Birch Bay is a very nostalgic annual destination for my family. Both Matt and I have visited since we were children. The salty sea breeze that hits your face as you come down the hill onto the main drag gets me every single time. It’s about a 45 minute drive from the border, so it is convenient for us. This can be a weekend trip if we don’t have much time to take in the aesthetic views of the North Cascades Mountains and Gulf Islands.
When I was a kid we would stay at the State Park campground every year. It is situated across the street from a rocky ocean shoreline with all sorts of amenities like a boat launch, picnic shelters and playground. My Dad’s side of the family would all go down for a week in August. I had a million cousins of all ages and we ruled that place. We broke all the rules and made the best memories. The parents sat around slamming cold ones and singing around the campfire. The kids all rode bikes and spent hours exploring the temperate rain forest that surrounded the sites.
Birch Bay was the first holiday Jett ever joined us on at only a few weeks old. The baby gear took up every square inch of Matt’s truck. Travelling with an infant who still gets up every few hours at night isn’t actually a vacation, but it was a nice change of scenery. He’s been back at least once a year ever since. Well, until this damn pandemic effed everything up.
There are some amazing beachfront house rentals. We generally stay with Dad and his gang or some of my cousins. The more the merrier. We like to alternate taking turns cooking dinners so each couple or family is in charge one night. It’s easier to shop this way and you also get a break from prep work and chores.
We have also stayed at Beachwood and Edge Water Trailer Parks. Beachwood requires a membership (which Matt’s Dad has) and hosts small cabins you can rent in addition to it’s RV and tent spots. There’s a general store, clubhouse, playground and pool. Edge Water is a small, private trailer park across from the ocean in town. It’s basic but you can’t beat the location. Matt’s mom and my Dad both have trailers there which is great because we are always mooching one or both.
The last time Matt and I were down with the kids was fall of 2019. We decided to leave our bikes stored at my Dad’s site because we hoped to be back in a few months and we don’t really ride at home in the winter anyways. Then…… covid. Border shut down. It’s been like a year and a half now. At least we’re not as bad off as those poor suckers who are still paying full RV pad rental and utility fees.
When we visit Birch Bay, we feast. Both Matt and I grew up crabbing the shores of this quaint Washington town. We use the collapsible metal traps off a boat. The top crabbing expert, Uncle Jim, has always advised the rottener your crab bait, the better. Chicken guts from the butcher are his top pick. Leave them out in the sun for a day or two to get them super rank. Fish heads have been known to work as well. We usually drop 4 traps per boat. Sometimes a surprise catch like an ornery octopus or a gigantic sunfish will wander into your trap. On a good year with lots of cousins partaking we will have several boats in the water at once. Once the cages have settled on the ocean floor you crack your drink. When your drink is done it is time to check the traps. Repeat until it gets dark or you run out of alcohol. Be on the lookout that your rat bastard cousins don’t try and pull your traps and steal your crabs.
Countless evenings have been spent shucking dozens and dozens of crabs. The adults used to pay us $2 a crustacean. Dungeness crabs are a lot of work and the grownups were fucking ripping us off. I look forward to the day my kid’s little fingers grow strong enough to shuck so I can take advantage of the slave labor like my role models did.
Birch Bay, WA
2016 – Present
Kids Ages: Infant to 6
paRty of 4 
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