When the arctic ice starts to form, the grays whales start a two- to three-month trip south to the Baja Peninsula and Gulf of Mexico.  Around 19,000 whales migrate by the Long Beach Peninsula on their way to warmer waters and then a couple of months later, they cruise by again heading back north.  So they really don’t have a lot of vacation time for all that traveling, they say it’s the longest migration of  any mammal up to .

The gray whale is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds every year passing by the Long Beach, Washington Peninsula during the southern and northern migrations.  Gray whales can reach a length of 52 ft and can weigh about 35 tons and live a very long time, 50–70 years!  They are called “Gray” because they have gray patches and white mottling on dark skin and descend from filter-feeding whales that developed over 30 million years ago.

When the arctic ice starts to form, the grays whales start a two- to three-month trip south to the Baja Peninsula and Gulf of Mexico.  Around 19,000 whales migrate by the Long Beach Peninsula on their way to warmer waters and then a couple of months later, they cruise by again heading back north.  So they really don’t have a lot of vacation time for all that traveling.

This extensive gray whale migration all the way to Baja for such a brief stay reminds me of our several family trips during spring vacation when we would drive from Lake Oswego, near Portland all the way to Ensenada, in Baja California.  It’s a long drive in a station wagon with parents and two domineering older brothers for a very brief stay in Baja.  Of course, stopping at Disneyland and in San Diego were nice distractions away from the back seat of a Plymouth station wagon.  We’d spend a few days in Baja and then turn around and drive back to Portland.  Our family migration from Portland to Baja does have a vague but humorous similarity to the gray whales’.  The gray whales tend to breed and nurse their youngsters while in the warmer waters which certainly was not our goal while in Baja.

Our favorite place to watch for the gray whales is in Cape Disappointment State Park at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and the North Head Lighthouse.  From December until early February, we have seen the grays migrating south and then again in March, April and May when they return to the arctic.  That being said, we have seen gray whales in September just off the surf line from the stunning turnout on the Loop 100 in Cape D State Park.  There are some “permanent” gray whales living off the Washington Coast.  Just over a month ago a half dozen gigantic blue whales were spotted not far off the Long Beach Peninsula, perhaps 30 miles.  They were over 100 feet long!  Fishermen report in one day of summer fishing, seeing three or four varieties of whales including sperm whales and humpbacks or “humpies” off our coast.

Grays feed mostly on crustaceans which it eats by turning on its side (usually the right, resulting in loss of eyesight in the right eye for many older animals) and it scoops up sediments from the sea floor.  They eat by using their baleens which act like a sieve, to capture small sea animals, taken in along with sand, water and other materials they scoop up.  They feed in arctic waters during the summer and sometimes feed during its migration but mostly, when heading south, they rely on their fat reserves.  We have seen them seemingly rubbing themselves on the North Jetty near our favorite spot in the Cape D State Park.   They were feeding by scraping the rocks on the jetty.  So cool!

During migration, these giant cruisers average around 75 miles per day at an average speed of 5 mph.  The round trip of 9,900–14,000 miles is supposedly the longest annual migration of any mammal.  By late December to early January, they begin to arrive in the calving lagoons of Baja. Gestation for grays is 13.5 months so often mothers give birth in the safer waters of Baja and single females are seeking mates.  By mid-February to mid-March the whales have arrived in the lagoons and are nursing, calving and mating.

Throughout February and March, the first to leave the lagoons are males and females without new calves. Pregnant females and nursing mothers with their newborns are the last to depart, leaving only when their calves are ready for the journey, which is usually from late March to mid-April. Sometimes the mothers with new calves linger in warm waters into May.

A population of about 200 gray whales stay along the eastern Pacific coast from Canada to California throughout the summer which is why we occasionally see them in non-migration months.  They never leave to go to Alaskan waters. This summer resident group is known as the Pacific Coast Feeding Group.

Now that you know all about gray whales, drive to the Long Beach, Washington Peninsula to try to get a glimpse.  Right now you might see a few stragglers heading south and in a month or so you will see the gray whales returning from their brief stay in the warmer waters off the Baja Peninsula.  At Boreas Inn, we always have binoculars for you to borrow and helpful hints (Bill is great at spotting whales). During the busier times of migration, there are experts at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Cape D. State Park, just 10 minutes from Boreas Inn.

