Before the Coastal Living Magazine Ultimate Beach House opened on July 16, we asked our readers to share with us the “ultimate beach home” of their dreams!

We received plenty of original and inspiring entries that in many ways captured the facets of a timeless beach sanctuary similar to the Coastal Living Magazine Idea House and all the other homes around Seabrook. We even had our sales team drop by and provide an inspiration with their creative ideas!

While each and every beach home entry was unique and worthy of the grand prize, we had to pick one lucky winner to take home all the marbles!

So, without further ado, the Seabrook Blog is proud to announce the winner of the 2010 “Describe Your Ultimate Beach House” contest — Leisa!! Sincere congratulations from everyone at Seabrook, we hope you will enjoy your visit to the beach and your tour through the Ultimate Beach House.

Here is Leisa’s winning entry:

“My Ideal Beach House would be some where that the surf could be heard and the waves could be seen. It would have easy access to the beach, but be walking distance to town. It would have lots of windows, so there were plenty of opportunity to use natural lighting.

The main floor would include a flowing open area that contain living, eating, and kitchen areas that would be perfect for entertaining, but take advantage of the view of the shore too. There would also be a guest bedroom and mud/utility room and a 1/2 bath. The second floor would have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a large sitting room with a huge picture window to watch the surf, somewhere that could be used for reading or crafts, with big comfy chairs. The 3rd floor would have a media room that would also have plenty of windows, and sleeper sofas for times when the guest room just isn’t enough. There would also be a 3/4 bathroom. The interior of the house would feature a peaceful beachy decorating scheme to compliment the views from the window.

Outside of the house there would a wrap-around porch accessed from french doors off of the living room. There would be lots of Adirondack chairs, a hammock, and a stone fireplace so that the outdoors could still be enjoyed in our cooler NW weather. There would also be a covered outdoor BBQ. A hot tub and outdoor shower, and covered walkway from the garage to the house would complete the amenities. The yard would be low maintenance with native vegetation.

Sounds a lot like a house that could easy be found right there at Seabrook, doesn’t It?”

It sure does Leisa! Just a reminder, here is the prize for the contest Leisa just won:

• 2 Seabrook Glass Floats
• 4 Tickets to the Ultimate Beach House at Seabrook
• Exclusive Tour of the Idea House!

Leisa, please contact us at rewards@seabrookwa.com to claim your prize!

To everyone else – thank you very much for participating and for sharing with us your dream beach house ideas! We will have many more fun contests coming up at the Seabrook Blog in the future! To make sure you get all the details first, subscribe to the blog and get every post right in your email inbox!

Horseback riding is a very popular activity at Seabrook, so we decided to put together some interesting facts about horses we think everyone should know. Horses are gorgeous animals with a lot of character, and there are literally hundreds of useful tidbits one can learn about them. Today, however, we pick out the top 5 fun facts. Here are the ones that made the cut:

1. You Can Tell a Horse’s Age by its Teeth

Ever heard the sayings “straight from the horse’s mouth” and “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”? Horse teeth have been fascinating for scientists for a long time, and it is generally believed that you can tell a horse’s age by counting its teeth. Wear and tear may also factor in determining the age of the horse, although there are still many that don’t believe in this method.

2. Horses Spend More Energy Lying Down!

This one is just the most counter-intuitive fact in the history of fun facts! But apparently it’s true, and it is the single most important reason why horses generally sleep standing up. Yep, you read that right, horses can sleep while standing. Okay, being hunted by vicious predators is also a key reason to sleep standing up, but it’s just more fun to think “saving” energy is the factor. To accomplish this feat, horses lock their legs in, and avoid falling over. When are humans going to evolve to that level?

3. Horses Can Drink 10 Gallons of Water A Day

Another very common saying is “you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink”. Apparently, though, if the horse decides to take a drink on its own, it can fit up to 10 gallons in a single day! That number is just astounding! Make sure to help your horse to a room-temperature water, however, as really cold water on a hot day can upset the horse’s digestive system.

4. A Horse’s Head Weighs 10+ Pounds on Average

Speaking of 10, imagine having a brain the size of a potato and your head weighing 10 pounds?!? 10 Pounds is about the weight of an average bowling ball! That is one heavy head! Makes you wonder, do horses have inherently strong neck muscles? Or inherently weak ones for that matter? If anyone has the answer of this, please enlighten us in the comment section below!

5. Horses See 2 Different Images from Their Eyes

Technically called monocular vision, horses can use both eyes to look at two different objects since they are on each side of their head. Hence, they can use one eye to watch the front, and another to watch the back in case predators are around. Or, if they are on the Washington Coast beach strolling around, they can look at the ocean and at the beautiful coastline at the same time! We’d love to borrow this “feature” at least for the Pacific Ocean sunsets?

