This may seem like a cold and lonely beach, dressed only with silver mist and sandpipers. But the Thanksgiving weekend we spent at Long Beach with some of our children and their spouses was warm and convivial. 
We booked rooms at the Adrift Hotel and settled into luxurious accommodations. This hotel, constructed from pre-used construction materials offered down blankets, propane fireplaces, extravagant shower-heads and soaking tubs, great organic coffee, and exceptional customer service. 
We spent the weekend indulging ourselves!The hotel staff recommended the Pelicano Restaurant at the Port of Illwaco for dinner. It specializes in Mediterranean cuisine, our favorite. They served the most flavorful scallops!
George and I shared a Chocolate Mousse for dessert, which was so heavenly we had to share spoonfuls with everyone. That resulted in an intense discussion of how to get every last spoonful out of the bowl. Laurel suggested that the waitress bring a small spatula from the kitchen, but George ultimately, with a deliberate sweep of his finger, consumed the last sweet sensation.
We had great hiking weather over that weekend - sunny but cold. All the tourists had long since vanished, and the one cafe closest to the beach offering clam chowder doesn't make it off-season - it is not cost effective. 
We'd hiked along the beach for several hours, so settled on anything this poor restaurant could offer ... even if the cook had to be hunted down to come inside to fire up the grill! He came inside wearing Bermuda shorts, hiking boots and a blue wool cap. The waitress was a lot older than me, shuffling along on a bad hip. She asked if she could serve water in plastic cups rather than use glasses, which were on a high shelf out of reach. We gave the high sign, and she pulled some out of a plastic bag.
While the waitress poured water from a gallon jug, we checked out the menu - typical fish 'n' chips, burgers and fries, simple tossed salad. 
By now we were so hungry we'd settle for buttermilk pancakes, from batter in the fridge. The waitress brought a half-filled bottle of syrup, in the shape of a maple leaf. Now, that looked like the promise of a blisspoint! But the sweetness just never arrived. I wasn't sure what was in that bottle, but that was the most disappointing syrup I've ever had! You could pour the whole bottle and never get to 'sweet'.I would have enjoyed coffee with my pancakes, but the brown liquid in the pot on the burner looked like it had been there since September. I wasn't going to risk it, have a belly ache for the rest of the afternoon. We walked back toward the hotel, about a mile and a half, looking for a good cup of coffee. I found a great latte at McDonald's, and we resumed our walk.
Along the way I told George, that if we'd just walked another mile, we could have eaten at the Shelburne!
Advertised, it says ' Breakfast to the Shelburne is like art to the Louvre'. They'd have premium syrup!But, we would have lost the ambiance of the little bedraggled cafe - the weary waitress, the cook who'd rather be chopping wood out back. He had little to do while we were there, so sat down and talked to a local who came in for his usual, the last drags out of the coffee pot. It being a cafe of about 30 feet and two tables, I learned a lot about the social life of the community, some of which has to do with court dates, collecting bail, and making ends meet.
