Going To Birch Bay In Washington With My Nephew Spencer Jack

Spencer Jack's Sand Castle At Birch Bay

Today I have seen a thing or two that has me a bit homesick for Washington.

One homesickness inducer was reading a Facebook tale, with photos, of hiking last week from Lake Ozette to the Pacific Ocean on the Washington Coast.

I have only done this hike once. Much of it takes place on cedar planks through a cedar forest. It reminded me of where the Ewoks lived in the Empire Strikes Back. I think that is the correct Star Wars movie.

Lake Ozette is near the town of Forks. Forks has become a bigger tourist attraction, in addition to its pre-existing tourist attraction attributes, due to the town now being known as the town where the Twilight movies take place. You know, those vampire/werewolf movies that are inexplicably, to me, popular, with people way younger than me.

The other Washington thing I saw today, that made me homesick for Washington, was my Grand Nephew, Spencer Jack, with a sand castle at Birch Bay.

Birch Bay is a very shallow bay up near the Canadian border, in Whatcom County. In summer the tide goes out, the sun heats up the sand, and then, when the tide comes in, the water gets heated by the HOT sand. Resulting in an awful lot of people having fun in the water.

Birch Bay is a humongous tourist attraction, the likes of which I've not seen since I've been in Texas. I suspect, maybe, the beaches of Galveston may come close on a nice summer day. And maybe South Padre Island.

With Birch Bay you get a lot of Canadians. I don't think you get a lot of Canadians in Galveston. Or South Padre Island.

I like Canadians. They can be a tad annoying, but, for the most part, not. If only they could learn to not end every sentence with "eh". Like they doubt every single thing that comes out of their mouths.

Going to Birch Bay goes back as far as my memory goes. As a kid, more summer weekends were spent at Birch Bay than anywhere else. In my very early years my Grandma Vera had a cabin at Birch Bay. I can vaguely remember one very young birthday at that cabin.

Seeing pictures of Spencer Jack playing in the sand at Birch Bay induced instant melancholy in me.

I actually can not remember the last time I was at Birch Bay. I know I currently have relatives who have moved there since I moved to Texas. I vaguely remember driving up to Birch Bay to meet up with someone a year or two before I moved to Texas.

Birch Bay Driftwood

In all my decades of memory of Birch Bay there is a big piece of driftwood on the beach by Birch Bay State Park that haunts me in dreams. I used to have so much fun climbing on that big chunk of wood.

I must see if I can Google for an image of Birch Bay driftwood.

I think I may have found it. This picture is definitely from the state park part of the south end of Birch Bay.

Right now, at this current point in time, I really am in the mood to move back to Washington. I miss the diversity. And the scenery. And the saltwater.

The weather? Not so much.