This is a perfect time of year to take your Valentine to the beach to watch for whales and sleep in the Boreas Inn’s lovely beds, dine by the fire on the best three-course B&B breakfast you’ve ever had, breathe the cool ocean breezes, be lulled by the gentle sound of the Pacific Ocean lapping on the beach and to relax.  Let your innkeepers, Susie Goldsmith and Bill Verner design your time away with great dinners at The Depot, Pelicano, the 42nd Street Cafe, The Lost Roo and Shelburne’s dining room and maybe an in-room massage!  Check our online specials or give us a call at 888-642-8069. We hope to see you soon!

Gravy:

• 1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
• 3/4 pound wild mushrooms, brushed clean, trimmed and coarsely chopped * (see note)
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4cup flour
• 2 tablespoons fresh minced chive
• 2 cups half-and-half or milk
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons sherry (optional)

Biscuits:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons fresh minced chives

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter (or spray) a heavy baking sheet. For the biscuits, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to blend. Add the butter and pulse until it’s finely chopped and mixture has the consistency of coarse cornmeal. (You can also cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives.). Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the milk and chives and stir until the batter is evenly mixed–or keep the ingredients in the processor and very gently pulse. Don’t over-mix or you will have tough, heavy biscuits!

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough into a circle about six inches across and one inch thick. Cut the dough into quarters, setting the biscuits on the baking sheet with one inch or so between them. Bake the biscuits until they are puffed and lightly brown on top, 12-15 minutes. Transfer them to a rack to cool.

Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until cooked through and lightly browned, 12-15 minutes. Stir often and break up the sausage chunks as they cook. Spoon out and discard excess fat. Add the mushrooms and onion; increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and any liquid they give off is evaporated, 5-7 minutes. Add the four and cook for 1-2 minutes longer, stirring so that the flour evenly coats the sausage and mushrooms. Slowly stir in the milk or half and half and cook until the gravy has thickened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the chives and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the sherry just before serving.

To serve, cut each of the biscuits in half horizontally and set the bottom halves on the individual plates. Generously spoon the mushroom-sausage gravy over, top with the top of the biscuit.  Sprinkle with paprika and garnish the plate with fresh herbs or edible flowers. Makes 4 servings.

*I prefer to use 1/2 pound dried porcini mushrooms reconstituted in a cup or so of water. Drain the mushrooms and save the liquid. Make the wild mushroom and sausage gravy the night before and then use the saved liquid to thin the gravy prior to heating and serving. The liquid adds more depth to the wild mushroom flavor of the dish.  You can double or triple the recipe and freeze.  Freeze extra unbaked biscuits and bake as needed. Delicious!

Long Beach, Washington will open for razor clam digging for FOUR days at noon March 19!  Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager, advises prospective diggers to pay particular attention to the shift in digging times during this month’s razor-clam opening.   “It gets a little tricky scheduling digs at this time of year, but the goal is to arrange openings during the best clam tides,” Ayres said. “The split schedule also provides an opportunity for back-to-back digs the evening of Saturday, March 19, and the morning of Sunday, March 20.”

Digging days and low tides for March are:

• Saturday, March 19, 7:04 p.m. (-0.1 ft); Long Beach
• Sunday, March 20, 7:36 a.m. (-0.5 ft); Long Beach
• Monday, March 21, 8:23 a.m. (-0.9 ft); Long Beach

·         Tuesday March 22, 9:12 a.m. (-1.0 ft); Long Beach   So get your clam digging license, required if you are age 15 or older and come down and dig some razor clams.   Ayres reminds diggers that WDFW is tentatively planning another razor-clam opening April 7-9 until noon each day at Long Beach and Twin Harbors if marine toxin tests show the clams are safe to eat. Licenses expire on March 31,  so you need to make sure, for the April digs coming up, that you get a new license.

It was a beautiful, calm day of razor clamming at Beard's Hollow

We want to cook you the perfect breakfast!

We promise you a beautiful, lazy weekend at Boreas if you decide to visit us.  We have room for you and would love to cook up a storm in the morning if it’s not stormy enough outside–and even if it is.  Don’ t listen to the weather guys–they are usually wrong, unless they tell you it’s going to be wonderful–because sunshine, rain, wind…it’s always wonderful here. The fireplaces beckon and we’re offering our Walk-in Special at our romantic getaway by the sea. $150 a night including our “perfectly plated” 3 course or more breakfast (plus tax of course).   We don’t want to be lonely–so come to Long Beach and we will fix you up with two fabulous dinners out at our fine dinner houses and promise you the most relaxing weekend with fireplaces blazing and our new hot tub beckoning.  We hope to see you soon!

