While planning with a limited budget isn’t the husband’s forte, he did pretty well organizing our annual anniversary trip. He was able to keep the location a surprise until we had to turn off I-205 North and head toward the coast. He’d arranged a weekend in Long Beach, Wash at Boreas Bed and Breakfast Inn.

I was somewhat surprised that he’d chosen the coast, since we’re always trying to escape the grey, cloudy, drizzle we experience too often (in our opinion) in the Pacific NW. However, when he explained his thought process it made sense. He was searching the internet for romantic hotels and resorts and then narrowed them down to those in locations we’d not been. When Boreas popped up, he was intrigued.

We’d been to a bed and breakfast inn previously and had a good time, although we did not like sharing a bathroom with other guests. Our room at Boreas, and in fact all the rooms, had a private bathroom.  We stayed in the Dunes Suite, which featured a feather-topped king bed, sky-lit private bath with a jetted tub and shower. French doors that open onto the patio, a wall of windows and skylight, made the room feel bright and airy. A hand-painted mural of the North Head lighthouse, the cliffs and the dunes of Long Beach gave it the proper “beach-y” feel without going overboard.  

The 3-course breakfasts were amazing and the portions generous. The first morning’s menu started with Pineapple Dream Coffee Cake with Toasted Macs and Boreas Berry Fruit Soup. I would have been satisfied if the meal had ended at that point, but we were also served ginger pancakes with chicken sausage. Oh, so good, but too much! The second morning we enjoyed Puff Pastry Cheesecake Tarts and cooked pineapple followed by Smoked Salmon Frittata and pan-fried potatoes.

At breakfast we had the opportunity to talk with other guests, which was interesting. The first morning we met two couples from the east coast who travel together to National Parks.  The second morning was made up of repeat visitors to the inn. Each live within a 2-3 hour drive, and have made Boreas their getaway of choice.

If I have any complaint about the inn, it was that breakfast was at 9:30 a.m., which is really late for us. We’re very early risers even on weekends and vacations and rarely sleep past 6:30 a.m., so waiting to eat for three hours was a little difficult. Because we were so full from breakfast, and our dinner reservations were at 5 p.m., we didn’t eat lunch either day. We began to get a little hungry around 3 p.m., but since we’d be eating in 2 hours, we chose to wait.

We had a lovely time, and the hosts were warm and welcoming. However, it is doubtful we’d return since we have so many other locations yet to explore. It’s my turn to plan our anniversary trip and I’ve already got a destination in mind. It’s only a year away, so I’d better get on it!