Seabrook, WA 2015 - Day 3

Mill 109 at Seabrook

We didn’t stay long at Seabrook today. After sleeping in, we walked to Mill 109 Restaurant and Pub for a long, leisurely breakfast while watching waves crash on the beach. When we were ready to head back to our kids, we loaded the car, and started driving towards home. We weren’t quite ready for our adventure to be over, so we decided to stop at the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park in Aberdeen.

If you ever plan on visiting this self-proclaimed world-renowned memorial, here are some things you need to know. First of all, Don’t. Secondly, This:

Yes. That reads: "Kurt's Air Guitar"

The memorial is at Riverfront Park on the banks of the Wishkah River (“Wishkah” comes from a Chehalis Indian word that means “Stinking Water"). Basically, you can only find this park by accident, while driving down the worst-paved roads in town. But once you find this hidden gem, you too, can stand under the bridge where Kurt Cobain used to hang out. 

Today, we were lucky enough to run into two tweakers under that bridge. They were wearing flannels and drinking tallboys (It was 11:00 AM). A dog barked in the distance and the girl tweaker, with her slurring, gravel-voice yelled, “Whooo let the dogs out!” and then started cackling like a witch. She turned around and asked us if we had fifty cents. I told her no and she said, “I’ll give you a joint for it” followed by that insane cackle. Her male counterpart produced a dirty green comb from his back pocket and started combing his long, tangled hair, as he mourned the tragic loss of Kurt Cobain. As sorry as we were to leave our new friends, we wanted to go read the memorial sign that welcomed us to Nirvana.

The sign explained that after Kurt died, his family sprinkled a third of his ashes into the Wishkah River and now, I kid you not: “His spirit flows with the tide twice daily, changing forever the meaning of the old indian name.”

After this moving experience, we drove down the road to Sucher and Sons Star Wars Shop. We pass it every time we go to the beach and we’ve never stopped. Having been raised on Star Wars and, in turn, raising our own kids on it, we knew we were in for a treat. Walking into the store is both overwhelming and disorienting. There are hundreds of thousands of Star Wars items; from floor to ceiling and wall to wall, the shop is packed full.

Currently, The EMP in Seattle is hosting an exhibit called, “Star Wars and the Power of Costume,” featuring the actual costumes from the most iconic films of all time. That exhibit won’t hold a candle to the magnificence we encountered today. Check out some of our sweet finds: 

No, ladies and gentlemen,
this is NOT the actual Princess Leia

You guys, you can buy this exact replica Chewbacca costume for only $399.00. A layaway plan is also available to ensure it's paid for by next Halloween. You will fool everyone. 

But it comes with a blaster!

Not only can you purchase every piece of Star Wars memorabilia in existence for 300 times its actual value, but for the low price of $9.99 you can also buy a bottle of dirt from the Kurt Cobain memorial park. A picture of the store's owner shoveling the dirt into bottles is included for authenticity. 

Once we had our fill of Star Wars and over-priced items such as the $60.00 t-shirt that says, “Sith Happens” (it's $14.99 on Amazon, I checked), we drove to Olympia and picked up our kids. We spent the rest of the day with them, eating a late lunch at Olive Garden, shopping for books at Barnes and Noble, and then coming home, where we are settling in to watch Saturday Night Live’s 40^th anniversary special. 

Thanks for joining us on our getaway. Or as Chewie would say, "RRRAAARRWHHGWWR."

-Rachel