Washington's new locals

     My name is Katie and I’m a sophomore majoring in Journalism and Spanish with a minor in political science. When I’m not at IU, I live with my mom and sister in Indianapolis, IN. I’m really looking forward to showing, through video, future students and anyone that is interested in IU what really goes on Indiana University’s campus.

      I enjoy the state of Indiana and all that it has to offer, but sometimes, it’s nice to get away. This summer, my mom, 10 year old sister and five year old labradoodle packed up the car and drove 4 days, 2500 miles, to one of my favorite places on earth; the teeny tiny town of Grayland, Washington.

To almost anyone else, Grayland is just a small town you pass through to get to somewhere bigger, but to me it’s heaven. My family owns a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath cottage where it only takes five minutes to walk to the Pacific Ocean.

     As someone who lives in the Midwest, my mom and I are often laughed at by the Grayland townies that are used to everything Washington has to offer. Unfortunately Indiana doesn’t have an ocean. We, as Midwesterners have never had to understand tides, seafood, or 74 inches of rain a year, but to Washingtonians, it’s a way of life.

     After almost ten years of driving 4 days to Washington, this summer, my mom and I finally decided we could consider ourselves locals. We did some stuff this year that to everyone out there is normal, but to us was a totally different world. We went clamming and crabbing.

     By the end of the summer we were able to catch 120 steamer clams (which I wasn’t to fond of) and 11 Dungeness clams (which I was definitely fond of). We felt like true north westerners.

     Sadly, after 7 wonderful weeks, of reading, swimming, boogey boarding, clamming, crabbing, and eating amazing food, we had to make the horrible 4 day, 2500 mile trek back home.

     After returning home, I began getting ready for this year of college, but even though I am excited to start my sophomore year, I still really miss relaxing on the beach watching the waves crash against the surf.