a car to make the trip, and didn't have a lot of extra money for gas or other purchases outside of meals. This trip, however, they had budgeted from out of their 2005 Income Tax Return, and while still not exactly flush, had enough to spend three nights and enjoy fine meals and buy a few gifts as well. The hotel is situated near the ocean, with a view of the sea, though the lay of the land prevents an actual view of the beach.
There were no rooms with king-sized beds and balconies, so the room had no balcony. It was otherwise very comfortable.
The hotel also has a pool and hot tub/jacuzzi, which Breimh and Purrzah did make use of one night.
One kind gesture the hotel made was posting a "Happy Anniversary" notice in the lobby of the hotel, pictured in photo #13.
Westport Lighthouse Park and Lighthouse
The Westport Lighthouse Park stone in picture #6 has a plaque that reads:
"This project has been made possible by a grant from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, (ALEA) Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account, the City of Westport, the Port of Grays Harbor and the Washington State Parks. For the above mentioned sponsors, we are truly thankful for their cooperation and their participation.
Mayor Doug Merino
Council Members: John Lemmer, Jack Williams, Nancy Eichenberger, Mark Ahern, Dolores Taylor
Public works director Fred S Chapman Jr; Public works street superintendant David B Dasher, Contractor Brumfield Construction."
The State park entry sign (not shown) notes that the land was aquired from the Federal Government at no cost for recreational use by the general public. This, of course, would disturb the Deep Lord... there must always be a cost!
The park features a cement walkway along the edge of the ocean shore, on a grassy, hilly overlook area. It is interspersed with benches, each dedicated to one or more individuals. No doubt the cost of the dedications helps maintain the path. There is also a parking area with a $5 fee, which is about the same as any entry fee to a national park.
The Westport Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse on the Washington coast. Actually it's known as the Grays Harbor Light Station. It was built in 1897-98 and dedicated on June 30th, 1898. It was designed by Carl Leick, a German born architect employed by the old United States Lighthouse Board in Portland, OR. It was entered in the National Register of Historic Places Inventory in November of 1977. In 1998, during a celebration of its centennial, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Westport-South Beach Historical Society entered into an agreement which allowed Society volunteers to provide tours to the public on a regular basis. There were several closures over the next few years. Then, in April 2003, the Historical Society applied for ownership under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. This act allowed for the transfer of ownership to qualified non-profit organizations. On August 24, 2004, the Grays Harbor Light Station was officially transferred to the Westport-South Beach Historical Society. The Lighthouse is still considered an active aid to navigation, and the modern optic is maintained by the USCG. Depending on the time of the year the lighthouse is open to viewing at a simple charge to climb the tower, though no cameras are allowed in the upper section. The lighthouse is part of the Westport Maritime Museum.
Located in Grayland, Bennet's Restaurant offers a variety of Seafood and American fare. Purrzah and Breimh arrived before most of the shellfish were in season, so much of the seafood was frozen, but it was still fairly good. They day of their visit was also when a number of people from the San Juanderers club, who made for a noisy group. The price range for the restaurant wasn't bad. The phone shown in the picture was part of their small collection of antiques displayed on the walls.
The Mutineer was a charming little restaurant that served a great burger and fish n chips. The staff was very friendly and mostly women. They had the mannequin of a pirate that I just had to photograph. With their blessing, of course.
Purrzah and Breimh visited the ocean twice. Once on St Patricks day, and again two days later. The first time was in the morning and it was overcast and there was a misty drizzle. On their second trip it was sunny and clear. March is an excellent time to collect intact sand dollar shells, and that's exactly what they did. Shells, stones and driftwood. They took home a modest collection of all kinds.
The Westport/Grayland area hosts both an annual Driftwood Show and the International Chainsaw Carving Competition, so the area is filled with examples of wood art. Most are chainsaw carvings, quite a few of those are Bears.
The Bear in picture #17 is at the Saltbox, an antique shop in Grayland.
The bow fishing, bare breasted surfer in #22 is a few doors down from the Original House of Pizza.
The salmon and Neptune on a seahorse in #23 was in front of Neptune's Treasures.
The seal in #24 is in front of one of the bars.
The bears, whales and totem poles in pictures #25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 were in front of a cafe that offered a variety of foods.
The mermaid and the footprints (which were actually cement) in pictures 30 and 31 were in front of Old Towne Framing and Trading Post.
The Westport Maritime Museum is located the old U.S. Coast Guard headquarters on the docks of Westport. It's displays include beach flotsam and jetsam (flotsam being debris washed up on shore from the destruction of s ship lost at sea, jetsam being cargo jettisoned by a ship in distress during a storm) and other items, cranberry crop production, whaling, fishing, shipwrecks and the history of Westport. In one outer building are displays of sea mammal bones and samples of sealife available in Washington waters. There is also a miniature model of the headquarters building as it was set up for the Coast Guard.
A third building houses The Destruction Island Lens. The lens was invented by the French physicist, Augustin Fresnel in 1822. The Destruction Island lens is a first-order Fresnel lens, made in France and shipped to the U.S. in the mid-19th century. It consists of concentric rings of glass prisms that bend the light coming from the lamp inside the lens into a narrow beam. This lens has 1,176 prisms and bulls-eyes. At the center, the bulls-eyes work like a magnifying glass so that the light beam is even more powerful. The lens sections are held together by brass frame weighing between five to six tons. The entire lens weighs approximately six to eight tons. It can throw its beam to a distance of 26 miles. At first an oil lamp with five wicks provided the light source, powered by kerosene. Later, when electricity became available it was lit by 1,000 watt lamps. It was originally turned by a hand-wound clock mechanism that consisted of weights and pulleys. Now, a small electric motor turns the lens. The eight-foot high lens rotates completely every four minutes, producing a white flash that can be seen in any one direction every ten seconds. (And man, is it bright!) The lens was offered to the Westort-South Beach Historical Society by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1995, and the Society's Board launched a three-year volunteer effort to raise funds to put up a new, museum-quality building to house it. A total of $250,000.00 in funds, materials and donated labor were assembled, creating a climate-controlled structure with a modern security system.
Both the Museum and the Lighthouse are worthy locations to visit.
The Tokeland Hotel and Restaurant was the first resort hotel in Western Washington. It's a beautiful building, built in 1885 as a private residence, then modified in 1899 by the family to become a Hotel. Originally it was only accessible by train or boat, but in 1962 it was finally reachable by road. Between 1984 and 1989 the building was abandoned and many of its antiques and the original hotel registers were lost. It was then taken over by Katherine and Scott White from Seattle, who cleaned and repaired the interior, installed new bathrooms, repainted and papered the interior in a turn-of-the-century motif and re-opened for business on Mother's Day of 1990. The restaurant is open daily for meals, featuring home-made desserts.
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