Sometimes I don’t like to wake up in the morning. I’m usually too comfy on my mossy bed with dune grass hugging my sides keeping me warm. It would be nice if the sun shined on my face and if there were juicy berries right by my bed for eating. But, I knew I needed to get up, because today was the big day! Fall is starting, and the ocean waves were going to reach record heights!

Good morning, my name is Grumpy Bear. Time to do my morning stretches. First, I scoot my bum up in the air and slide my front paws out as far as I can to stretch. Then, I do a head stand against my favorite spruce tree with the scratchy branches. It’s my favorite, because the scratchy branches also comb my fur. Ok, I’d better get started on my morning rounds before everyone else wakes up and eats all of the breakfast! My tummy is rumbly! 

My first stop is the quiet little house on the corner with the long, secret driveway. Nobody ever sees me there. Yep, it’s still pretty foggy, but I see my favorite trash can sitting there just waiting to be tipped over. What’s that I smell? Leftover pizza? Yes! This trash can is a piece of cake, and I really mean that, because there is a piece of cake in there, too! Who hoo!

Time to go to the beach because my nose and ears are telling me the tide is coming in. There is nobody else on the whole beach, right or left. Well, I’m not counting the noisy, stinky sea gulls. Don’t they ever sleep?

Grumpy Bear sure loves the smells and the sounds of the ocean. Walking in the squishy sand feels good on my paws, and I like to look at my footprints. Oh, goody! Here comes a big wave! Wait…did I hear something behind me in the tree line? I turn around to look, when, all of a sudden, the big wave picks me up and takes me for a ride!! So, this must be what surfing is. It would be fun if I could see where I was going. 

Oh, here we go, I have landed! Except, something doesn't look or feel right. I should be seeing my favorite lighthouse above Beard's Hollow with the black and white stripes. Instead, there's this really old and rusty shipwreck on the beach. Hmmm, I wonder if there's anything to eat in there? Yes! It's a dead crab, yummy! 

I need to figure out where I am and how I'm going to get back home. Maybe I'll ask that little smiling jellyfish over there. "Hello, do you know the name of this old ship?" The jellyfish replied, "Yes, it's the Peter Iredale. It's been here since 1906. On the night of October 25th, Captain Lawrence tried to find the mouth of the Columbia River, but it was too windy.