Welcome to Ilwaco, Wash., the charming coastal village that most tourists pass by on their way to the miles-long stretches of sand off Long Beach. It’s home to some seafood-driven spots that offer incredible views, the same vistas Lewis and Clark and crew looked out on when finally making their way to the Pacific. Let’s explore... like the Corps of Discovery.

Start at the Marina

This working harbor is home to a large sports fishing fleet, which just shifted into high gear for summer season. Charters can be booked by walking into one of the storefronts that line the pretty pedestrian walkway.

Sprinkled in between those long established businesses are a few galleries, a yoga studio, a charming bookstore and a couple of pubs that showcase the region’s stellar seafood. If you’re hangry and want to take the edge off, I strongly recommend grabbing a Dungeness crab cocktail at Sportsman’s Cannery and taking a walk while you decide between Salt and Waterline, both located at hotels that enjoy knockout views.

Bivalve enthusiasts should definitely start with an order of oysters, harvested nearby in Williapa Bay, one of the deepest estuaries on the West Coast. There’s a friendly rivalry among kitchens over who turns out the best fried oyster, but that’s not a contest that needs to be decided today. Everyone wins, so please pass the cocktail sauce.

Same goes for the excellent steamed clams, also a product out of nearby Willipa Bay. Those briny bits sometimes play second banana to the buttery wine sauce they’re swimming in, a liquid that begs to be sopped up. On that front, I’m going to give Waterline the edge because that golden elixir was a spot-on balance between rich and bright. Plus, the bread was warm and toasty. And our friendly server was a hoot.

Why’s it called Cape Disappointment?

One of the state’s most popular state parks is just down the road from the Ilwaco Marina, an expansive rambling green space that’s bordered by beautiful Benson Beach. There are not one, but two historic lighthouses built in the late 1800s to help ships navigate the difficult passage from the Pacific into the Columbia River.

That vast confluence is the spot where Lewis and Clark’s Corp of Discovery completed its challenging mission to find a route west, a journey that took 18 months. They ended up spending the winter across the river in what’s now Fort Clatsop near Astoria, Ore.

It’d be natural to assume that the explorers were disappointed they couldn’t find enough game to make it through the winter near the Cape, but nope. Cape D was named by English captain John Meares, who approached the cape in 1788. When he arrived at the mouth of the river, he mistook it for a bay and was so miffed, he crowned the majestic rock formation Cape Disappointment.

I’ve been soaking up a boatload of history while volunteering this month at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at the park, an endlessly interesting gig that comes with the perk of a free hookup campsite for my motorhome.

While sitting at the front desk, I’ve sworn in dozens of Junior Rangers, answered the ever-asked query “where’s the restroom?” and read a book called Searching for York, the complex story of the slave William Clark brought on the trip. Though his name didn’t appear on the official log put together by Merriweather Lewis, York was an MVP on the voyage, something most history books fail to flesh out. When the corps returned to fame and fortune, York asked for his freedom and was denied.

Saturday Market

The summer season means the weekly gathering of artists and crafters, food entrepreneurs and farmers selling their wares along the walkway of the Ilwaco Marina.

If you’re fortunate enough to be in the area on a weekend this time of year, it’s well worth checking out. The crowds bring a welcome energy to the otherwise sleepy village, an area that seems ripe for redevelopment. You’re starting to see signs of new home construction on some of the bluffs with a view, and here’s hoping someone with a vision comes into town to scoop up that historic building on the corner of Highway 101 that heads north. It’s for sale by owner for $300,000. You can’t buy a storage shed in Seattle for that.

After shopping, have some lunch at one of the two hotel pubs or head up the Peninsula, where there are many dining/drinking options:

Finally, if you have time, please check out the excellent Cranberry Museum. Yes, this low country is home to a whole lot of berry bogs and the museum is rightly famous for its outstanding cranberry ice cream.

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