Each year, hundreds of memories frozen in film are submitted to the Seabrook Photo Challenge. This year, the competition was tougher than ever before! We had over 300 pictures submitted for this year’s Photo Challenge and, of those, 13 images were handpicked for the Seabrook 2012 Calendar!

Each photographer of the winning pictures will receive a $100 gift card to the Mill 109 Pub-Restaurant. Additionally, the cover picture winner will get a free beach cruiser bike – a well-known trademark of Seabrook’s lifestyle.

Ladies and gentlemen…drum roll please…we present to you the 2011 Seabrook Photo Challenge Winners!

The Cover Page

(Photo by Mandy P.)

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Before we dive into this week’s post on Olympic National Park day trips, we would like to congratulate and thank Cassie Lentz for sharing her Lake Quinault story. Send us an email and we’ll get your $25 Mill 109 gift certificate in the mail!

OK, now to the adventure!

As the second of five of our favorite Olympic National Park daytrips, this week we are featuring Kalaloch and Ruby Beach.

We start our trip at the Kalaloch (pronounced clay-lock) Lodge which is located on the southwest coast of the Olympic Peninsula and approximately a 60-mile drive from Pacific Beach, WA.  The drive does not follow the coast line as there is no road through the Quinault Tribal reservation, but it will take you through beautiful areas on the peninsula and past Lake Quinault which we featured in our last Olympic National Park daytrip blog.

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Soaring mountains, towering rain forests, glacier-carved lakes, lush river valleys, and rugged beaches. Where else other than Olympic National Park can claim these diverse and breath-taking characteristics?

In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt issued a proclamation creating Mount Olympus National Monument to protect the summer range and breeding grounds of Olympic Elk.  In fact, when re-designating it as a National Park in 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt nearly named it “Elk National Park” due to it being home to the largest unmanaged herd of Roosevelt Elk in the world.

The largest herd of Elk in the world; how big is Olympic National Park?

This incredible park encompasses nearly one million acres of land, with 95 percent specifically designated as wilderness. Olympic National Park also protects 73 miles of wild Pacific coastline (added to the park in 1956) and is also home to the third largest glacial system in the contiguous U.S.  The park boasts the second largest ecosystem restoration project in the history of the National Park Service (next to the Everglades) which encompasses the tallest dam removal project ever in US history with the removal of the Glines Canyon Dam.  In 1976, the Olympic National Park became an International Biosphere Reserve, and in 1981 it was designated a World Heritage Site.

In other words, it is really really big! And, really really cool!

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Beach lovers always find a way to incorporate something coastal into their home decor, no matter what the season! If you love the beach the way we do, bring home a bit of the beach to your autumn décor just in time for Halloween!

Check out these autumn décor ideas we found online and around town!

On Seabrook Avenue, we love the cheery autumn feel of the décor going up the front steps of Ocean Song Beach Cottage.

A few pumpkins, some greenery, and a bright and playful pillow make for a tempting spot to enjoy a lazy autumn afternoon at the beach. While this front porch used natural pumpkins, why not try a design like this one featured by Better Homes and Gardens?

Ocean Song Cottage in Seabrook, WA

Just stencil the design you want on to the pumpkin using pencil (try a simple one like a few of those featured by The Pumpkin Lady) then begin filling in the stenciled space with a variety of black thumb-tacks!

This year we’re also seeing blue pumpkins popping up everywhere!

Shaunna of Perfectly Imperfect paints pumpkins every year and was thrilled with the results of Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint pictured on the pumpkins below.

With colors such as “Greek Blue” shown in these darling displays by Bonnie of A Wee Meenit, this incredible new paint may be one of the best new DIY products to come out in quite a while.

Thumb-tack Pumpkin

Greek Blue Painted Pumpkins

The Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is available online from Oxford, England but if you’re here in the United States and can’t wait for a direct shipment of this paint, be sure to check the list of local retailers on Annie Sloan’s Website.

If pumpkin painting isn’t your thing, check out this gorgeous silk pumpkin design that we found at The Charm of Home. Or, you may find this rope version with step-by-step instructions from Completely Coastal interesting.

Silk Fabric Pumpkin Wrap

Rope Pumpkin Design

Both designs are an easy DIY project and either would coordinate beautifully with any color palette.

