A Pirate's Life in Ocean Shores
/What a crazy, surreal year this has been so far! So many things are different and so many plans changed. We had hoped to take some sort of family vacation this summer, but like many of you, our plans were canceled because of the coronavirus. We had also hoped my parents could come to visit at the end of August and we’d all go to the coast together, but then their doctor advised them not to fly. I was quite bummed not to see them and not to have some sort of family trip. This has been such a hard season for all of us. But we’re trying to make the most of it, and so we did a last-minute mini-trip out to the Washington coast.
I’m so glad we were able to squeeze a small trip in before fall officially arrives and we roll into a school routine. Trips, even small ones, really help me get through the humdrum of everyday life. Plus, my husband comes along, of course, so we get some great family bonding time. I live for family time just like Clark “Sparky” Griswold.
Given our trip was last minute, it was a bit tough to find a place to stay. All the hotels and resorts were booked or too expensive, so I tried AirBnB. I kept checking AirBnb every day to see if anything new popped up. Then one day something did, and we grabbed the chance to book.
Where we Stayed: Shorebirds Pirate Villa
Ahoy, maties, it was a pirate stay for us. This place took the pirate theme all the way. Both my boys loved it. In fact, Caleb asked if we could just stay at “home” for a bit before going to the beach. The place had treasure chests, play swords, wall decals, model ships, and so many other small, pirate touches.
Villa:
Shorebirds Villas is actually a set of six A-frame villas with a courtyard in the middle. Each one seems to have a different theme. So if pirates aren’t your thing, maybe medical times or Egyptian happens to be. (Note: Here’s the AirBnb link to the Pirates Villa we stayed at)
Layout:
It was a smaller place, but it worked just fine for our family of four. When you walked in there was a family room type space with a couch and television. If you turned right, there was a dining table and then a kitchen. Or you could go straight in and you’d come to the spiral staircase. Up the stairs was a small space with a bed nestled into the wall. Then there was a bedroom and through the bedroom, a small deck. There was one bathroom downstairs just by the base of the staircase.
Kitchen:
The kitchen was quite tiny. The two downfalls for me in this space was the lack of a dishwasher and the oven. The oven was a mini/half-oven. I had anticipated cooking dinner the first night and brought chicken and veggies. I can to do it in batches since it wouldn’t all fit, but we still made it work. Then the next morning we tried making bacon and eggs but we set the fire alarm off with the bacon, d’oh. We got McDonald’s for breakfast the second morning. Ha! Just a small kitchen, but it’s only for a few nights and it’s better than no kitchen!
Sleeping Arrangements:
Sleep. My number one concern about travel. Ha! Anyway, Josh and I took the bedroom, Caleb took the nestled wall bed, and then we brought a pack-n-play for Wesley and put it in the upstairs open space next to Caleb’s bed. The kids don’t share a room at home, so I was afraid of them waking each other up, but it seemed to work out okay. The first night was a bit of a challenge, but then the second was better.
Amenities:
There were a washer and dryers on-site and free. The staff was very helpful in getting me set up with a load of laundry. There is wi-fi but it was slow and made streaming a show difficult, but not the end of the world; just a few delays here and there.
Location:
The villa was really close to the beach, roughly half a mile to the beach (the Chance A La Mer State Park entrance). Given that you can take your car onto the beach and unload all your stuff, we opted to drive. Why lug all that stuff with two kids in tow? The Ocean Shores town is also very close to the villa. We got take-out one night and the place was also just half a mile away. Overall, a great spot!
Video Tours:
You can see it for yourself with these two videos I took of the villa. Pirates Stay Part 1 and Part 2.
What We Did:
Chance A La Mer State Park, Ocean Shores
We spent the bulk of our time at the beach. This beach was great with miles and miles of sand to run and play. You can also drive directly onto the beach and park in the sand. This was convenient since we have to lug a ton of things for two small kids - mainly food, blankets, and toys.
My husband and I were confused about why there wasn’t a lifeguard around, but then we touched the water and understood. It’s quite cold, so people really don’t go far into the water. That said, there isn’t a lifeguard so be safe. Also, watch out for cars with your kids since people are driving on and off. But you could park and walk a bit closer to the water and set up your beach camp to avoid most of the car area.
We didn’t do this, but next time I would bring a kite for some more fun. We did enjoy watching other folks flying kites. I believe there is even an annual kite festival here.
Oh, we also brought our dog..which you can do.
Ocean Shores
There isn’t much to say about Ocean Shores as a town. My friend called it “a bit run down” and I think that’s about right. It’s not a town that you’d go walk around and stop in shops. There is one shop, Sharky’s, that’s maybe worth a visit just because it’s entrance is a fun photo opp and the kids will likely enjoy all the random, touristy shark things for sale inside (although parents, you might cringe, lots of it is just so tacky, lol).
There are a few restaurants as well. We only ate at one (take-out), Umi Sushi, which was decent. I hear there are a few others that are pretty good. And that’s about it with Ocean Shores. You go there for the beach and that’s about it.
Damon Point
This is another beach, but it’s a long sand spit that goes out into Grays Harbor. We enjoyed a family walk in our bare feet here and did a lot of beachcombing. We found some shells, rocks, and sand dollars. There were some folks fish and crabbing as well. While we didn’t do this, I hear there is a nice hike here to Protection Island as well.
Seabrook
We tried to stay here but the houses required a 7-day minimum and were rather pricey for this trip’s budget. Seabrook started in 2004, I believe, by a family and is being expanded on more and more. That’s all I know, but they built it like a little Pleasantville (in a good way), but it does have a particular look & feel to the whole town. The houses are cute but similar - it gives the town a manufactured feel. However, it was peachy, clean, and overall I really enjoyed our self-tour around and would definitely consider staying here in the future.
There is a one-block square of restaurants and shops - a toy store, pizzeria, bakery, clothing store, bike rental, market, etc. There is also a playground (which was closed because of COVID unfortunately), stables, and then a beach down the hill.
Other Beaches
So you can drive along and just stop at any beach, really. Each seems to hold something special and new, so be sure to explore. On our drive from Seabrook back to Ocean Shores, we stopped at one (off Roosevelt Beach Rd, so maybe Roosevelt Beach?) and I just loved the beauty.
Drive and Timing:
From our North Tacoma home, it took about two hours to get to Ocean Shores. We drove during nap time and it worked pretty well. The route takes you through Olympia and Aberdeen. Not a bad drive at all.
Our trip was short. We left on Sunday afternoon and returned Tuesday afternoon. That gave us one full day on the trip plus one afternoon and one morning. It was actually the perfect amount of time for us on this trip. You could extend it and do more traveling up the coast, but then I’d suggest staying some place a bit further north on the coast. Someday I’d love to drive up to Ruby Beach, but that would probably be a big loop around the Olympic National Forest through Port Angeles and back down…so much more time for that sort of trip.
This photo is of the drive home. I think this shows the amount of fun that was had…(and now we realize we need a bigger car).
And that was our trip. Have you been the Washington coast? It’s a great trip with kids from the Seattle/Tacoma area!