Birch Bay, Washington State

In the past month or so, I had been organizing a trip to Birch Bay in Washington. I was able to get a great deal at a hotel using an employee discount, so I took advantage. The trip happened last week.

I booked a two bedroom place for two nights, which could fit six people. It is near the water, and only one hour south of Vancouver.

Carmella and I invited some of her Vancouver friends along. Because it was so close, they could come for only one night if they wanted, which is what ended up happening. Work schedules and some flight schedules were able to be worked around, so we had lots of good times.

The hotel we were at was pretty much exactly like the one I work at, from the types of vacuums in the units to the brand of laundry and dish detergent supplied. It was hard to be on vacation when everything was the same as my workplace! My familiarity came in handy though, when my friends would ask if the unit came with this spice or that type of cup. I knew exactly what was in each unit, and had a good idea where to find it, even though I was three hours away from home.

Our two bedroom place had a balcony and bbq, so we used that liberally. Our friend Ty likes to cook, so he took leadership and made lots of meat.





Birch Bay during the off-season, midweek, was a dead beach town. I think the summer there is hopping, but at the moment it's pretty quiet. I'm pretty sure I saw a few prairie balls rolling through the streets, and I heard lots of crickets. There was a waterslide park with grass in the parking lot and a Waterslides For Sale sign out front. There was a Miniature Land too, where the only thing open was a pizza place housed beside the box office. The annual Christmas mini-train ride had been cancelled.

We made it fun though! The first night we had good times making and eating food, using the hot tub, and then sampling the local watering hole, called Bobby's Place. The sign was hand painted, the roof was low, and there were wires hanging out of the ceiling. The bartender was grouchy overweight woman who was skeptical of young tourists and exerted her authority over us by asking for and then overly-scrutinizing our Canadian ID. I was the youngest in our group, and I'm almost 29.

The second night we just made food and enjoyed the hot tub. I was really tired because we had been Outlet Mall shopping. I got lucky and found a pair of running shoes that should work for my needy feet, and saved about 80 dollars in the process. We'll see how they work out though, since they're not the regular shoe I usually buy.

When we came home, I was happy to cross the boarder back into Canada, and then begin to see the scenery that I'm used to on the drive to Whistler. Vacations are great because they're fun in and of themselves, but they can also make you appreciate your regular life too!