Potemkin Village

Front Street in Seabrook WA

A "Potemkin Village" is a made-up place intended to fool casual visitors. See Wikipedia. These can appear most anywhere. One such, IMO, is the "village" of Seabrook, Washington. It pitches itself as a "people friendly" location, contrasting itself from where I picked, Ocean Shores. Remember, Ocean Shores is a place with virtually no traffic and where I do most shopping by bike. Hmm. Did I perhaps make a mistake?



Bike Rental!

Golly, Seabrook even has bikes!



I didn't see Anyone in the Rental Tent

Above is the Seabrook bike rental location. While I never actually SAW anybody ride a bike there, I suppose sometimes some do. Certainly, Seabrook highlights their bikes, here.

Still, there's a phony air about the place. Kind of like if a tiny Disneyland had timeshares. This is a people-friendly place that no public transit or shuttle serves and which requires a four-hour drive from major cities. At least in "car-dependent" Ocean Shores, I can take the bus into Aberdeen or even Olympia. What's more, despite the Seabrook bike hype, it did not escape my notice that none of the businesses have bike racks. Not even the little deli that substitutes for groceries.

We spent 25 minutes there. It was plenty of time...




They Hide the Cars Behind the Buildings Mostly

Seabrook in Progress