While we’ve got pumpkins on the brain, we can’t forget the classic Jack-o-Lantern!

This amazing collection of jack-o-lanterns was featured on Completely Coastal back in 2010, but it will still inspire an incredible seashore Halloween display this year!

Although we haven’t seen any jack-o-lanterns yet at Seabrook, we did find this charming wreath outside of the home of Pam and Bob Bennett, owners of Colours Pottery Painting Studio.

Decorative Seabrook Wreath

If you’re in the area, stop by Colours to ask Pam where she found this beautiful wreath while you paint a seaside keepsake.

If you can’t make it out to Seabrook this autumn, perhaps this wreath design on Etsy (by Beach Wreaths) is a little more your style?

Each wreath is completely different but both definitely capture the ambiance of autumn at the beach!

If you’ve already got a perfect autumn wreath, this collection of swags just might tempt you! Available from the Outer Banks Trading Group, they would be a perfect addition to any kitchen, entry, or sun porch.

Decorative Swag Collection

We’ve found that many beach lovers wonder how to introduce fall into a beachy room.

If you’ve ever asked yourself that same question, try creating your own version of the below driftwood centerpiece we found at Caron’s Beach House.

Coastal Fall Driftwood Centerpiece

Whether you use it for your dining room, a sofa table, or even your fireplace mantel, you’ll be love the way this display pairs with rooms filled with whites, blues, or browns already filled with beachy décor.

Finally, if you’re short on time but enjoy shells throughout your home, it doesn’t get much easier than this idea we found at Going a Little Coastal!

Autumn Leaves Decoration

Let us know which of these ideas is your favorite and share your autumn decorating ideas!

Driving through Copalis Crossing on the way to the Washington coast recently, you’ve surely noticed a charming little produce market luring tourists and locals in for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Voss Acres, North Beach’s newest local market, has quickly become a household name for fresh, quality produce and warm, friendly conversations. Since opening on Mother’s Day weekend, Voss Acres has been a delightful new addition for residents and tourists on the way to the beach.

You don’t just encounter a small produce market upon entering Voss Acres;  you immediately embark on a journey into the last century sprinkled with neat stories and traditions told by the pictures on the wall and casual conversations. Passionate owners, Steve and Sharon Voss, are always eager to share any of the fascinating history while shoppers pick fresh fruits and veggies.

For example, the house in which they both live right next to the market was built in 1898 and is one of the oldest houses in the North Beach area. What has been a renovating project for Steve over the past few years, was once a “mobile” home for the workers along the railroad – the house would move along with every section of railroad that was completed.

As you walk through the market, you’ll also notice many old souvenirs and artifacts. Steve and Sharon found most of these on the site of the house when they acquired the landmark, with some items dating back almost a 100 years. The most recent find being a spark plug piece from a Model T Ford (1909-1927).

If you circle the market building to the back, you’ll immediately spot a drove of pigs surrounded by little chicken and turkeys, ducks, etc. Fresh eggs are collected all week and sold on Saturdays.  In addition to the farm animals, adjacent is an organic farm that Steve has been passionately gardening for almost 10 years now. Local, organic carrots, beans, Swiss chard, and other vegetables are a big hit at Voss Acres. Regulars ask for them all the time as they are picked fresh and cleaned as you wait.

Otherwise, Voss Acres gets most of its produce from Charlie’s Produce in Seattle, who has an excellent network of local and national farmers delivering fresh food a couple times a week to Copalis Crossing.

Seabrook’s local grocery store has also started featuring Voss Acres’ products as of late. If you stop by the Lil’s Pantry on Front Street, greeting you is Sharon’s fresh produce that is sure to complete any meal or provide for grocery shopping during your stay at Seabrook.

Whichever way you decide to try Voss Acre’s fresh fruits and vegetables, you certainly won’t regret it. Furthermore, if you can learn a thing or two about the history of the area while you’re doing your grocery shopping, all the better. It is usually the context to a place and the people in it that make it a unique experience. Voss Acre has both, and a little bit extra.

In the meantime, check out the market’s website and add Sharon on Facebook for the latest information, news, and pictures out of Voss Acres.