The Washington coast has long been known for its rustic splendor. While vacationing along the Pacific Ocean is nothing new, there is a very special story to be told – a story that starts right here, along the north beaches of Grays Harbor.

Beach towns aren’t a new concept. Every “new” beach town starts with a wide-eyed dream by a special enterprising entrepreneur. It should come as no surprise that the little towns of Pacific Beach, Moclips, Ocean Shores, and now the newest of them all, Seabrook (Sunset Magazine’s 2013 “Idea Town”) have come into existence to serve the tourist traveler of the respective day. Among many of these dreamers who have had hopes of hosting visitors to this coast was the tough-as-nails woman who started her own little beach haven on the WA Coast. The protagonist of today’s transition is the tenacious and infamous, Dorothy Anderson.

Dorothy Anderson was born in Norway in August 1891. She came to the United States in 1910 where she settled in Seattle to work for thirteen years in various city hotels. After a divorce and a desire for a change of scenery, she moved out to Washington coast community of Ocean City (located eight miles south of Seabrook). There, she fell in love with the area for its ocean beaches, its forests where deer and bear roamed, and for its abundance of wild birds. In so many ways, it reminded her of her childhood home in Norway and brought back fond memories of her native homeland. Feeling at home, Dorothy decided to build herself a beach cabin all her own.

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Update: Since the originally planned Winemaker Dinner for Saturday, November 17 sold out in record time, Seabrook and Bookwalter Wines would like to welcome you to a second Winemaker Dinner scheduled for the night before, Friday, November 16. Read on for all the details and click Reserve Your Seat to sign up for the Friday dinner.

As the seasons change from Autumn to Winter, storm watching season on the Washington Coast is nearly upon us. While we love the experiences and emotions sunny summer days provide, we also have a special place in our hearts for sitting by the fireside on a stormy winter night with a glass of wine and a delicious meal. To kick off the 2012-2013 storm watching season, we are emphatically pleased to organize and offer a very special Winemaker Dinner featuring J. Bookwalter Wines in the luxurious Coastal Living House on Friday, November 16 at 7:00pm! That’s right, delicious food, incredible wine, and a breathtaking view of the ocean in a home that is unlike anything on the Washington Coast!

Before we dive into the details of the menu and wine pairings, we are honored to have John Bookwalter, owner and winemaker of the award winning Bookwalter Wines, join us to present and educate dinner patrons on the wine pairings offered with the delicious meal from Mill 109. For more than 15 years, Bookwalter Wines have been among the best wines in Washington State and we will be the first to say that we are more than excited to try their award winning wines.

We would also like to specially thank Anthology | Storied Destinations for providing the one-of-a-kind setting for this magical evening, The Coastal Living House. Designed exclusively for the nationally renowned Coastal Living Magazine, celebrated house designers Lew Oliver & Tim Clarke collaborated to create this 3,200 s.f. Pacific NW coastal shingle-style beach escape.

Positioned to take full advantage of the stunning Pacific Ocean views from three levels and resting in Seabrook’s sought after Northwest Glen neighborhood, the cottage looks out through an open forested bluff down to a wide sandy beach.

Thinking about the setting for this amazing evening gets our hearts beating and imagining the tastes and smells of the meal and the wine pairings makes our mouths water. Enjoy the details of the evening below and please don’t hesitate to comment if you have any questions on the meal or wine pairings!

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After eight long weeks and over 300,000 entries, today we are ready to announce the names of our lucky finalists!

This morning, five names were randomly selected from the thousands of possible winners.

The question is, was your name one of them? Drum roll please…

The name of the Top 5 Finalists to
Win a Beach House for a Year are (in no particular order):

1. Sally Carroccia
2. Kathleen Workman
3. Amanda Calhoun
4. Brian Considine
5. Amanda Hatfield Foxall

Congratulations!

We are currently reaching out to all five finalists to arrange everything necessary to participate in the Grand Prize event. Remember, you MUST be present at Seabrook on May 14, 2012 to win!

Last but certainly not least, we have one last 2-night stay at Seabrook to give away! Please join us in congratulating BRIAN LAFFIN on his complimentary 2-night vacation at the beach!

To everyone else, we hope you’ve enjoyed our contest and we greatly appreciate your participation through the past two months! Although we are only able to give away one Beach House for a Year, we hope you’ve been inspired to visit Seabrook, the Washington Coast, and Grays Harbor County sometime soon.

Be sure to tune into Evening Magazine on Wednesday, May 16 to find out who will win the Grand Prize!

With only one more week to go in the Win A Beach House for a Year Sweepstakes, we wanted to remind everyone that not only will our 7th weekly winner be announced, but the Top Five Finalists for the Grand Prize will be randomly selected and announced right here on the Seabrook Blog at 12:00pm next Friday, April 27!

We’ll be working tirelessly to reach all the finalists and ensure they’ll be able to come to Seabrook for the Beach House for a Year Grand Finale. Remember, all 5 finalists will be invited to Seabrook for the Grand Finale scheduled for Monday, May 14, so be sure to save the date! As a bonus, each finalist will be offered accommodations in one of our charming cottage for both Sunday and Monday night.

For the Grand Finale, five different keys will be randomly distributed to the five finalists…one of which will open the front door to the giveaway home! The finalist whose key opens the door is the winner of the grand prize! King 5’s Evening Magazine will be airing the Beach House for a Year Grand Finale on Wednesday, May 16 at 7pm, so don’t forget to tune in!

We can’t wait to find out who our finalists will be next week, but first, please join us in congratulating this week’s weekly winner, MABEL EADIE, who will receive a complimentary 2-night stay in a Seabrook cottage! Mabel, be sure to check your inbox for an e-mail with the information you’ll need to redeem your stay.

We look forward to seeing you all back here next Friday when we announce our final Weekly Winner as well as our Top Five Grand Prize Finalists! Keep those entries coming and good luck!

This past week has been truly an incredible time for all of us here at the beach!

The excitement began on Tuesday, March 13 with Seabrook’s appearance on King 5’s New Day Northwest. It was such an honor to share the Seabrook story with New Day’s loyal watchers and to announce our Win A Beach House for a Year Sweepstakes!

Since Tuesday, we have been absolutely astounded by the response to the contest. In fact, our contest website was literally overwhelmed by people who wanted a chance to win a beach home at Seabrook! Fortunately, everything is back up and running smoothly, but we would like to extend an emphatic thank you to everyone who gave us their feedback on the contest web site and helped us get it back up to full speed!

Due to the inconveniences resulting from our website’s challenges this week, we’ve decided to postpone this week’s 2-night stay giveaway. Instead, we will be giving away TWO 2-night stays next Friday, right here on the Seabrook blog!

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