We have the gift of unmatched sunsets at the Inn

Where else can you behold such open space on a beach anywhere in the country with  a glorious winter sunset as the highlight of your day?  Tonight the full moon will glisten off the water…with clear skies and a winter nip in the air… Come to a place where you will find beautiful surroundings, a beach that goes on forever, culminating in headlands with lighthouses, walking trails and bicycle paths along the ocean and through the wooded parklands. There is always something to entertain you whether visually, physically or spiritually–or all three at once.  When you tire of that, you can sleep like a baby in the most comfortable beds with down over you and under you, dine on a breakfast that will last all day long, and perhaps just do nothing…until dinner of course, when you again DINE at the finest restaurants on Oregon/Washington coast.  You work so that you can play!  So play in Long Beach, Washington….a seriously perfect place to escape from the rest of the world.  Boreas Inn is here for you!  Come enjoy the sunsets.  (Or when those aren’t available, enjoy the sound of the rain and the cozy fireplaces!)

Winter months are the best for viewing the surf from your car at Cape D.

It’s blowing hard in Long Beach, Washington. The weather is stormy, cold and for awhile this afternoon, the snowflakes were waltzing in all directions with the wind gusts directing their ballet!  It was a joyful dance.  Now it’s much warmer, 36,  and rainy with gusty winds up to 30 or so.  We had a relaxing holiday season with mellow guests and fireplaces crackling. Now it’s calm and far too peaceful, except for the weather.  So the inn is getting painted, a little at a time by Bill.  This weekend is looking quieter than most MLK weekends are.  Ask for our Walk-in Special if you are very last minute in making plans!  We are ready for guests…and we hope that they come!  We have a few rooms remaining for Valentine’s Day weekend, February 11,12  and President’s Day weekend 18, 19, 20.  I have been blocking out rooms for the Kite Festival and we have two upstairs rooms open for the week of August 14-21.  The Stargazer is open the 18,19,20 of August for a three night stay.   I know it’s far from now…but as they say, I’m just sayin’…!

PS.  Our newest restaurant and bar, The Lost Roo, has six large screen TV’s if you would like to watch football on New Years Day.  Your innkeepers will go with you!

Boreas Inn’s 14th Annual Crab Cake and Champagne Brunch Weekend!

There is a three-night minimum over New Years Eve weekend, you pick the days and we will provide you with first class service, fine gourmet breakfast cuisine, the most delicious fresh Dungeness Crab Cakes ever and incredible relaxation!

We ask for a maximum of 10 people and no children under 10.  Wander the beautiful beaches, sleep in fine linens under down and on top of  our feather beds.  Maybe you will be held captive by a big Pacific storm by one of the fireplaces or maybe the weather will be warm and sunny! Wander the Discover Trail and look for whales from the North Head Lighthouse or the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, dine out in our fabulous restaurants, take naps and soak in our brand new hot tub!  Before somebody else grabs the chance, make your reservation now! If you book online, just request all of the Inn’s guest rooms, put in the three nights you would like to request and mention the Ready-Made Christmas Special and we will adjust the cost! Or feel free to call us at 888-842-8069. www.boreasinn.com  This offer is not valid with gift certificates and there is a 30-day cancellation policy.  We will hold the first night (plus tax) as deposit. Make your request soon!!!

Have Boreas Inn to Yourselves on Christmas!

Our Brand New Spa--Come Bubble Your Troubles Away!

The tub new spa is a bit smaller than our older one and very roomy for our “couples” only soaking.  There are three seats, including two side-by-side recliners, 36 jets (!) and beautiful revolving underwater colors, if you like a little light.  It’s hard to get a good picture of the new spa unless you dangled from the gazebo ceiling! The tub is made by Cal Spa’s division “OC Hot Tubs”.  I thought Orange County motorcycles were gorgeous, but this spa is pretty lush!  Bill and I tried it out on Thursday night and it was just perfect.  The operations and materials are quite “green” and so far, our guests say they love the new spa.  So in addition to fine regional cuisine, the most comfortable beds, and extra special whatever we can think of for our guests, we now have a new spa with a beautiful view.   The ex-spa works fine–and we’re looking for a home for it.  It sprung a leak around a seal (we think) but other than that, it works fine.  So if one of our former guests would like it, we can arrange for that to happen.  You will have to haul it away!  It was very sad to see it leave the gazebo (and quite a project to get it out of there!)