After consulting the weather forecast, the tide chart and the bus schedule, I made my way on the Route 1 to Main Street in Coupeville and hopped off at the County Courthouse. It’s just a few blocks walk to Captain Thomas Coupe Park where I admired the blooming cherry trees and then slipped down to the beach. The tide was going out. I imagined it sweeping through Deception Pass and recalled reading how Thomas Coupe, a bold sailor, was the only Captain known to have taken his square rigged tall ship through the pass. He found this harbor and made it his home back in 1852. Several houses in Coupeville, the second oldest town in the State, were built by shipwrights and have stood the test of time. Time and tides were on my mind as I took in the view and estimated how long it might take me to walk to Long Point and back, to catch the bus home, before the tide changed.
The house with the cupula makes a distinctive landmark hanging out over the water. Its red cap topped by a weathervane with a salmon swimming against the wind. Daffodils bloomed on the hillside nearby shivering in the spring breeze.
Mussels and barnacles crunched underfoot as I rounded the cove heading east. Rusty iron struts protruded from the sand, some old supports that eventually failed under the onslaught of wind and saltwater. A high bluff, crowned with trees, and the logs on the beach below, told of the movement of sand sliding away over the centuries. Change is constant, but lately, it seems accelerated.
I began to notice how desperately life holds on. Kelp grips a rock with a hold fast. Tree roots cling to the cliff as the bluff erodes beneath them. Mussels and barnacles attach to rocks, piers, anchors of any kind, until they’re pried loose by a human hand or a birds’ beak. Stopping for a moment, a jet of water shot up out of the sand where a clam lay hidden, tucked in tight.
I watched a crow picking at the shells on the beach. A little way down the shore a gull rose up and dropped a clam. The bird dropped after it and rose again. The clam dropped and this time it broke with a sharp crack and dinner was served. A raft of common mergansers and a few goldeneyes sailed by like a parade. The females' red heads and bright white-sided males caught the sun. I sat to eat a muffin I’d brought from home as a sharp-eyed crow approached. The clean up crew.
Passing old fishing cabins, I heard a skill saw and noticed a crew at work. These beach homes right on the water must find a way to hold fast, too, with tides encroaching and wind unabated. Some looked as if they’d been there for generations. Others, sparkling and new.
Tucked in under the bluff were Oregon Grape with bright yellow blooms. Red flowering currant attracted hummingbirds. On Long Point, I stepped from log to log crossing to the east side where a heron had landed. It stood and struck a pose. Then, with its long legs, keen eyes and sharp beak, it strolled along the sandy spit.
The sun was warm, but a cool breeze blew. Like the turning tide, it was time for me to reverse my route. I walked back, more briskly now to meet my bus, but was stopped by the call of eagles. Looking up to the tallest tree, I saw two, side by side. And later a kingfisher perched on a rock covered with mussels, a seal popping up for a look around, and then three herons together next to Captain Thomas Coupe Park. I made my bus with time to spare, my heart full of the sea and sand, bluff and bay, birds and shells. Hold fast to all you love and cherish. Change is inevitable, but some things are meant to last. Hold fast.
To find the tide for your next beach walk, click here.
For an Island Transit bus schedule, click here.
Directions
Directions: From the stoplight at Highway 20 and Main Street in Coupeville, turn north to 9th Street and turn right. Look for Captain Coup Park on the left. OR drive 2.7 miles south of Coupeville and turn left on Morris Road, followed by a quick left on Parker Road. Drive 1.3 miles and turn right on Portal Place. Drive a short distance to Marine Drive and turn left. Follow it to Long Point.
By Bus and Bike: Take the Island Transit Route 1 bus to the Island County Courthouse in Coupeville. Get off at the Methodist Church or County Courthouse and walk east on 6th Street. Turn left on Gould and right on 9th Street to Captain Coupe Park, about a 1/2 mile from the bus stop. (Allow 2.5 to 3 hours to walk from the bus stop to Long Point and back, about 5 miles.) Bikes can ride on the shoulder in Coupeville. The speed limit is 25mph. The roads to Long Point are steep with no shoulder and higher speeds. Please wear something bright while riding a bike or walking on the side of the road.
Mobility: This beach is flat with rocks encrusted with barnacles and shellfish. Long Point is sandy and flat with logs heaped on in the middle. Plan your walk at low tide.
Republished with permission. Read the original article.