Have you ever arrived in a place and instantly felt relaxed?

 

The feeling of instantaneous and complete relaxation does not manifest itself easily for many of us. We are focused on our goals, constantly moving forward, and only occasionally savoring the moment. Even when we travel to beautiful places to relax, we often bring projects or goals along on our supposed vacation. Sometimes we are so exhausted that the fatigue overwhelms the pleasure. Complete relaxation and true presence in the moment happens so rarely it takes us by surprise.

 

A few years ago, my friend D and I completed a busy professional conference in Seattle and headed off on an overnight road trip to recover. We meandered the small highways of western Washington, heading south, rehashing all the details of the conference.  In the late afternoon, we pulled into a small wide-spot-in-the-road town and parked at the small, historic-looking Skamokawa General Store. After refreshing ourselves with water, we wandered behind the store and seated ourselves in a pleasant gazebo overlooking a tiny harbor.

It was instant. Relaxation washed over us. We basked in the late afternoon sun, breathing in the fresh breeze coming in over the estuary. Neither of us moved. It was the feeling of sitting deeply, muscles heavy, jaws slack, and eyelids slightly closed.

 

We didn’t want to leave. One of us remembered a sign in the General Store regarding rooms for rent.

 

We inquired, a young gentleman set us up in a small, efficient room above the store overlooking the bay. We collapsed into a restful nap and woke up to a fiery orange sunset over the water.

 

Feeling rejuvenated the following morning, we enjoyed a classic diner breakfast at the local restaurant, The Fat Duck Inn. It was 12 hours of quiet rest and joy. I vowed to return someday.

 

This past summer, my best friends (who are married to each other) from graduate school joined me for a Giulia road trip from Seattle to Portland, Oregon, via the Washington coast. It was the first weekend of August 2020, prime time in the Pacific Northwest.

Our complication was in trying to find lodging for three people on prime summer Saturday night, with pandemic policies in place.

 

Finding no vacancies in the Washington beach towns, my friends asked me what alternatives I would suggest. My mind conjured up the memory of the relaxing afternoon several years prior. I could visualize the town but could not pull up the unusual name. I opened Google maps and scrolled around for several minutes until I found it.

Skamokawa.

We called the Skamokawa Resort whose office is housed in the General Store. The resort informed us they had no vacancy for our requested date but suggested the Twin Gables B&B.

 

We were in luck. The lovely lady proprietor had two rooms for the night and we would be the only guests. Perfection!

Skamokawa is in Wahkiakum County, WA along the Columbia River and WA SR 4, a few miles inland of the Pacific Ocean. The name Skamokawa is a Chinook word meaning “smoke on the water,” a reference to the fog which gathers at the inlet of the creek.

 

The tiny town sits in a small inlet where Brooks and Steamboat Sloughs merge with Skamokawa Creek and the mighty Columbia River.

 

Explorers Lewis and Clark first met Chief Skamokawa on December 29, 1805 at nearby Fort Clatsop. The town of Skamokawa was founded in 1844.

Most of the houses face the water and the town includes a post office, general store, and a restaurant, along with an old church and schoolhouse. Activities include kayaking, fishing and the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for Columbian White-Tailed Deer.

 

We arrived at the Twin Gables in Skamokawa in the warm afternoon light and took in the contrast of the red geraniums and the clean white window trim. As I stepped out of the car, the feeling was exactly the same: Relaxation washed over me.

The Twin Gables B&B sits off the main road on small side street. The long front porch is made for sitting in the evening light and the back windows look over one of the small sloughs and a private dock.

 

A Columbia River wind blowing through our hair, we spent the evening walking on the beach watching the birds, identifying the ships, and basking in the sunset. The texture of the windblown sand dunes almost transported us to a different desert locale, but the small shells and seaweed flowers brought us back to the estuary.

That night my sleep was deep and restful. My cozy room, with its comfortable bed and fresh breezes blowing over me, was divine.

 

I woke up with the exact feeling of relaxation I remembered from my first stay in Skamokawa–that rare and all-encompassing feeling of calm and peace.

 

I went for run in the morning fog. As my feet moved up the road to the beat of my music, I ran past the General Store and past the historic old school house on the side of the hill. I ran across the bridge crossing the slough overlooking the tiny town. I waved to a local fisherman on the shore of the slough. He waved back and grinned. I ran past the paddle center and entered the white-tailed deer refuge. As I ran along the trail, I was so present it was if I could feel the individual drops of moisture in the fog as they kissed my skin.  (I didn’t see any deer. Perhaps they saw me.)

 

I crossed back over the bridge and sat down on the back patio of the Twin Gables to cool down. For me, this little town has a magic. I had left everything behind. My mind was quiet. Rest and relaxation enveloped my body.

 

That feeling is as lovely as it is rare.

 

We enjoyed a nourishing and fresh local breakfast in the B&B dining room. And as we drove out of town in Giulia that morning, my mind was already dreaming of returning to Skamokawa for an extended stay to explore and to write.

 

Or maybe just to relax.