Vacation at Ocean Shores, Washington 2005
by
Arlene Ritzhaupt
I had such a grand time exploring the Sawdust
and Sand Competition; I thought I would share with you. Stumbling upon this
event was fun and invigorating. I may have twisted the name around, what can I
say. There are some good prices for motels in Ocean Shores, just make sure you
book your room for the length of time desired. Brother, do rates go up on
Saturday night! The Comfort Inn offers nice rooms with a huge breakfast in the
morning and Starbucks Coffee. These rooms have ceiling fans, but no air
conditioning. I reserved my room on the internet and needed to add Saturday, but
not at $229 for Sat! You are now forewarned.
The convention center parking lot was filled
with the buzz of saws. Chainsaw carvers were sheltered from the weather under
tents as their saws bit into the 6' hunk of wood, spitting sawdust at a devilish
rate; chips were flying every which way. The only way to protect your eyes from
the feathery puffs to lethal chunks, was to keep your sunglasses snug to your
face. I never realized just watching a creative experience could be so
dangerous. Some carvers traveled from far away places. Japan, Germany and New
(South?) Wales were represented besides many from Washington and other states. It was
stunning to watch a carver take a hunk of wood off and realizing they knew
exactly what they were aiming for. The roar of saws was deafening but wildly
exciting. Some carvers would deftly make intricate and almost insignificant cuts
to reveal their object of beauty. I had never before seen women practicing the
art of chainsaw carving. Hats off to you ladies! That's like having a tiger by
the tail and far more than I want to play around with. The tools of the trade
were represented by every chainsaw brand and size. There were some very tiny
saws. They made me think they would be cute just to have and hold. They gave
almost the same feel as chucking a new puppy under the chin. But the blade was
so tiny, maybe 4-6", they were just cute. Okay, it's a girl thing.
Please DO NOT copy my PHOTOS!
Friday
June 24th, the first day of competition-
This is the carver from New Wales creating a
surfer catching a wave.
The carver from Japan just finished his
carving for the day and will start tomorrow about 9 or 10 am. He is working on a
group of penguins at play.
This is the helpful Ace Hardware guy. He
helped insert the new camera disk.
A trip to the beach and the sand sculptor
showed us how to prepare the sand for sculpting. Lots of water and lots of
buckets with lots of mixing, makes for very messy work. Just keep adding
containers of a sand and water mixture until it is larger than the size you
want, before you start carving. Strapping or a metal shipping tape was used for
carving. The standard tile trowels work great too.
How could I have overlooked these characters
playing cards, on my first trip amongst the carvers?
4 Dogs Playing Poker
I was very intrigued with this sand sculpture
of dogs playing poker for bones. I wanted to see someone build something like
this so I could see the action. I did find they used benzene, I believe, in the
water to help it stay moist longer. Totally amazing!
The detail........... I booked a room to stay
another night; I had to see what would be created the next day. I had never
witnessed sand sculpting. What an opportunity! They started with about 200 +/-
buckets of water. Here one sculptor is making more bones. Two sculptors created
this sculpture. You can't see them, but on the top of each dog is a 10"
wire so the birds won't take over.
Friday had been rather hot for Ocean Shores
and Saturday was to be a repeat. I was all packed and ready to move out in the
morning to a less pricey motel for Saturday night.
To dine or just eat:
My favorite dining experience was at Emily's
in the Quinault Resort & Casino. Try the Halibut - it is stunning, I'd ask for
less salt! The service is friendly and welcoming plus prompt. The price was a
touch above the rest by only pennies! Well worth the wait!
Everyone raved in town about Alex. I truly
cannot recommend the place! Common and very ordinary, very over priced! Salmon
was awful and the veggies were water logged without color! I had to leave the
meal on my plate it was that bad.
My last evening meal in town was at the Waves in the Best Western Inn. Michael, the master chef, was delightful and created a succulent seafood sauté just for me, wasn't that sweet. I had a perfect view of the ocean and great service. I would strongly recommend a visit here. They have a small sports bar with TV. About the same cost as Emily's.
The
IGA is great to buy food and take back to your room.
If you are a member of the Community Center,
I would strongly recommend a breakfast or lunch there. They offer plain and
simple fare, including burgers, with plain and simple prices. Lots of friendly
faces, and plenty to keep the kids busy! The center boasts a swimming pool, TV
and reading room plus a game room and a small gym. There is lots of new
equipment in the exercise room. Most of the areas have a lovely view of the bay
looking back toward Hoquiam and Aberdeen.
The start of Saturday's competition shows the
mixing of sand and water in a form. One form has already been set. This is the
hard task and all are called into action. Huge holes are dug into the beach and
filled with water using the fire truck for quick access by sculptors.
They are now getting underway between 9 and
10 am on Saturday
Below workers from Pigs in Space
Left is the boy working on Lone Trees; Middle
photo the start of Willie Wonka; Right photo is the start of Smokey
I have to leave for a lunch date with a new friend and
a meeting at the Community Center. I will return later for the results and to
see what they have built.
I return about 3 pm and the beach is packed with parked
cars and people strolling between the convention center, the beach and
motels. It's a real zoo! Oh, I forgot to mention, someone is selling huge kites
and they are also flying over head.
All sculptures have a large amount of detail
so look closely.
This is the Willy Wonka and
the Chocolate Factory. This is the first place winner for the Pro section. This
shows the river of chocolate
This is 2nd place winner in the pro section
with Pigs in Space
Third place in the pro section was Smokey the
Bear. I think?
The below won something and I can't remember
what. It's the changing times. Great deal of detail!
This is first place for Intermediate and I
think they were from Idaho. This is called Lone Tree mainly built by kids. You
can see how they built the small trees.
What would the show be without a lion? I am
kicking myself because I didn't get a side shot of the lion with so much
detail!! There were many more entries but sadly, the photos weren't up to the
quality I want to show.
At
the end of the competition all the watering holes were filled back in and not by
hand. The next morning there was little to tell that there had been any activity
on the beach.
The surfer ended very nicely! The penguins
are much nicer than my photos show!
These are great items that needed to be shown. I love the bench!
I hope you enjoyed as much as I did!
Arlene
Here are all the facts you need on Ocean Shores at this link:
http://www.oceanshores.com/stuff_to_do.htm
You may need to cut and paste this last link:
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=24925
© 7/3/2005