A Long Weekend at Seabrook

Beyond Bainbridge, Seabrook, WA

This has been a busy summer in my work world.  There have not been a lot of days to play. Luckily, this weekend, the clouds parted, work slowed down a bit and the sun came out.  Even more luckily, I had booked a trip a few weeks back out to Seabrook on the Washington Coast. Seabrook is about three and a half hours from Bainbridge Island.  If you have not seen or heard about it in Coastal Living or elsewhere follow the link and enjoy their site (after you read this;). After driving through the sparsley populated  towns of the Washington Coast, the pristine town of Seabrook looks a little bit like it just mysteriously sprang up from the cliffs overnight.

He Saw a Void, He Had a Vision

Seabrook is builder, Casey Roloff’s vision of the ultimate beach town on the coastline of the Pacific Northwest.   Using the design principal of New Urbanism, Roloff intended to bring quality, charm and community to the Oregon and Washington Coasts. Roloff started in Oregon with Bella Beach in 2002  and in 2004 broke ground on Searbook on an almost forgotten bluff just south of Pacific Beach. Today, at Seabrook, over 200 homes have been sold, (eleven this past July) through some of the toughest years in real estate. Other builders take note – Roloff’s vision has proven itself recession proof.

Park Your Car

The houses and cottages are new, quaint, and cheerful.  The colors are refreshing, the bikes (cruisers), parks, shops and restaurant are all you need to spend a weekend away from the regular routine.  On the third day in I realized we had not driven our car all weekend. For someone whose office is basically the car, kinda nice.  We rode bikes to the market, walked to the beach.  It was all close and easy. Believe me, if my eight year old did not complain, it was pretty short and easy. This is the same girl who complained in Hawaii when we had to walk from the hotel  – along the beach  – to The Cheescake Factory for dinner.  First World Problems. And, something I did not do until I was like 26.  Anyway, it was an easy walk.

Seabrook is Crazy Cute in the Sun

When we arrived the fog was in, it was not sunny.  Now, that was a little disappointing because it was sunny when we left Bainbridge.  After we checked in I was asking around if the sun had been out earlier that day, and I just got a chuckled no, like, ‘sun, really lady, you are on the Washington Coast.’ A little dejected, my husband and I wondered if leaving the rare 80 degree Bainbridge was such a good idea.  Well, lucky us.  We awoke on Saturday to glorious sun.  Not sun that comes out after lunch, sun that was out before I was up at 7am.  The day unfolded stunningly.  Seabrook was charming in the fog, but in the sun, it is just crazy cute. Our first night we literally could not see the coast while we were standing on the beach.  We were wrapped in a blanket of fog.  But on this lucky Saturday the coastline shimmered and stretched on and on.  Magnificent.

Unplug

Yes, AT&T cell reception sucks out on the coast.  After my panic attack I realized not having any bars on my cell phone for a few days could be a good thing.  And our internet and cable went out halfway through the weekend, (panic attack #2)  – but unplugged is a good thing.  Family time, walking, reading, and bike rides are what weekends are all about.

Thumbs Up

So, the restaurant, Mill 109 was awesome.  Great flavors, no real wait, nice people and priced right. The house we rented, The Heron House was super beachy, clean, had a spa, plenty of rooms, a sunny porch – overall a great choice (there are so many rentals to choose from).  The Washington Coastline is really breathtaking –  must see. And I realized I liked riding cruisers.  If you have not been, book a long weekend and unplug.  We’ll be back to this cute little oasis on the Washington Coast, rain or shine.