Day 33: Kalaloch

Today, our alarm clock is the sound of the sea and no one is rushing us because it's a relaxation day. So we sleep until 8 o'clock, have a leisurely breakfast overlooking the sea, and then take a walk on the beach. Our destination is the Kalaloch Lodge and Ranger Station, which are about 500 meters away from our site. It's cloudy but not windy, so it's bearable. Just before the lodge, there's a river that flows into the sea. It's not deep. We look for a way to cross it, but there's none. We could walk back and go across the road, but that would take unnecessary time. Erik is wearing rubber boots and we take off our shoes and wade through the water. What I didn't think about is that it's very cold and my feet freeze a few meters. And what does Erik do? The water gets into his shoes during all the splashing. What did I expect? Now we're on the other side and we walk up stairs to the lodge. It's a nice log cabin. The prices for simple merchandise items are expensive. We don't buy anything and visit the small ranger station on the other side of the street. The ranger is not particularly helpful, so we are satisfied with the park information and the Junior Park Ranger booklet. It's almost noon, so we walk back to the camper, this time across the road. After lunch, we treat ourselves to another nap. Unfortunately, the neighbor dogs annoy us a little with their barking.
I would like to tell you what we noticed. For that, I have to go back a bit: Erik and I watch a movie on the plane: The Boss Baby. It's about there being two types of babies, a regular one and one in management. The management babies are supposed to prevent puppies from taking over. At first, I thought, who comes up with such nonsense, but then I see the people here with their dogs. They treat them like babies, pushing them in strollers or carrying them in backpacks. It's not enough to have one dog, no, there have to be several. It's a real market. It may be because many people go camping with their dogs, that's why we see so many dogs. So someone comes up with the idea for a movie that someday dogs will replace babies.

Everyone is awake at 2:30, Erik doesn't even fall asleep. We want to do the Kalaloch Trail, but the entrance is not easy to find. We walk a path that ends in front of the driftwood on the beach. Now we climb and balance on the logs. We watch a bald eagle catching another bird and try to get a closer look at it. Unfortunately, it disappears when we get closer. Then we settle on the beach and build a sand volcano. The sun is shining and I even take off my jacket. Erik wants to play in the shallow water and I take pictures of him jumping. Finally, Erik goes for a swim in the Pacific. The water is cold, but it doesn't seem to bother him. He jumps into the waves and enjoys the water. I also venture into the water with my feet. Then we return to the camper. Thanks to the outdoor shower, the car is spared from the sand. After dinner, we make a campfire and roast marshmallows on a stick. It tastes good and Rene's hand almost glows from holding the stick. Just after 9 o'clock, we go to watch the sunset. The best spot for that is 10 meters from the camper. We look at the beach, the sea, and the sun. It's completely clear. We spot a gray whale in the water and the sun sinks lower and lower. The whale resurfaces every now and then and sprays water into the air. More and more people come to watch the sunset. I didn't expect so many. Just before the grand finale, a small cloud appears and the sun disappears behind it. It's red, but not perfect. But what is perfect anyway? It's a beautiful end to the day.