Large waves are common on the Washington coast, the mouth of the Columbia River and is commonly referred to as the Graveyard of the Pacific. When you pair it with a King tide and waves rebounding off the cliffs of Cape Disappointment you will get waves violently exploding upward. You can hear, and feel, the explosion coming off the wave. Normally the big waves come with stormy weather, and this was no exception, wind gust to 40 mph and driving rain, this was a true Pacific Northwest Storm...but for a half hour stretch there was a clearing in the sky and the late afternoon sun popped through. A rarity paired with and number of big waves that occurred during this time. With the light beaming down on the wave and the Lighthouse I knew at that moment this was my early Christmas present.