Happy New Year!

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Its count down time. Party hats in place, kitchen pots and lids ready to bang and clang together, corks popping and the night sky full of fireworks, New Years Eve is right around the corner. The old adage time and the tide wait for no man fits right into the ringing and bringing (and in some cases honking read on): a whole lot of reasons for celebrating the New Years holiday.

In Long Beach, Wash., at the stroke of midnight, fireworks will light up the sky. Best viewing is from the towns half mile boardwalk. On New Years Day, walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, take in the vistas of the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River, and explore a couple of lighthouses perched outside of Ilwaco, Wash., at Cape Disappointment State Park. For hikers, 8.2 miles of trails offer a somewhat painless but invigorating calorie-burning start to 2013.

Across the 4.1-mile Astoria Bridge, Astorias Joanne Rideout, general manager at radio station KMUN (91.9 FM) and daily Ship Report reporter, has a great idea for greeting the New Year. Last year with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Columbia River Bar Pilots, we ended up having a pretty special (New Years) event, she said. People on land and sea heard a kind of haunting maritime symphony on the downtown waterfront. In the spirit of this spontaneous event, this year at midnight land and water will once again recognize each other. Coast Guard Cutters will sound their horns, and pilots will invite ships at anchor to do the same. Astorians whose houses are by the anchorage can flash porch or house lights, and cars parked by the waterfront can flash headlights. Its a way to let mariners know that we know they are out there working on a holiday, letting them know they are welcome in our fair town, Rideout said. If we show appreciation, were likely to get some in return. Well see what happens. Its an impromptu, completely voluntary coming together, a seasonal, wonderful adventure unfolding. Come down to the waterfront at midnight, and if you live in Astoria, put an ear outside as the clock strikes 12 and see what transpires.

At Fort Stevens State Park in Warrenton, campers, tents and yurts will fill up with people arriving to see 2012 depart and New Years Day 2013 arrive. Across the road at the KOA campground, assistant manager Debby Sheldon said that many of camps cabins have been booked for some time, and all the deluxe are long gone. Were going to involve the whole family, a New Years Eve celebration with karaoke, dancing, movies, crafts and more from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. Lets see if the adults can stay up as late as the kids, Sheldon said. The South Jetty at Fort Stevens also offers a majestic view to welcome in the new year.

Out on the beach, there are actually a series of low tides the week before New Years Day, Shelby Mogenson, Astoria super clam digger, said. Starting Christmas day through New Years Eve there are minus tides. If we cant get clams because its too stormy, maybe we can find some wonderful treasures. Recreational crab harvest is currently open, and commercial Dungeness crab season should open 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 31.

In the hills outside of Astoria theres more to explore at Lewis and Clarks wintering over camp. Fort Clatsop, part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, is open 364 days a year, closing only for Christmas. U.S Forest Ranger Tom Wilson said the able team of rangers demonstrate skills that saw the intrepid explorers through the cold and wet months. Theres flint steel fire starting, journal writing with quill pens and rendering tallow for candles, which Wilson says is a fancy word for making candles. And again, for a good New Years Day stretch, there is a trail from the Interpretive Center to the sea with shuttle buses running to deliver hikers up or down the journey. Hikers dress accordingly one of the exhibits at the center bears the title Wet and Cold, Perfect Lewis and Clark Weather.

For the small fry in Seaside at the Seaside Youth Center, kids ages 6 to 12 years old can celebrate New Years from 8 p.m. until 8 a.m. with games, movies, fun and food. Sign up early as space is limited. The center is located at 1140 Broadway; call 503-738-3192 for more information.

Whichever way you choose to celebrate a hearty party night of revelry, relaxing with family and friends, or reading a great book in front of a roaring fire and calling it quits by 10 p.m. there is one special coastal Jan. 1 tradition you might want to check out to jumpstart the year. As daylight comes, catch the first incoming tide of the New Year by showing up in Arch Cape with a bathing suit and sneakers (and some really warm after clothing). Arch Capes Barbara Shaw and her fellow plunging pal Noanie Morrison, both in their 80s, have been suiting up since they were teenagers. For many years, about 50 intrepid swimmers of all ages take to the waves. In 45 degree water temperatures, these daring souls dash as far out into the waves of the Pacific as it takes to submerge then high tail it back to shore, where friends and family wait with towels, cameras and welcome arms. Neither wind, rain nor a rough sea has kept Shaw and her group of like-minded comrades of salt and sea away. The point is to just enjoy the feeling of the nice cold water. It is refreshing. Its just a fun way to start the New Year, Shaw said in a 2007 Cannon Beach Gazette article. It seems she still feels the same way.

Eating, sleeping, walking, hiking, reading, shopping, visiting, making resolutions, watching ball games all day, fireworks take your pick. On Monday, Dec. 31, New Years Eve 2012 and Tuesday, Jan. 1, New Years Day 2013, theres literally no place better to experience both time passing and watching the tides come and go than the Oregons North Coast and Washingtons Long Beach Peninsula.