There is a beach in walking distance from our house. But there are no sidewalks. The majority of the roads veining across the island don’t have much of a shoulder, if any, let alone a space for pedestrians or bicycles to move safely. So we all share the road. By which I mean we wear reflective suits of armor and put lights on our dog’s collar or risk being run over.

No joke. Sir Always Barrie Barkley (yes his real name, yes I let the kids group name him, yes I should have stuck with the first suggestion of “Olaf”), “Barkley” for short, walks with me on the left side of the road and when a car comes I move fully off and into the soggy grass. Most Islanders who see someone in the road walking or riding their bikes will politely drive fully in the other lane- if another car is coming up, preventing them from getting around fully, then they will simply pause until the lane is clear for them to give a wide berth.

Some cars, however, seem to either not notice, not care, or worse: purposefully drive even an inch or two closer to the edge where the pedestrian is walking. So if said walker has a giant bear of a dog trying to be kept “heeled” and out of the way, the beast and person both run the risk of getting hit by the oncoming traffic.

All this to say, the main stint of walking to the beach, albeit very beautiful, is also rather dangerous. Add in three kids, two of whom are on bikes and one holding the hand free of the dog leash…and a beautiful creation of heart pounding chaos ensues for the ten minutes it takes to get to the entrance of the park….

where a whole new panic sets in as the son on a pedal break bicycle follows his brother down the steep inclined entrance to the driftwood strewn shoreline. The safer option, if all the company is on foot, is to take the hiking trail- by which I feel an immediate relief of any and all stress. When the boys are on bikes, though, there is very little choice but to follow behind them, making oneself as large as possible so cars slow down, while ushering the daughter holding your hand to walk in the grass “just in case mommy gets hit by a car.” (yes, I might have used this exact wording on *at least* one occasion.)

I recommend driving down… at least for that first trip ;)

The boys make it down to the bottom, and the heart can now come out of the parent’s throat while the dog and the daughter make their way joyfully down the remaining dip and out into - - - the parking lot.

“Watch out for cars!”

“OY! Get in the grass! Look out! That car’s backing up!”

Okay, I lied, once they are all safely in the grass on the opposite side of the parking lot and playing at the playground… then the anxieties let up. And then you’re at the freaking beach! The events which probably just took years off of what could have been, before now, a long enjoyable life - all quickly forgotten - as there’s a scurry down the boardwalk and leaping onto gigantic driftwood logs.

Here, here we play for hours.

building forts
playing “shop keeper” or “restaurant”
collecting sea glass
finding ocean creatures
watching the gulls
searching the waters for marine life
staring out across the Sound to Seattle and Mt. Rainier
listening to the horns of the ships
gazing at the sailboats
and, if it’s summertime, riding on floats and playing in the water

This all can last for hours. And as luck would have it, snacks for the kids are always brought, and snacks for adults are always forgot. *face palm*

The nice thing about this beach, the bonus things I should say, are threefold:

there are two picnic shelters - which also have functioning fireplaces, as well as plenty of picnic tables and outdoor grills set up around the park.

There are two full bathrooms on opposite ends of the parking lot- easy access no matter where you are, and yes they have showers.

AND you can camp here! Camping sites, RV sites, and cabins are available for rent- so basically, this little space has got it all… except for sandy beaches. When the tide is out there’s a bit of sand. But this is definitely a typical PNW beach folks, so be prepared for lots of pebbles and driftwood fortresses!

This is hands down the most visited spot by our little family, not counting the grocery store of course *wink*.

And we love it a lot.

Fay Bainbridge, you beautiful stretch of oceanfront you.