For our final day of adventure, we were up at 7:00 to enjoy our yogurt in the room and pack all our belongings.  Once the car was packed, we headed directly for Dungeness Spit. A refreshing walk through tall forest trees led us down the bluff to the sandy shores of the spit – a narrow bar of sand that winds 11 miles out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It’s only yards wide, but beautiful on both sides. The morning was lovely; sunny skies; not too hot yet; no wind; few visitors; deep blue waters; gentle waves and cooling, soft breezes. A tiny bit of haze still surrounded the shores of B.C. in the distance, but the fog from the previous days was totally gone.

Taking my trusty Makah walking stick, I walked out along the spit for one and a half miles before turning back to the trail up the bluff. There is something so primal about the beach for me. The mountains may have been calling John Muir, and I can hear that, too, but it is the beach that calls to me and I must go! The sound of the waves, the patterns of the sand and rocks; the wildness of the landscape all lure me to the center and the sacred. I could stay on the beach forever.

But, there is a time to go. We walked back up through the forest and found the car again. Next stop: a local lavender farm where I picked some fragrant lavender that is so prevalent in this area. The farm was stunningly beautiful with all their flowers blooming and being harvested. I cut a handful to take back with me and the soothing aroma filled the car for our ride home.

One last pass through the little community of Sequim and we decided to stop for a late lunch at the Oak Table Cafe again, only for lunch this time. It was superb. My driver ordered the apple pancake he didn’t get yesterday for breakfast and I had the best bacon cheeseburger I think I’ve ever had.

Before getting back in the car for the ride home, we strolled through town and visited some of the little shops. My driver found some coffee and I enjoyed the many lavender shops with their lavender products for sale. As the day continued to heat up, we decided to move on. One last stop at the local Costco for a few groceries to have upon arriving home and we were set to go. But, wait, there’s more. Passing by Home Depot we stopped to purchase two lavender plants for our front yard. Why not get them from their home territory?

The ferry wait at Kingston was over an hour and the sun beating on the parking lot roasted the cars and everyone in them! The views were beautiful, though. We waited. What else could we do?  We got on the 5:30 ferry and I stood out on the front of the car deck to take advantage of the natural air conditioning. It was amazingly exhilarating. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been on a ferry where we could hardly get out of the car without freezing. This was quite a change from those experiences.

There was haze in the air, obstructing any views of Mt. Rainier, but the time on the water was still a joy. We docked at 6:15 and made our way through the evening traffic to arrive home. We were completely spent, but in a good and satisfying way. The days away, the hikes, the views, the food, and each location seemed made to order just for us. How could it be anything but grace?