White Rock

There's something about White Rock that makes me expect Thomas the Tank Engine to pull up, loaded with school kids out of British children's novels. Railroad tracks along the beach, a waterfront promenade, and lots of fish'n'chips places. Nothing in Puget Sound feels like this place - Edmonds probably comes closest, but it still isnt the same.

This place really deserves a sunny summer day when the tide is out - with crowds trailing out across the warm sand flats. But all I had was a spare 30 minutes on a gray January day.

The town of White Rock, on the other side of the Peace Arch from Blaine, gets its name from a large glacial erratic perched on the beach. Apparently, the seagulls were responsible for the original white color, but now the town uses real paint.