Whoops and More

August 29, 1982

We were young and we thought nothing of driving 200 miles (320 km) for a day trip as we continued to explore Washington State.  This day’s outing found us visiting a nuclear power plant; driving on a hard-packed beach on the coast; and exploring a castle.

Our day’s adventures took us from Tacoma to Satsop (yellow marker),
to Ocean Shores (blue marker), to Hoquiam (red marker) and back.

The Satsop Nuclear Power Plant was not on our itinerary when we set out from Tacoma, but seeing the cooling towers rising high into the sky as we approached the town by the same name, we couldn’t pass without a quick look-see.

Construction was ongoing at the time of our visit.  However, following a $961 million budget shortfall, the project came to a screeching halt in 1983 and was eventually cancelled entirely in 1994.  Thus making the nickname by which the project was known locally — “Whoops” … a play on its official acronym, WPPSS (Washington Public Power Supply System) — all the more appropriate.

From Satsop, we continued onto the beach in Ocean Shores, which was our actual destination for the day.  Though it was a cool, overcast day, we played on the beach for a while, enjoying the Pacific surf crashing ashore.  We'd never driven on a beach before ... what fun that was.

When a local we met on the beach suggested that we visit nearby Hoquiam’s Castle our day took another unexpected turn.  It turns out that the castle wasn’t a structure with fortifications and battlements, but rather a Victorian mansion built in the late 1890s as a beautiful contrast to the sawmills and barrooms of the booming timber town of Hoquiam.

At the time we visited, the house was a private residence that was open to tours; today, it’s a bed and breakfast.

The wax bust in the Music Room is an original Mme Tussaud work.

Left: Teak carved chair in the Music Room.
Right: The turn of the century bar was shipped from New Orleans in 1900.

Another great day exploring our adopted home state.