We’re watching the eagles fish in the ocean in front of our cabin this morning, having spent 10 days here at Kalaloch in the Olympic National Forrest. People whine about the rain, the sodden skies and the cold water on the Washington coast but if we’re being perfectly honest, outside of British Columbia, the Washington coast is the only place in the universe where you can walk your dog on the beach and watch the ospreys’ nest in the old growth timber 100 yards off the surf as eagles soar overhead. Let Southern California have Laguna and Huntington, here we wear fleece on the beach instead of bikinis, drink coffee not beer as we barbecue, and avail ourselves of all the culture Aberdeen, Washington has to offer.

We were in Aberdeen last night, not being the kind of people that would ignore the opening of Oceans’ 13, despite our remote locale. In a wildly ill-advised move, we headed to the King’s Wok Buffet (New York Style) for Chinese food. Oh my. Did we have the plastic deep fried chicken and shrimp in the sweet sauces with 25 grams of trans fat in each bite? We did. We had egg foo yung with the brown gravy, kept hot with a light so as not to congeal right before our very eyes. We drunk called our friends, that party tradition dating back to the days at IDAHO when friends went home from the bars after they closed and called each other at home to say a special good night. Our friends in the new millennium showed proper respect at hearing from Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love and someone named Louise Cobain, whom we don’t really know but who is wickedly funny. Whew. None of us have eaten such bad, naughty delicious food in years and years.

And for culture, there might not be more anywhere at all, block for block, than in Aberdeen. And it’s readily accessible. We walked right into the movie, no lines, no pre-purchase, sat down and waited for the locals to come to this highly touted summer movie event. All seven of them did come at the last moment, but never fully appreciated our take at the movie, particularly when we all went horizontally hysterical over the line “Danny, Cars are driving in and out at all hours. Doors are slamming. Linus is downstairs crying. Tell me what everyone else seems to know.” We thought it was funny.

We love Aberdeen. We love the saw shops, pawn shops, two Les Schwab truck centers, and are pretty blown away at the diversity of the camou. Completely remarkable. As the sign says on the way into town, “Come As You Are.”

So here now is the good bye fete from the beaches of Kalaloch, a family specialty cooked in the dutch oven over a fire on the beach

Heart Attack Mac

8 oz elbow macaroni

8 oz sour cream

2 c cottage cheese

8 oz cream cheese

1 small onion, chopped

S & P

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Cook macaroni as per directions on package. Drain. Combine with other ingredients, except cheddar, in same cooking pan and season to taste. Line dutch oven with foil and spray foil with non-stick pan preparant. Spoon the macaroni mixture into the dutch oven and top with cheddar cheese.

Bake in covered dutch oven with 10 gray coals under the oven and 20 gray coals in the lid. When fully cooked, macaroni will bubble around the edges and soufflé. Don’t undercook. Serve with Pollock salad.


Pollock Salad

1 bag iceberg lettuce mix

1 bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

2 good handsful feta cheese

2 good handsful croutons


Cut top off bag with knife. Combine all ingredients, using full bottle of salad dressing under advisement. Mix well with hands. Serve with icy beer to mitigate effects of dirty hands. If you are celebrating wildly, serve Heart Attack Mac and Pollock Salad with grilled hot dogs. It’s a 100% impressive meal.


Louise Cobain
On Location
Forks, Washington