Horses really are magnificent creatures, and we are very happy to have them be a part of Seabrook. Know any other interesting facts about horses? Share them with us below, and we can all learn from each other!

Fire up your clam guns everybody – it is time to go clam digging! The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) gave the approval for a 3-day evening razor-clam dig bonanza! Starting today, you have the chance to hunt razor clams for three days at our very own Seabrook beach. Strap on those muck boots anytime between noon and midnight and have some fun by the ocean!

For your information, the Pacific razor clam (Siliqua patula) is found along beaches from California to Alaska. In Washington, the biggest you’ll get is about six inches long. They are exceptionally meaty and delicious for clam chowder, breaded and sautéed, or prepared in curries.

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Seabrook has really started to grow into the town we all dream of. Despite the fall weather sinking in, activity is high and people are out and about enjoying nature with the beach right at their fingertips.

Joining the wave of progress are numerous new businesses which have expressed interest in starting something at Seabrook. In fact, a brand new massage studio has just recently opened its gates at your pleasure!

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Last weekend, the 3rd Annual Seabrook Fun Run took place on Washington Coast’s sandy beaches and we have all the pictures for you right here! On a perfect day, the sunshine and the easy 5K course was more than a motivation for all the participants to enjoy their time by the ocean.

Despite its relaxed character, the Fun Run still awarded the winners. Of the gentlemen, Cole Glover from Sammamish won first place for the second year in a row, while David Krueger came up second. For the ladies, Rebecca Hardenbrook from Stanwood was the fastest with Noel Burt just behind her heels. Congratulations to this year’s fastest runners, hope they can achieve this success again next year!

If you weren’t at Seabrook last weekend, or just want to recap the scenic jog, hit this link and watch the Flickr slideshow we just uploaded. Have more pictures of the Fun Run you would like to share? Send them over to us or post a link to your album below and we will feature them right here on our blog!

If you’re looking for a reason (like there aren’t a bunch already) to be at Seabrook this weekend, Seabrook’s Child Bike Parade will be taking over the town and is guaranteed to be a mesmerizing one. But for more on that, check back tomorrow…

Update: The 2010 Coastal Living Idea House is now called the Ultimate Beach House and has it’s own website! Head to it and find out all the details about the most exciting beach house for 2010!

www.seabrookwa.com/ultimatebeachhouse

We have some really amazing news for all of you! It seems as all the hard work invested in establishing Seabrook as a top beach destination is definitely paying off. Coastal Living, a magazine with immense reputation for being a top resource on oceanfront living, has chosen Seabrook as the exclusive location for the 2010 Coastal Living Idea House!!!

Situated in the Northwest Glen division of Seabrook, with breathtaking views of the ocean waves, the idea house will be the only one of the kind that Coastal Living Magazine will build in 2010. While there are usually two idea houses each year, the magazine’s Editor in Chief, Lindsay Bierman, was so impressed with Seabrook’s iconic majesty that he decided to give the Seabrook Idea House unmatched exclusivity this upcoming year.

This is a very exciting time for Seabrook and a simply outstanding recognition. Our town founder, Casey Roloff, shares his take on this milestone on our YouTube channel. Watch the video now and share with us your comments and thoughts!

Lew Oliver, one of the nation’s most acclaimed architects, has designed the house which should be completed in only a few months time. Keep checking back to our blog as we will be posting lot more information on this project, including pictures, timelines, and updates.

At the end of June, all the families at Seabrook came out to enjoy a fun day at Crescent Park full of games and laughter. Little kids were zipping by finishing gunny-sack relays in record times while their parents struggled to keep up with the pace. Some played ping-pong, others attempted badminton, and some just enjoyed the sunshine. But it wasn’t until tug of war came around when the adults showed off their true strength in pulling, slipping, growling, funny-face-making, and everything else you can imagine happening at such a face-off.

The best part is that we have it all on camera. An exclusive, all-encompassing slideshow is at your fingertips with the click of a mouse. And there is always something fun to do at Seabrook. This last weekend the third annual Fun Run took place and the weather could not have been more perfect! For more on how the run went and who the winners were, check back later this week as we will have it all right here at the Seabrook Blog.

We upload all the pictures on our flickr website so stop by anytime and throw a glance at what is happening at Seabrook. If you were lucky enough to be out on the coast, maybe you will be in one of the photos. This weekend we are making beachy arts and crafts at the park. Next week the glorious children’s bike parade will rule our beach town. Until then, however, browse our sets and galleries for the best out of Seabrook!