Our life has become our dog’s life. We used to take for granted that we could pretty much vacation anywhere with our kids but with our new little pup we actually have to do a lot more planning to make sure he can tag along. We are staying locally this year (and isn’t everyone) so we’ve been looking for places to visit within about 3 hours driving distance of Seattle. We found one of these places when we were recently invited to stay in Seabrook WA in an ocean front cottage called Ocean Tails. We have never been to Seabrook before and learned that they have a variety of cottages in a planned village community by the ocean and on a good traffic day it’s just over 3 hours from our home in Seattle to get there. People live in this adorable community but there also seem to be ample rental units available so people like us can pretend to live there for a short period of time. All the rental cottages in Seabrook have a name and a theme and can be booked through the Seabrook website- ours had a beach dog-theme “Ocean Tails” with a hot tub and it was located on the path to the beach which made it a great choice for a family with a dog and kids.
Ocean Tails is a Dog-friendly and kid-friendly accommodation in Seabrook WA
If you are headed to Seabrook WA with your pup make sure you check if you book a dog-friendly place. There is a dog fee and the general rules will be outlined in your rental agreement. I knew we were in a dog-friendly place the moment we entered-there was even a dog-treat vending machine and ample puppy toys in the entryway. The small front yard has a gate and chairs and it is one of the only places I noticed with an enclosed outdoor area. We rented a house last year with our family in Hawaii and this house reminded me a lot of this roomy space-this would be a great house for a multi-generational family trip or group trip with families with other kids. There is a bunk room that has 6 bunk beds and space in the furnished basement area to play. There is also a hot tub that helps with warming up after a long day at the beach.
Before you go to Seabrook make sure you download your rental agreement
Cell service might be a bit difficult in Seabrook and I didn’t realize this until we arrived at Ocean Tails. Thankfully I had taken a screenshot of the entry code so we could get into the rental but I had forgotten to get the wifi password from the rental agreement so I had no way of getting it without being able to open my emails on my phone. We loaded all our things into the cottage and walked about five minutes to Frontager’s pizza where someone gave us a wifi password for the restaurant. Later I found out that the rental office also has a wifi password too so if you make the same mistake it’s not a difficult fix. Once we got the WIFI password for Ocean Tails we had great internet service-the kids and I were able to watch movies on Disney Plus on my computer and I did a bit of work at night. I take using my phone for granted, so this was just a good reminder that I should always make sure I have all the documents I need before I travel.
What to pack for meals and restaurants nearby Ocean Tails in Seabrook
We didn’t want to make a lot of stops on this trip so we brought all our food from Seattle in a couple soft-sided coolers with ice packs. I pack things that are easy to make for trips like this: pasta, burrito/taco ingredients, pancake mix, make-your-own pizza and toppings and burgers. Most rental places have some condiments, but I always pack things like oil, salad dressing, butter, ketchup, maple syrup and salt and pepper and foil and parchment paper depending on what we are making so I don’t have to worry about not having the things I need.
There is a cute little grocery store here with food supplies and similar prices to where we shop in Seattle so if we forgot anything we could get those things there. I forgot to bring coffee and tea, but we stopped at Red Velvet Bakery in the morning and they use Batdorf and Bronson coffee from Olympia.
We ordered in pizza from Frontager’s pizza company and I am thankful that you can pre-order your food on the site. I ordered our dinner before we left for the beach in the morning and picked it up at 6:30pm and it made the day really carefree. The pimento cheese dip is pretty incredible and the pizzas were tasty too. We bought ice cream sandwiches from the Sweet Life candy and ice cream store for dessert.
And bringing an electric vehicle to Seabrook WA
There was supposed to be an electric charger at Ocean Tails but we found out when we got there that it was not working. Because we’ve had Tesla for over 5 years now, we know to expect and prepare for this kind of thing and my hubby had already researched that there was another charger nearby. We put a note on the car charging at the station to text us when they finished (and they did!) and we managed to get enough electricity to make it back to the Tesla Charger in Aberdeen (this one is right across the street from the famous Star Wars store, so it’s a cool stop and apparently Aberdeen is also Kurt Cobain’s birthplace too) but it would have saved a lot of time if we could have charged overnight. We heard from Casey Roloff, the town’s founder that they will eventually be getting more electric car chargers. (If you are curious about this town and how it was planned you can join Casey’s town tour-it usually happens on Saturdays.)
There are lots of things to see and do in Seabrook but this trip we spent all of our time on the beach. Have you been to this cute little beach town near Seattle? And do you have a favorite place to stay there?
(PS. I’ve posted a home tour in my Seabrook instagram highlights too.)
(Fast-forward to three years later and we’re still coming to Seabrook and it’s one of our favorite places in the world. Here is a list of the things we now know we need to bring when we visit.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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